Prison, or Death

A final solution?...

Kind of melodramatic, don’t you think?

I have been accused of whining. Yes, I do whine. It serves me. I write mostly about an issue which kind of consumes me. Passionate, consumed to the point of letting logic step aside. Actually, I try to be logical in what I think… Better to know myself than think that I know myself. The struggle is NOT my life.

So, Princess accuses me of whining. And I agree that I do.

But this time I have had to step back and think, hold on, reality is actually worse than my previous expectations of what is. My country is beautiful. Very. Just looking out through the window makes me feel uplifted. Weather fantastic, the green, the climate. Day in day out, I expect these wonderful gifts of nature to unfold. No extremes of temperature. No floods where I am. Truly the Pearl of Africa.

Hitch. I am a Gay Ugandan.

That should be no big deal. I have worked through accepting myself. I live with a man who loves me. We limp on in our life. It is good. Better than most, not as good as we would like it, but it is pretty good.

So, what is bad?

At the moment, in our parliament, a bill has been introduced, targeting such as us. Me and my lover. Fellow Ugandans believe that we are beyond the pale. Immoral, bad, hopeless. The Minister of Ethics and Integrity has been complaining about how our immorality has been spreading. Especially in ‘schools’. We are a threat to something called the ‘family’. So, a bill is introduced to solve this problem.

For anyone caught doing what we do, me and my partner, as frequently as we can- for anyone who has the luck to fall into that trap, the weight of the law is uncompromising. Prison. Or Death.

We homosexuals have no place outside prison, except in the grave. At least not in Uganda. Or as Ugandans. Even if we get outside the country, the long hand of the law would pull us back. And condemn us. To prison, or death.

Our friends are supposed to report us to police within 24 hours of us coming out to them.

If anyone hosts us, he or she gets to be a guest of the state, for a short while. Those who dare ‘promote homosexuality’ by speaking positively of homosexuals. Well, prison, and a fine.

But for us homosexuals, prison, or death.

No get out of the jail card. No half measures. Life in Prison on a first conviction. Death on serial offending, (irony, we can only offend again when we are in prison!) Melodramatic and funny as this seems, these are the facts. Un-embroidered. I do have to tone them down…

I mean, looking at the bill, the intent to commit a homosexual act is also punishable like the act… If I am HIV positive and commit the act, death is the punishment…

Surely, I cannot dent the shine of the moral uprightness of this law?

I mean, I cannot whine. It is there in the black and white letters of what is soon to become law. Actually, it is more frightening in real life than when clothed in my words!!!!!

Will this be a ‘final solution’ to the ‘problem’ of homosexuality in Uganda? For the framers of the Bahati Bill, I have no doubt that that is the intention. A final solution.

Will it work?

Ugandans don’t seem to learn from simple history. Gay purges and pogroms are a part of history that has been consistent. The Dutch did it, so did the English… forcing someone like Alan Turing, and 50,000 others to undergo ‘medical castration’just in the last century. All in the name of controlling the vile vice of homosexuality.

Will Uganda succeed?

Here is to hoping that they will not.

gug

Why we should all be very afraid...

I was very pleasantly suprised by this article in the Daily Monitor. Monitor people are Ugandans. But, as an independent news org, they have actually always tried to present the other side of the question. Though the very first comment below the article on the website is telling.

No, that has not applied to the New Vision, the government paper, which is very, very anti-gay, through and through. No 'other side of the story' for the Vision these days. Sigh...!

Here is the article.

Anti-gay Bill: Why we should all be very afraid

MICHAEL MADILL

Do you know the fear which arrives with the knock on the door in the middle of the night?  If you were an outspoken opponent of any government from 1962 until today you felt it even if it never happened to you.  Do you know the terror of women who lived through the civil war in Luweero or LRA atrocities in the north?  They went out every day knowing they faced rape and murder, suffering because they were women.

If you are a gay man or woman living in Uganda today, then you carry the same burden of persecution for your identity.  You risk death or torture or public humiliation at the hands of a community blinded by hate and religious dogma.  Your plight is about to worsen, since another bill making you illegal will soon pass into law.

Gay people are not the only ones who should fear the new bill criminalising homosexuality.  Measures which make who you are a crime are easy to manipulate.  It’s easy to persecute gay people in Uganda because they are a very small group which has no political or mainstream social support.

If you think those two groups deserve what they get, then recall the days not so long ago when you felt unfairly targeted for what you are.  The last 47 years were not kind to many of us.  So it is astonishing that we seem to have learned nothing about the importance of diversity to stability and development.

How will the new law be enforced?  Arrests and prosecutions will almost always result from denunciations.  Since you can’t tell a gay man or woman just by looking, everyone is at risk.  This puts power into the hands of the snitch, the aggrieved spouse or employee, the wronged friend or election opponent.  Once you are branded, the stigma and its judicial consequences will be hard to shake.  Are you prepared to suffer imprisonment and possibly physical violence because someone says the

y saw you commit an act or saw your name in an e-mail list?

If the odious bill on the table in Parliament is permitted to join its brethren in the law books, then it is fair to ask, who’s next?  Gay people don’t pose a threat to the government, but they are an easy scapegoat for inflaming public anger which itself can be manipulated against other groups which are a threat.  An election is coming soon, and there is little an embattled government likes better than to divert attention from its troubles or to neutralise its opponents.

Uganda would not be 47 years old if it were not for the contributions of all its people, whatever their identity.  We saw the affects of the expulsion of Asians in the 1970s.  We still feel the weight of discrimination against Northerners today.  Yet we so easily slip into the habit of hating those who are different. 

Repression is an expedient.  Today it is cheap and easy to make laws against gay people.  Tomorrow it may be cheap and easy to make laws against elections.  Today the majority participates because it can, and it hands the government increments of power and social control.  Tomorrow, when the government is stronger, the majority may not be able to resist if the government decides sterner measures are required to ensure peace, prosperity or social cohesion.

The reason we should all fear the easy hatred of legitimised gay bashing is that it puts the country on a path away from democracy.  The ease with which this bill is likely to become law will mark another step away from real pluralism.  The creeping fascism of social purification begins with the easiest pickings but never stops, and its result is always tyranny.

mmadill@oakton.edu

What YOU can do...

Many people have asked me what they can do to help... IGLHRC has helped here.


They have put out an action alert, detailing the problem of the bill, and what you as an individual can do to help. I  wrote that you can write to your political leaders, because I sincerely believe that my country mates are oblivious of the hate in the bill that is before parliament.


But, it is friends outside and inside the country that can put pressure on the government to stop this horrible bill in its course. Ok, I know, friends inside the country are constrained. We all live under the same regime. But, and a huge but, if you dont speak out for me now... You may never get the chance, as, if the bill is passed, then any defence of what I am will be taken as against the law of the country. You will then be labelled a homosexual like me. Or a homosexual 'promoter' and you will be liable to some hefty penalties and punishments for speaking out on my behalf.

Yes. I am very serious.

Here is the IGLHRC Action Alert, with an Introduction, A background to what is happening in Uganda, a summary of what the bill actually wants to implement, and what you are requested to do. In brief, letters to some leaders in Uganda. A sample letter is also presented.


It is below.

Uganda

The Ugandan Parliament is now considering a homophobic law that would reaffirm penalties for homosexuality and criminalize the "promotion of homosexuality." The Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009 targets lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Ugandans, their defenders and anyone else who fails to report them to the authorities whether they are inside or outside of Uganda. The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and Sexual Minorities of Uganda (SMUG) are calling for the swift dismissal of the bill and human rights protections for all Ugandans, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Background

Uganda's Penal Code Article 145a already criminalizes "carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature" - a charge used to prosecute, persecute and blackmail LGBT people with the threat of life imprisonment. The new bill would specifically penalize homosexuality, using life imprisonment to punish anything from sexual stimulation to simply "touch[ing] another person with the intention of committing the act of homosexuality." It also punishes "aggravated homosexuality" - including activity by "serial offenders" or those who are HIV positive - with the death penalty.

The bill criminalizes "promotion of homosexuality" in the form of funding and sponsoring LGBT organizations and broadcasting, publishing, or marketing materials on homosexuality and punishes these acts with a steep fine, 5-7 years of imprisonment, or both. Any person in authority who fails to report known violations of the law within 24 hours will also be subject to a significant fine and up to 3 years in prison - even when this means turning in their colleagues, family, or friends. More shocking, the bill claims jurisdiction over Ugandans who violate its provisions while outside of the country.

The bill effectively bans any kind of community or political organizing around non-heteronormative sexuality. It will lend itself to misapplication and abuse, and implicitly encourages persecution of LGBT people by private actors. HIV prevention activities in Uganda, which rely on an ability to talk frankly about sexuality and provide condoms and other safer-sex materials, will be seriously compromised. Women, sex workers, people living with AIDS, and other marginalized groups may also find their activities tracked and criminalized through this bill.

The Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009 not only violates multiple protections guaranteed by the Constitution of Uganda, which ensures independence for human rights non-governmental organizations, but contravenes the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and other international human rights treaties to which Uganda is a party. This bill undermines Uganda's commitment to the international human rights regime and threatens the basic human rights of all its citizens.

Join the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and Sexual Minorities of Uganda (SMUG) in calling for the swift dismissal of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009 and the protection of all Ugandans, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Please send your letter to:

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni

State House Nakasero

email: info@statehouse.go.ug

Prime Minister Apollo Nsibambi

email: ps@opm.go.ug

Speaker of the Parliament

Edward Ssekandi Kiwanuka

email: speaker@parliament.go.ug

Minister of Gender, Labour, and Social Affairs

Honorable Opio Gabriel

email: ps@mglsd.go.ug

Chair of the Uganda Human Rights Commission

Med Kaggwa

email: uhrc@uhrc.ug

Directorate for Ethics and Integrity

email: info@dei.go.ug

Chair of the Uganda Diplomatic Human Rights Working Groups

Mathisen Gørild

email: gorild.mathisen@mfa.no

Please also send a copy to:

Ambassador to the Republic of Uganda Embassy of the United States of America

Jerry P. Lanier

email: kampalawebcontact@state.gov

IGLHRC

email: communications+action.alert@iglhrc.org

Send an email and fax to:

Ambassador to the US

Perezi K. Kamunanwire

Fax: 1-202-726-1727

email: pkamunanwire@ugandaembassyus.org

Permanent Representative of the Republic of Uganda to the United Nations

Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda

Fax: 1-212-687-4517

email: pkamunanwire@ugandaembassyus.org

Sample Letter

Your Excellencies:

I am writing to express concern about legislation that would severely restrict the rights of Ugandan citizens, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and their defenders, in direct contravention of domestic and international law. The Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009 would not only reaffirm penalties for homosexuality, but would criminalize the "promotion of homosexuality," including funding and sponsoring LGBT organizations and broadcasting, publishing, or marketing materials on homosexuality. Any person in authority who fails to report known violations of the law within 24 hours will also be subject to a significant fine and up to 3 years in prison - even when this means turning in their colleagues, family, or friends.

The negative repercussions of the bill in Uganda will be immediate and severe. It effectively bans the free association and expression that are necessary for a flourishing civil society, and creates a climate of fear and hostility that undermines the citizenship and solidarity of all Ugandans. It will lend itself to misapplication and abuse, and implicitly encourages persecution of LGBT people by private actors. Effective HIV prevention activities in Uganda, which rely on an ability to talk frankly about sexuality and provide condoms and other safer-sex materials, will be difficult, if not impossible.

The Anti-Homosexuality Bill violates National Objective 5(2) of the Ugandan Constitution, which provides that "the State shall guarantee and respect the independence of non-governmental organizations which protect and promote human rights." Moreover, it directly violates the right to equality and freedom from discrimination (Article 21), the right to privacy (Article 27), the right to freedoms of speech, expression, association, and assembly (Article 29), the protection of minorities (Article 36), and the protection of civic rights and activities (Article 38) to which all Ugandans are entitled. It also violates the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and other international human rights treaties to which Uganda is a party. This bill undermines Uganda's commitment to the international human rights regime and threatens the basic human rights of all its citizens.

The Bill's revocation of fundamental rights would also seriously undermine the country's reputation and credibility in the international arena. Because it claims jurisdiction over Ugandans who violate its provisions while outside of the country, the Bill will strain Uganda's relations with regional and international partners.

While people may hold differing opinions about sexual orientation and gender identity, the legislation before Parliament is an ineffective and fundamentally illegal way to express opposition to a minority group. In recognition of the importance of a diverse, dynamic civil society and the domestic and international commitments that Uganda has made, I urge you to swiftly dismiss the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009 and reaffirm the rights and responsibilities of all Ugandans.

Truly yours,

Name:

Organization:

Country:

Send your message to the Ugandan authorities.

And, for friends in the European Union, write to your MP and your European Member of Parliament... that is from me, gug!!!

Yes, I do Mind

Just been at my favourite bar on Sunday.

A good time there. Kind of fevers up near midnight, and continues late into the night. There were over 40 kuchus there, having fun. Really having fun. I mean, for those of us in the know, it was quite easy to id those who are gay, and we were having fun. Seeing new people, connecting, laughing, talking, meeting each other. Its a fun time. Of course this is a bar in Uganda, in Kampala. So, we see each other, and know one another, and there are lots of others who are quite oblivious of the fact that there are many of us gays there.

I did have fun. So did my partner, though a tendency to jealousy kind of spoiled some of that...

But I did have fun.

And, i wondered out aloud how come we were all so oblivious of the threat of the bill, the law that will soon be enacted.

Fact is, this is life in Uganda. We have fun when we can. We forget the things which can be clouds over the moment, and have fun as and when we can. Often, the money is the problem. And, the chance to have fun may be a bigger problem. A place of safety, where we kuchus can interact with a degree of safety and anonymity, that is so chronic a problem that we need not mention it.

So, when in our parliament, our MPs have tabeled a bill that would effectively witch-hunt us and kill us off, by judicial, legal murder, or imprison us for life, more than forty kuchus met on Sunday night in a bar and danced the night away.

Are we oblivious?

No. We are not. Quite a few people are concerned. As I am. And my lover.

On Saturday, the Rt Hon. Bahati, the one who presented the Anti-Homosexual bill was on KFM. He was embarrassed by the fact that there are some inhuman punishments that he is advocating for those of us who are gay. And his defence was inane. The law is necessary. To make sure that the govt has its say in this 'moral' issue.

I talked to one guy in the bar. He is quite learned, but not into activism as I have to confess I am. I told him that I couldnt believe that kuchus were out in force, when a law that would specifically designed to eliminate them from the country was being debated.

We are all human beings. Us kuchus.

I mean, we are Ugandan enough not to mind the various laws and regulation that our rubber stamp parliament enacts now and then. They are mainly redundant. They are made and remade, and are just stupid. They remain on the books. With nothing done about them. I mean, despite the fact that being caught in the act at the moment can result in 14 years to life imprisonment at the moment, we are still out there having fun.

So, this seniour kuchu asks me, am I seriously worried about the new anti-homosexual bill?

I could understand his lack of concern. But, I could also not hold it to good logic.

Granted that the law will be impossible to enforce. I mean, I will continue having the great forbidden sex with my lover, and it will be hard to convict me as a 'serial offender' who deserves the mandated death penalty. At least that is what I believe.

But, I do mind.

I do mind when my country is debating whether or not to put me to death because I am what I am. I do mind because I do not see myself as depending on any of my country mates. I do mind to have to beg my life of others who are as human as I am, just because they are straight and I am gay.

No. I will not be naive. The bill, and the law does concern me.

It will not be time to mind when I fall foul of the law, when I am accused, or my lover is accused, and I have to bribe the police, or something like that. Imagine having to be in prison for a year before I qualify for bail. Because I will have been accused of capital punishment. And, a year in jail is the mandatory time before I can qualify for bail.

No.

I do mind. And I mind now.

So, we are having fun. But it is a house of cards. It can fall in a moment, and of course, at the most incovenient of gusts of luck.
So, what do we do? We continue to live. We have fun when we can. And, at the same time, we cannot forget to look over our shoulders. Because we must.

Yes, I do mind.

gug

Round ups...

Yeah, am deluged with information and writing about the bill. The law to be. Cant get all the interesting articles, but can do a fair amount of picking and choosing...!

Box Turtle had posted the first draft of the bill here. And, getting the one that was tabled, he does a summary of the changes and what that law really means. You know, I tried to do the same thing. I am no lawyer. I read plain english and all I understood was that I would die. In prison, or by legislative legal murder. So, I stopped my 'analysis'
And, he also takes to task the exporters of homophobia. Those poor Americans who decided to step into the fire here, preaching and teaching their hate. Yeah, it is them that we have to thank for this bill. Surely, from me, who happens to be no Christian, may they rot in hell. Feels nice to say that...!

Speaking of analyses, some very brave Ugandans write for most of us in a paper, of course published outside Uganda. Solome Nakaweesi-Kimbugwe and Frank Mugisha They dare to say that the ruling party and govt is taking this as a welcome distraction. Yeah, I also think it is so. And may they be damned.... I hate it when my sexuality is the ball in the political field, and I suffer. I mean, there was a 17 year old in Mukono who was sentenced for life in prison because of this so called aggravated homosexuality. In retrospect, the sentence was light, because he would have been sentenced to death. I felt bad for that young man, but....!!!!!

Somethings are too hard to articulate.

Anyway, that article is well worth reading.

Wallen Throckmorton tries to find the logic in his countrymen's support of the homophobes in Uganda. Poor Exodus... Always be careful when you ally yourself with some of us!!!! I mean, the likes of Wallen and Box Turtle, and Ex-gay Watch are teaching Exodus a well earned lesson. And, I feel no pity for them. Only thing is I wish those exodus people were living in my shoes. I would give them a year in good old Uganda!

But, lest I find myself too self congratulatory with the media blitz this bill has done, let me wind up lifting a letter from the Saturday New Vision.
I know, the New Vision is the government mouthpiece. The bill was supposed to be tabled in parliament by the govt, but, the risk of backlash from the donors was such that they had to get a private member to present it. Of course with the strong support of the Minister of Ethics and Integrity, who has been touting this bill for more than a year now. Anyway, here is the Letter of the Week from the New Vision.

It was perched below this good picture of Pastor Ssempa. And, I have no doubt the writer is a member of Pastor Ssempa's Church. The image is the new visions.

LETTER OF THE WEEK

I would like to commend the MPs who took a brave step to table the anti-homosexuality Bill. It is a firm reminder on Uganda’s stand. There are some things we are not ready to accept and homosexuality is one of them.

This step serves to notify the world that Ugandans are not pro-homosexuality even if some Ugandans are involved in it. I am very sure some human rights bodies and the Western world will come out to intimidate us to support homosexuality but we should ignore them and build the future of our country on a sure foundation.

The future of our country and the family in particular is under threat by the vice of homosexuality.

Not only will the Bill serve international purposes but it is going to show us where our parliamentarians stand on this particular vice.

I pray that we get updated with all the proceedings concerning this Bill.

I call upon our MPs and my area MP, Mr Bagiire of Mayuge to support this cause because we are not ready to sell away the future of our country in exchange for foreign lifestyles. Thumbs up for Mr Bahati and colleagues.

Ronald Balugiire

Makerere University

sigh. Why do fellow Ugandans hate us gay Ugandans so much? Why?

To the point of feeling it honourable to murder us judicially... in the name of god and family!

Oh well, have to remember that I dont ask them for the breath that I use. They can damn go and hang!

gug

Enemy of my enemy....

But these are friends. Friends of ours.


Is kind of funny, we used to have a conversation with another blogger, 27th Comrade. He is a Ugandan blogger who dared to engage me when the others were running away. Cowards all...!!!!!
Anyway, 27th used to say that he was not miffed by my man to man thing. And he personally had no beef with it. But, what irks him is the fact that we so readily embrace 'foreigners' to defend us.


27th, this is your answer. My people want me in prison or dead, because of my sexuality. I think you will understand when I embrace my gay and lesbian brothers outside the country, who dare to speak out when most of you sympathisers are keeping quiet in the country.... Yeah, a challenge to the blogloren...!

Human rights groups oppose Uganda's proposed death penalty for homosexuality

By Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk • October 16, 2009 - 18:49

Amnesty International is among the groups calling for the proposed laws to be scrapped

Seventeen human rights groups have called for proposed new laws on homosexuality in Uganda to be scrapped immediately.

This week, Ndorwa West MP David Bahati, of the ruling party, tabled the private member's bill in parliament to create a new crime of "aggravated homosexuality".

According to his bill, those convicted of having gay sex with disabled people and those under the 18 would face the death penalty.

Gay and human rights groups have condemned the proposed laws, saying they would violate basic human rights.

In a statement, 17 groups expressed their concern over the bill, titled the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009.

Kate Sheill, Amnesty International’s expert on sexual rights, said: “Certain provisions in this bill are illegal; they are also immoral. They criminalise a sector of society for being who they are, when what the government should be doing instead is protecting them from discrimination and abuse.”

Others warned it would lead to a rise in HIV infections, while some warned that other minority groups were likely to find themselves receiving similar treatment.

Victor Mukasa, of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, said: “This inflammatory bill will be taken as further confirmation that it is okay to attack or even kill people perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. It is the government’s responsibility to immediately withdraw this dangerous proposal.”

The bill also imposes life imprisonment on those who have homosexual sex. Although this is already the case in Uganda, the new law widens the definition of the offence.

Other offence include promoting homosexuality, aiding and abetting homosexuality and keeping a house "for purposes of homosexuality".

Bahati said his bill would protect children, youths and the "traditional family".

Human rights activists say Uganda, with a population of 31 million, has some 500,000 gays and lesbians.

Friends in the AIDS Prevention community

Yeah, I know Ssempa is supposed to be an HIV activist. But, an anti-gay, HIV activist is such a misrepresentation of facts that I beg to differ. I have already written about the guy here...


Here are some real friends in need. Coming out swinging...

UGANDA: AIDS activists protest anti-gay bill

NAIROBI, 16 October 2009 (PlusNews) - A draft bill before the Ugandan parliament that seeks to impose stricter sanctions on homosexuality would drive men who have sex with men further underground, making it even more difficult for them to access HIV services, according to AIDS activists.

According to Uganda's New Vision newspaper, the draft bill, tabled by ruling party MP David Bahati, proposes a seven-year jail term for anyone who "attempts to commit the offence" or who "aids, abets, counsels or procures another to engage in acts of homosexuality".

"If this bill is passed it will be a clear violation of human rights and will push men who have sex with men even further underground than they are," Beatrice Were, a Ugandan HIV/AIDS activist, told IRIN/PlusNews.

"Our national strategic plan for HIV/AIDS aims to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care, but if people are criminalized and not allowed to exist, how can they access these services?" she added.

Homosexual acts, or "carnal knowledge against the order of nature", are already criminalized in Uganda, carrying a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Under the draft bill, “promotion of homosexuality”, including publishing information or providing funds, premises for activities, or other resources, is also punishable by a seven-year sentence or a fine of US$50,000.

If passed, the bill would see the death penalty handed down for the crime of “aggravated homosexuality” - a sexual assault committed against a member of the same sex who is under 18 or disabled. Anyone found guilty of the offence of homosexuality would be forced to take an HIV test.

Morals don't stop HIV; what stops HIV is the evidence from science"Bahati's proposed bill also supports stigma and discrimination against HIV-positive people, and would undermine years of efforts to tackle the epidemic," Solome Nakaweesi-Kimbugwe, a human rights activist, and Frank Mugisha, co-chair of the rights group, Sexual Minorities Uganda, said in a statement.

"Uganda has been considered a 'best practice' leader in the fight against HIV and AIDS," the statement continued. "If [the bill is] passed, this leadership status would be put in serious question."

The Uganda AIDS Commission classes men who have sex with men (MSMs) as “most at risk”, yet there are no HIV programmes targeting them and no action has been taken in response to a 2009 study by UNAIDS and the Uganda government recommending that "legal impediments to the inclusion of most-at-risk populations, including commercial sex workers, MSMs and IDUs [intravenous drug users], in the HIV/AIDS national response should be reviewed".

"Morals do not stop HIV; what stops HIV is the evidence from science - we know that using condoms can prevent infection, using PEP [post-exposure prophylaxis] after exposure can stop infection, and ARVs [life-prolonging anti-retroviral drugs] prevent mother-to-child transmission," Were said. "People must feel comfortable enough to seek these services regardless of their sexual orientation."

Some get the facts right...

True. I am miffed by what I consider mis-reporting. Like this one.

But this is factual.

Uganda Lawmaker Wants A Gay Death Penalty

BY ON TOP MAGAZINE STAFF

PUBLISHED: OCTOBER 15, 2009

A bill introduced by Member of Parliament (MP) David Bahati, a member of the ruling National Resistance Movement, includes a provision that calls for the death penalty for gay men and women in Uganda, the BBC reported.

Bahati's Anti-Homosexuality Bill would approve the death penalty for having gay sex with a disabled person, anyone under 18 or when the accused is HIV-positive.

The bill increases the penalties for being gay in a country where it is already illegal.

It would also criminalize the “promotion of homosexuality,” effectively banning political organizations, broadcasters and publishers that advocate on behalf of gay rights. The bill's provisions that ban sexual intent are its most noxious and likely to be abused.

“A person who keeps a house, or a place of any kind for purposes of homosexuality commits an offense and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for seven years,” the bill says.

Friends and family of gay men and lesbians would also become criminals if they failed to report a violation.

“It will almost certainly lend itself to misapplication and abuse, and implicitly encourages persecution of LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] people by private actors,” the gay rights group International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission (ILGHRC) said in a statement.

“HIV prevention activities in Uganda, which rely on an ability to talk frankly about sexuality and provide condoms and other safer-sex materials, will be seriously damaged. Women, sex workers and people living with AIDS, and other marginalized groups may also find their activities tracked and criminalized through this bill,” the group adds.

The bill enjoys wide support in the Parliament and President Yoweri Museveni, a conservative, is likely to support it.

“Members of parliament are overwhelmingly supporting this bill because homosexuality is illegal in Uganda, and we have that clearly in the penal code,” MP John Otekat Emile told the BBC.

Last year Uganda's controversial ethics and integrity minister called on lawmakers to draft stricter laws against gay men and lesbians.

“Who's going to occupy Uganda 20 years from now if we all become homosexuals,” James Nsaba Buturo said at an October press conference. “We all know that homosexuals don't reproduce.”

“It is an attempt to end civilization. It is that serious,” he added.

“The state of moral health in our nation is challenging and we are concerned about the mushrooming of lesbianism and homosexuality. Ten years ago, this phenomena was not there, but the disease has penetrated everywhere,” Buturo said in calling for tougher penalties.

The Death Penalty Solution...

One guy asks himself whether this is the solution... to homosexuality...

Some logical thinking is interesting.

Homosexuality: Is death penalty the solution?

FRIDAY, 16 OCTOBER 2009 13:42          BY THE INDEPENDENT TEAM  

Ndorwa Member of Parliament, David Bahati on October 14, tabled a private members’ Bill called the Anti Homosexuality Bill 2009. In it are many clauses but among them is: Any person who convicted of homosexuality should be sentenced to life imprisonment; a person who is found to have aided or procured anybody to engage in acts of homosexuality should be sentenced to seven years in prison. The same sentence applies to a person who keeps a house or a room for purposes of homosexuality.

Promoters of homosexuality such as publishers, producers, or distributors of pornographic materials risk paying a fine of Shs 100m or serving five to seven years in prison.

But the gravest sentence is the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality where the offender commits the crime on a person with a disability or below the age of 18 or when the offender is HIV positive.

People have divergent views on homosexuality just like the solutions to it.

Personally I don’t think the death penalty is the ultimate solution. Many people are incarcerated in Luzira over murder but the media is still awash with murder cases at least according to one local paper that has made it its style to carry a picture of a dead body on its pages every day.

Despite the presence of the death penalty being in place, deaths have intentional deaths have occurred over love relationships gone bad, money etc. and life goes on. And that’s why many countries, with the exception of Uganda which is dragging her feet, have struck the death penalty from their penal codes.

Though I may care about homosexuals existing in society, but eliminating them through death is a totally different thing. I think there are a host of less callous avenues to deal with the problem.

By Bob Roberts Katende, a journalist with The Independent.

Email: bobkatende@yahoo.com.

It is worthwhile to read the comments that were appended. By mainly Ugandans. How we are loved and un-understood!

Uganda MP proposes Death for Gays.

That is the title of the article on the BBC.

Funny, I thought, when I read the bill, that only (as an aggravated homosexual; I mean, am a repeat offender!) would be liable to death. But, further reading of the bill made me understand that it is not only me. It is also any homosexual. Any gay Ugandan.

As one dumb struck Kuchu told me, ‘even touching dick is illegal’!!!!!! Yeah, it is illegal to touch another man’s you know what, unless unintentionally. Have to remember to caution my doc. He likes doing such…!!!!

And, when I read the bill, again, I realized that the person who will suffer most is the person who is accused of being homosexual. Imagine, as soon as you are accused, a medical examination (yeah, you know what that means), and, a mandatory HIV exam. God help you if you are HIV positive. If you are, that means that it is a capital offence, and you can be remanded in prison (in Uganda’s prison) for upto a year, as the case drags through our slow courts.

OK,

I am in a good mood to re-read, and re-analyse this fantastic monstrosity, law against Gay Ugandans.

I have skipped the preamble. A lot of nonsense. And, to the law as it is written.

• Legally, homosexuality as defined by this law includes the following things in todays English…
• Oral sex ! (Seems to mean with a person of any sex...! Caution, my heterosexual friends. Nsaba Buturo is angling for your bedroom too!)
• Anal sex (of course…)
• Use of any sexual aid on a person of the same sex…! Ever played with a dildo...! good gracious me..
• touching someone with the intention of…! No groping. God help me if I brush against you in a taxi, and you divine my intention as sexual…! ridiculous.

And, do you know the punishment for these acts of ‘homosexuality’????

Before, or currently, the law says we can be imprisoned from 14 years to life imprisonment. This law wants something worse. And final.

On conviction of ‘homosexuality’. go to jail. No jump out of jail card. Till god us parts from this earth. No few years in jail. No, lifetime in jail. That was mollycoddling us. God help Uganda’s homosexuals.

Then, as if that is not enough, there are those who will be guilty of ‘aggravated homosexuality’ This is defined in todays English as

• offence above, with a child (below 18years)
  
  
• If you have HIV. God help HIV positive gay men. For them, the punishment is death!!!
  
  
• You are in ‘authority’… means, if you are my adult student and… god in heaven.
  
  
• victim is a person with disability. Meaning if the accuser is someone with a physical or mental problem….
  
  
• offender is a serial offender. God. According to this bill, when it is signed into law, something like this will happen. gug and his lover can have all the sex that they want, out of sight, hidden, in the closet. If we are caught and convicted once, well, we both get life in prison. And, if god help us, and we are caught having sex in prison, we are repeat offenders, and, and, the only punishment to be visited on us is simple. Death.

This thing makes me physically sick. But I have to go through it. Because that is not the whole thing. Oh, for your information, the actual bill that has been put before parliament is Bill No 18, and I have a copy. A few changes from the one that I had. But not lesser nauseous.

god in hell!

I will have to take some time off.

gug

The Sentence is Death

Just saw this article from UGPulse. One of the Ugandan news outlets. No, the punishment for homosexuality is not 14 years in prison. That is the old law. The punishment in the bill is a Life time in prison. With no negotiations about this.

And, for ‘aggravated homosexuality’ as defined by the law, the sentence is Death.

Here is the wrongly reported article….

The Anti-Homosexuality bill was on Wednesday evening tabled in Parliament for the First reading.

The bill, which was tabled by Ndorwa West MP, David Bahati, seeks to criminalize the practice of homosexuality in Uganda and penalize individuals involved in the practice.

The homosexual groups in Uganda have on several occasions protested the government over what they describe as violation of their rights but the government has struck to its gum to outlaw the inhumane practice.

The Minister of Uganda for Ethics and Integrity, Dr. James Nsaba Buturo explains that once passed into law, the bill will rid Uganda of the vice that has continued to be a menace in secondary schools.

Dr. Buturo adds that government will not hesitate to shame countries that give aid to Africa on condition that it supports homosexuality.

Once the bill is passed into law, anyone found practicing homosexuality will face 14 years in prison whereas those found guilty of operating brothels where homosexuals meet will also be liable to 14 years imprisonment.

What can we do?

  

You know, it is kind of funny. We have foreseen this bill for ages. I mean, Nsaba Buturo has been trumpenting it for years. He wanted to arrest us when we first had a press conference. He wondered how come we had been able to have this press conference. He was told that, as Ugandans, we had broken no law, holding a press conference.

Then, the government had the will, (it is politically a good thing, with elections coming in two years), but, it is not popular outside country, with the west, with whom we are friends! Much as we would like to be, we are not an island. That is why this bill is supposed to reject any international agreements that don’t go along with it.

My lover is distraught. He is depressed, and asking me for contingency plans to get out of the country. He wants a Plan B. He is unhappy, and disappointed. But am damned if am going to do that. This is my country. As much as it is Nsaba Buturo’s or Ssempa’s.

So, contingency plans when we are caught, or arrested, or the police is closing in? Of course…

And what happens when one is arrested? Be like Brian, and die at 20?

Not many major options. But, we can do something.

For me in Uganda, as a gay man, I can continue writing this blog. Soon, the Honourable Minister will seek to get my id from Google. And maybe he will get it. But then, I hope my friends put pressure on Google not to cave in on that.

And, though it is a matter of fact that we can do very little in Uganda, we can still do something. Oh yes, not run out of the country, though that may have to happen. But, even when we are in the country. We are front line soldiers. Literally. Of course we do have some huge weaknesses. But we can still fight, and not roll over and be stepped on. Oh well, the courage of one who has no other option... Is that courage?

We don’t want this bill to become law. Unfortunately, it will most likely become law… Uganda’s parliament is a rubber stamp for govt. And, this bill has the support of the government, though, pressure from donors and international community forced the government to use a ‘Private Member Bill’ knowing that the popular homophobia in the country will ensure its passage.

So, what can we do?

• We can educate our friends. All other kuchus; about the law, the fact that we don’t have to fall foul of it, and how to help those who do. And how to fight it. There is too much ‘ignorance’
  
  
• We can educate people who are allies, who can be our allies.
  
  
• We can highlight, document those of us who fall prey to these laws. Ours are the martyrs stories. I hate the ‘illogic’ of martyrdom. But, I am willing to use it, as long as am not the martyr. Just have little to fall back on.

And what can our friends do?

It is funny, we seem so helpless, but we are not. No country is an island.

So, the major drivers of this ridiculous bill are people with standing. The government, the church and other leaders. They are all ridiculously susceptible to outside views.

So, what can we do? What can our friends do?

• The bloggers who have refused to be friends of mine… Why don’t you shout for me, Princess, Comrade 27… Iwaya, and the others who read this blog surreptitiously? Why? Come on, do you also think that I am so bad that I deserve death for making love with my lover? And you other ‘bloglorren’? Yeah, I know I have steered clear of you. But so what? Am relatively free here, and I have been talking ad nauseaum about my sexuality… So, why don’t you take up my cause for me…! Tall order, ha ha ha.
  
  
• Any other Ugandans, who happen to read this, do you really think that I am so bad that I should be killed for making love to my lover? Isnt that a mite over the top, even for Ugandans?
  
  
• If you are a Christian, do you in truth agree to the death sentence that fellow Christian Dr James Nsaba Buturo? OK. it is a matter of fact that this bill is being driven by the fervour of Christians, and in the name of God and country. And, the Pentecostals and Anglicans in Uganda are the prime drivers.
  So, engage other Christians, about this, less than Christian behaviour! (Or else I will bash you, and them…!)
  
  If you are outside the country, why, that is very good. Your congregation can be made aware of all the good things that some Christians in Uganda wish some sinners called gay Ugandans. I am sure your outrage will help. A letter, a protest match, questions to leaders of Uganda, religious and otherwise traveling outside the country. This is a moral question, how can they justify killing me because I am gay, living in a gay relationship with another gay man?
  
  
• Ok, what of gay people in other countries. You are our friends. Yes, we dare to ask our gay brothers and sisters for help, especially when our countrymates believe we should be patriotic enough to ‘die’ in the name of their moral uprightness, for god and country.
  Tell your local gay group about it.
  Organise protests, big and small. Educate any who doesnt know about it.
  Write letters of protest. Be courteous, (the framer of the bill says that we homosexuals want to kill him. He says we have already written him ‘threatening’ letters.)
  Who should you write to? Why, the Members of Parliament of Uganda… the Speaker, the President, the Attorney General. Express your concern. Why not? You are a private citizen of another country outraged at a law that seems to be too much. And why the hell punish people for loving each other? In my view, with the bill out, this is already a public thing. So, well, let them know your concerns.
  
  
• But, you also have political representatives. Those who represent you…, not me. They most likely don’t know what is happening in Uganda the backwater. And they will remember when your leaders ask them what the hell is happening. I bet you even a Republican member of the US Congress would be setback by the anti-human  views of his conservative friends in Uganda. Help us tell them, inform them. You do have clout. Yes, you do. Use it.
  
  
• Do you work in an HIV prevention or treatment organization? This bill targets gay men. And, can you imagine the stigmatization of a person who is HIV positive and has gay sex in Uganda, and automatically this guy is supposed to face the death penalty? What does your organization think about that? What do you think about it? How can you help to raise awareness that this is happening in Uganda… the presumed pride of Africa in HIV prevention? Yes, I am inviting you to tarnish the country’s image. It is in a good cause, I want to be alive!!!! Don’t want any legalized, judicial murder of me just because I am different.

Ok, that is my thinnking. Course, it is flawed. Who ever claims to be perfect?!

gug

Let me see...

Will this law pass? More than likely. Who will dare to vote against it? Who indeed? Even Elias Lukwago is brave to declare that anti-gay laws are unnecessary.

The multiple laws that I will be breaking as soon as the president signs this law. Well, our detractors had already said that we would be stiffed with a tougher law, but this goes way beyond that. If I attempt to commit the offence… (god, the number of times that I have made passes and they have been rejected!) Each of those times was worth 7 years in jail. Good heavens!!!!

Before, we could be liable to life imprisonment. gug hereby declares that, when the President of the Republic signs this law, gug will be liable to the death penalty… because I and my lover are serial offenders, breaking this law.

Now, the death penalty could still be applicable if I am gay and HIV positive, and I have sex…! That would also be automatic. Death. Oh, someone in Colombia asked me to run there when things become serious here. You know what, I will have to give up my citizenship. I cannot be gay, and Ugandan. Because if I go to Colombia and have sex with my lover, then, even if it is years afterwards, I will be liable to the punishments so legally laid out in law…!

And, and, and, you are thinking of the international laws and treaties and conventions that protect other human beings? They are not going to be protective. Not to a gay Ugandan. No. Because they are going to be neutralized by the law.

Oh, the gayuganda blog is one of the things which are illegal, as per that bill. I am furiously promoting homosexuality on this blog, complaining about a law like this. So, 5 years in prison, and my (non existent) bank balance will be set back by 100M Uganda shillings…! And the people who dare to give us condoms and lubricant for sex… Or, if you dare to have an HIV prevention programme for homosexuals in Uganda... or even try to teach safer sex. Well, the penalties are stiff. Very stiff. Jail, and jail and other things. 

Poor sympathizers. You are not left to love us. No, all lovers of gays, and gays in Uganda will suffer, and be punished by this law. Any press conferences? Not by gay Ugandans. You see, we are a pariah people that will never be like all other Ugandans. Ha ha ha ha ha!

What about me adopting children. That is a no no no. Even if I have children of my own, well, they may be taken away from me, once my sexuality is proven.

So, dear Pastor Ssempa, and the Christian born again Minister of Ethics and Integrity Nsaba-Buturo do love me? And of course Stephen Langa...

Gosh, so much love, so much love. If someone hates me, what would they do to me? I mean, if these people love me and proclaim that this law should apply to me....

And know what, to the people that I have come out as gay, when you ever learn that I have had sex... (Dont worry, I will be tweeting those facts) you have a legal obligation to report me within 24 hours. So that it can be proved that I have had sex, and that I should be arrested and imprisoned, or killed as the law sees fit.

Well, I am speechless. This morning, we made love, just to be sure that we would break the law in anticipation. Yeah, we have not had much fun, but things are about to become legally much harder! Pity Gay Ugandans!

gug

For the sake of posterity, here are the articles in the papers.  In Daily Monitor, Anti-gay law tabled. But, the New Vision puts it this way. Homosexuals face death penalty.

So, my lover quips, seems as if the heterosexuals in Uganda want to kill off the homosexuals, so that they leave the country for heteros…. So, we shall have sex to celebrate, as and when we can…! Just in case they catch us sooner rather than later.

Seriously, this law is so ridiculous and stupid that I am ashamed that it is Ugandans who have the gall and ignorance to seek to put it on the statute books. I am a gay Ugandan, and I am seriously ashamed!!!!!!!

The Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2009

Well, he did it, did Hon MP Bahati David, Ndorwa West.

The first reading of the Anti Homosexuality Bill was on the schedule. Here it is, on the order paper.

And, the bill itself, well, I got a 'pirate copy' sometime ago. And so did Afrogay, who posted it here. But for now, I also post it, since it is no longer a case of stealing official secrets, uh? Dont want to be arraigned for doing things that I do...!

Anyway, here is the bill, as it was sometime in August. It might have changed a bit, since it is now October....

So, will this soon to become law change my sexuality? Dunno. Maybe...

                                                                                                                  

                                                                                       APRIL 20, 2009

THE ANTI - HOMOSEXUALITY BILL,   2009

MEMORANDUM

1. The Principle

 The object of this Bill is to establish a comprehensive legislation to protect the traditional family by prohibiting (i) any form of sexual relations between people of the same sex; and (ii) the promotion or recognition of such sexual relations in public institutions as healthy, normal or an acceptable lifestyle, including in the public schools, through or with the support of any government entity in Uganda or any non- governmental organization inside or outside the country.  Research indicates that the  homosexuality has a variety of negative consequences including higher incidences of violence, sexually transmitted diseases, and use of drugs.  The higher incidence of separation and break-up in homosexual relationships also creates a highly unstable environment for children raised by homosexuals through adoption or otherwise, and can have profound psychological consequences on those children.  In addition, the promotion of homosexual behavior undermines our traditional family values.

Given Uganda’s historical, legal, cultural and religious values which maintain that the family, based on marriage between a man and a woman is the basic unit of society. This Bill aims at strengthening the nation’s capacity to deal with emerging internal and external threats to the traditional heterosexual family.  These threats include: redefining human rights to elevate homosexual and transgender behavior as legally protected categories of people.    

This legislation is aimed at halting the advance of the “sexual rights” agenda, which seeks to establish additional legally protected classes based on sexual preferences and behaviors, as well as claims that people have rights based on these preferences and behaviors.  Sexual rights activists have created new euphemisms to promote this agenda such as “sexual orientation,” “gender identity,” “sexual minorities” and “sexual rights.”

This legislation further recognizes the fact that same sex attraction is not an innate and immutable characteristic and that people who experience this mental disorder can and have changed to a heterosexual orientation.  It also recognizes that because homosexuals are not born that way, but develop this disorder based on experiences and environmental conditions, it is preventable, especially among young people who are most vulnerable to recruitment into the homosexual lifestyle.

The Republic of Uganda needs comprehensive and enhanced legislation to protect our cultural, legal, religious, and traditional family values against the attempts of sexual rights activists seeking to impose their values of sexual promiscuity on Uganda.

There is also need to protect our children and youths who are made vulnerable to sexual abuse and deviation as a result of cultural changes, uncensored information technologies, parentless child developmental settings and increasing attempts by homosexuals to raise children in homosexual relationships through adoption, foster care, or otherwise. 

2. Defects in the existing law.

This legislation is designed to fill the gaps in the provisions of the constitution of Uganda and the penal code Act by establishing that, in Uganda, marriage is only between a man and a woman and that no other sexual unions or relationships will be recognized by the government. 

The Penal Code Act (Cap 20) does not directly address this issue of homosexuality. It instead talks about unnatural offenses under section 145. This section does not specifically talk about homosexuality as an offense. It does not even have any reference to homosexuality. Not surprisingly the Act does not have a definition for homosexuality in the definition section.

The Penal Code Act does not explicitly address the issue of same sex unions and gender identity disorders which are damaging the social fabric of our nation at an alarming rate. There are no provisions in the Penal Code Act panelizing the procurement, promotion, disseminating literature and other forms of report for the offenses of homosexuality hence the need for legislation to provide for charging, investigating, prosecuting, convicting and sentencing of offenders   on the above law. There is need for equal treatment of man and woman before the law in regard to homosexual offenses.

This legislation comes to complement and supplement the provisions of the Constitution of Uganda and the Penal Code Act by   not only criminalizing same sex marriages but same -sex sexual acts and other related acts.

3.1. The objectives of the Bill 

      The objectives of the Bill are:

         (a) To protect marriage as that only between a man and a woman in Uganda;

(b) To prohibit homosexual behavior and related practices in Uganda as they constitute a threat to the traditional family; 

(c) To safeguard the health of Ugandan citizens from the negative effects of homosexuality and related practices;

(d) To establish progressive legislation protective of the traditional family that can serve as a model for other countries;

 (e) To prohibit ratification of any international treaties, conventions, protocols and declarations which are contrary or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act;  

(f) To ensure that no international instruments to which Uganda is already a party can be interpreted or applied in Uganda in a way that was never intended at the time the document was created; 

(e) To withdraw from any international agreements to which Uganda already is a party, or file reservations to them, which are re-interpreted to include protection for homosexual behavior, or that promote same-sex marriage, or that call for the promotion or teaching about homosexuality as being healthy, normal, or an acceptable lifestyle choice, or that seek to establish sexual behavior, sexual orientation, or gender identity, or sexual minorities as legally protected categories of people; and

(f) To prohibit Uganda from becoming a party to any new international instruments that expressly include protection for homosexual behavior; promote same-sex marriage; call for the promotion or teaching about homosexuality or homosexual relations as being healthy, normal, or an acceptable lifestyle choice; and/or seek to establish sexual behavior, sexual orientation, gender identity or sexual minorities as legally protected categories of people

3.2. Part 1 of the Bill incorporating clauses 1 and 2 provides for Preliminary matters relating to commencement and Interpretation of the words and phrases used in the Bill

3.3. Part II of the Bill incorporating clause 3 to clause 6 prohibits homosexuality and related practices by introducing the offences of engaging in homosexuality, and the penalties of imprisonment upon conviction. This part also creates offences and penalties for acts that promote homosexuality, failure to report the offence and impose a duty on the Community to report Suspected Cases of homosexuality.

3.4. Part III of the Bill incorporating of clause 7 to clauses 9 provides for the jurisdiction of Ugandan Courts in Case of Homosexuality, including extra territorial Jurisdiction.

3.5. Part IV of the Bill incorporating clauses 10 and 11 provides for miscellaneous provisions on International Treaties, Protocols, Declarations and Conventions and the Minister to make regulations to give effect to the Act.

4. Schedule 1 of the Bill gives the value of the currency.

                                                                    Hon. David Bahati

                                                                    MP, Ndorwa County West

                                                                    Kabale

                                                    

              

ARRANGEMENT OF CLAUSES

PART I ­-PRELIMINARY

Clause.

1.     Commencement

2.     Interpretation

PART II – PROHIBITION OF HOMOSEXUALITY

3.     Offence of Homosexuality

4.     Aggravated Homosexuality

5.     Promoting Homosexuality

6.     Failure to report  offence

PART III – JURISDICTION

         7. Jurisdiction

         8. Extra – territorial Jurisdiction

         9. Extradition

.

PARTIV - MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

         10. International treaties

         11.  Regulations

 Schedule 1

Currency point.

PART I - PRELIMINARY

1 – Commencement

This Act shall come into force upon publication in the Gazette.

2 - Interpretation

In this Act, unless the Context otherwise requires –

“Gender” means male or female;

“Homosexuality” means same gender or same sex sexual acts;

“Homosexual” means a person who engages or attempts to engage in same gender sexual activity.

  “Minister” means the Minister responsible for Ethics and Integrity.

 “Sexual act” means –

(a)  Stimulation or penetration of a vagina or mouth or anus or any part of the body, however slight of any person by a sexual organ;

(b)  The use of any object or organ by a person on another person’s sexual organ or anus or mouth;

“Sexual organ” means-a vagina or penis.

PART II:  PROHIBITION OF HOMOSEXUALITY AND RELATED PRACTICES

3. Prohibition of homosexuality

(1)  Homosexuality is prohibited.

(2)  Any person who engages in homosexuality contrary to sub-section (1) commits an offense and on conviction is liable to a fine not exceeding 500 currency points or imprisonment not exceeding 10 years or both.

4. Aggravated homosexuality

(1)  Any person who commits the offense mentioned in section 3 above with another person who is below the age of 18 years in any of the circumstances specified in sub-section (2) of this section commits the  offense and on conviction is liable to suffer death.

(2)  The circumstances referred to in sub-section (1) are as follows: -

(a)  Where the person against whom the offense is committed is below the age of 14;

(b)  Where the offender is infected with HIV;

(c) Where the offender is a parent or guardian or a person in authority over, the person against whom the offense is committed;

(d) Where the victim of the offense is a person with disability; or

(e) Where the offender is a serial offender.

(3)  Any person who attempts to commit the offense of homosexuality with another person below 18 years in any of the circumstances specifies in sub-section (2), commits an offense and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for life.

(4)  Where a person is charged with the offense under this section, that person shall undergo a medical examination to ascertain his or her HIV status.

(5)  Any person who without the consent of an adult victim being under their authority or not commits the offense mentioned in this section

5. Promotion of homosexuality

   (1)  Any person who,

(a) Participates in production, trafficking, procuring, marketing, broadcasting, disseminating, publishing homosexual materials;

         (b) Funds or sponsors homosexuality and related activities

(c) Offers premises and other fixed or movable assets

(d) Uses electronic devices which include internet, films, mobile phone and

(f) Who acts as an accomplice or attempts to legitimize or in any way abets homosexuality and related practices

Commits an offense and on conviction is liable to a fine of five thousand currency points or imprisonment of atleast five years or both.

(2)     Where the offender is a corporate body or a business or an association or a Non-governmental organization conviction its Certificate of Registration shall be cancelled and the Director(s) or proprietors or promoter(s) shall be criminally liable. 

6. Failure to report the offense

Any person who being aware of the commission of any offense under this Act omits to report the offense to the relevant authorities within 24 hours commits an offense and on conviction is liable to a fine not exceeding five hundred currency points or imprisonment not exceeding six months year.

    

PART IV -JURISDICTION

7. Jurisdiction.

Save for aggravated homosexuality which shall be tried by the High Court, other offenses under this Act shall be tried by the Magistrates Court.

8. Extra – Territorial Jurisdiction.

This Act shall apply to offences Committed outside Uganda Where-

(1)  A person who, while being a citizen of, or permanently residing  in Uganda, Commits an act Outside Uganda, which act would Constitute an offence had it been Committed in Uganda.

(2)  The offence was committed partly outside and or partly in Uganda.

9. Extradition.

A person charged with offence under this Act shall be liable to extradition under the existing Extradition laws.

PART V-MISCELLANEOUS

10.  Nullification of inconsistent International treaties, protocols, declarations and conventions.

(1). Any international legal instrument whose provisions are contradictory to the spirit and provisions enshrined in this Act, are null and void to the extent of their inconsistency.

(2). The foreign definitions of “sexual orientation”, “sexual rights”, “sexual minorities”, “gender identity” shall not be used in anyway to legitimize homosexuality, gender identity disorders  and related practices in Uganda.

11. Regulations.

The Minister may by statutory instrument make regulations to effect implementation of the provisions of this Act, and Promote the objects of this Act.

 SCHEDULE 1

CURRENCY POINT

One currency point is equivalent to twenty thousand Shillings.