By Melanie Nathan, April 18, 2023
All roads are pointing to the likelihood of President Yoweri Museveni signing the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 (AHA 2023), imminently, as it is before him now for assent. The new ACT, otherwise known as the Kill the Gays Bill 2023, passed parliament in March of this year with a huge majority margin of at least 98%.
The dictatorial President, clinging to office, despite the opposition that he strives to suppress, continues to think he can hold onto office at the expense of scapegoating Uganda’s LGBTQI+ community, with impunity. Much of that which underpins this legislation is false.
This has caused panic among Uganda's human rights defenders and LGBTI community, to include health professionals, all the target of anti-gay hunts and the resulting violence and persecution. Arrests, police forced anal exams, torture to relinquish names, all abound in such climate.
Six young peer educators whose trumped up case on charges of porn and allegations of sex ring were denied bail with their case remanded to May 10. Clearly such arrests prop up the Anti-Homosexuality law in and futile attempt by Museveni and his government to justify the law. By falsely accusing people Uganda thinks it can dupe the well-educated on sexual minorities and human rights to believe this KILL THE GAYS BILL and the call to eradicate Africa of homosexuality, as justified. This is so blatant obvious. These tweets reflect the milieu and also show that uganda is defiant when it comes to the West's call for the observance of basic human rights. To thwart this, Uganda's Parliamentarians and Government assert that homosexuality is a Western import and should not be exported to Africa. All the while history and legacy and science proves that it is homophobia so deftly imported via colonization, Western Penal Codes and Evangelical hate missions to the Continent.
