The current version of the anti-gay bill under consideration in Uganda still contains punishments including life inprisonment and the death penalty, despite recent reports to the contrary, according to The Guardian.
The Ugandan bill extends existing laws to make it illegal to promote homosexuality by talking or writing about it, and forcing people to tell the authorities about anyone they know who is gay.
The bill’s author, lawmaker David Bahati, denied reports that international pressure might result in parts of the bill being toned down (as reported last week by Bloomberg).
He says that the proposed death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” is needed to protect Uganda’s children from recruitment by gays.
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“The whole intention is to prevent the recruitment of under-age children, which is going on in single-sex schools. We must stop the recruitment and secure the future of our children,” said Bahati.
The bill has been introduced into Uganda’s parliament, and will be debated within two weeks. It is expected to become law by February.
There is wide support for the bill which, while being an extreme piece of anti-gay legislation, is not unique.
Nigeria has a similar bill and already allows the death penalty for homosexuality in northern states, as does Sudan.
Burundi criminalized homosexuality in April this year, joining 37 other African nations where gay sex is already illegal.
Egypt and Mali are also looking at criminalization of gays and lesbians.
Full story at The Guardian.
