News (World)

Uganda holds ‘thanksgiving’ event in celebration of anti-gay law

KAMPALA, Uganda -- President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda has launched fresh condemnation of gays, saying they deserve punishment because homosexuality "is criminal and it is so cruel."
By · Updated on December 27, 2014
Uganda holds ‘thanksgiving’ event in celebration of anti-gay law
Rebecca Vassie, APUgandans supportive of their government's anti-gay stance attend a march and rally organized by a coalition of Ugandan religious leaders and government officials, at the Kololo Independence Grounds in Kampala, Uganda, Monday, March 31, 2014.
Rebecca Vassie, AP
Ugandans supportive of their government’s anti-gay stance attend a march and rally organized by a coalition of Ugandan religious leaders and government officials, at the Kololo Independence Grounds in Kampala, Uganda, Monday, March 31, 2014.

KAMPALA, Uganda — President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda has launched fresh condemnation of gays, saying they deserve punishment because homosexuality “is criminal and it is so cruel.”

Museveni, who last month signed a bill strengthening criminal penalties against homosexuals, said Monday that he is “now mobilizing to fight” Western gays he accuses of promoting homosexuality in Africa.

Article continues below

Museveni spoke at a “thanksgiving service” organized by a coalition of Ugandan religious leaders and government officials who said the president deserves credit for defying Western pressure.

Thousands of Ugandans attended the raucous event in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, many of them schoolchildren who sang and danced to anti-gay tunes that also railed against the West.

Some European countries and the U.S. have cut, delayed or reviewed aid to Uganda over the law.

© 2014, Associated Press, All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Don't forget to share:
News (World)
Africa Uganda Yoweri Museveni

Support vital LGBTQ+ journalism

Reader contributions help keep LGBTQ Nation free, so that queer people get the news they need, with stories that mainstream media often leaves out. Can you contribute today?

Once Monthly Annually

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated

‘Newsweek’ owner endorses ‘ex-gay therapy,’ thinks gays can be ‘cured’

Previous article

Poll: Support for gay marriage in Va. still 50 percent, no change in past year

Next article

More in News (World)