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KILL THE GAYS BILL IS NOW LAW IN UGANDA

Uganda’s President of 33 years, Yoweri Museveni, has signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023, an aged dictatorial grasp at holding onto power. The hype in the country for the need for such legislation among the populace follows a decade or more of scapegoating and lies that placed gays, lesbians, trans and bisexual people squarely responsible for the ills the land, a land so steeped in corruption and oppression of freedoms. This has given Museveni his perfect shield to hide behind, averting the real reasons for the country’s problems, with its very trajectory reminiscent of Hitler’s hold on Germany where Jews became the target, ending in genocide.

UGANDAN ANNOUNCEMENT BY PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER ANITA AMONG:

“We have stood strong to defend our culture” said Ugandan Parliament’s speaker Anita Among, as she thanked Museveni, with an announcement that stirs the very violence one can now expect against Ugandans who are LGBTQI+ or perceived as such. But the community is ready to fight in Court.

I am informed by Uganda’s leading activists that a lawsuit is ready to go. This new law is clearly unconstitutional and it will be challenged in the courts immediately.

Museveni in signing this Kill the Gays Act has in essence declared war with the World, where now the country will be subject to major sanctions and the withholding of aid. As the people will suffer more, the gays will be further blamed.

Over 85% of Ugandans support the law.

African Human Rights Coalition’s (AHRC) Melanie Nathan notes: “Today, horrific legislation targeting LGBTI people was signed into law, in UGANDA , establishing long-term prison, and the death penalty for so called aggravated homosexuality. This law robs people of basic human rights and freedoms and sets up Ugandan LGBTQI+ people for further hunting, physical violence, and a possible impending genocide, forcing them into hiding and to flee their own country.

This new Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023, otherwise known as The Kill the Gays Bill, is now law of the land in Uganda. The law provides license for the continued abuse and persecution of Uganda’s LGBTQI+ community, as ordinary citizens and government actors will use it to justify their own criminality such as the assault, blackmail, rape, torture and murder, exacted against the gay and queer community. Now state and non-state actors have their license to do even more and even worse, as they have been fed the lie that ‘gays are abominations, deviants and Satanic criminals, out to hurt and recruit children.’ Every aspect of life for the LGBTQI+ person in Uganda is impacted as Ugandans now interpret the Act as meaning a person is a criminal simply because they identify as LGBTQI+. Even though “Being LGBTI a crime” was taken out of the Bill, Ugandans are now licensed to believe that one’s very existence is criminal and so with this law, the platform for genocide has been established.

We are heading into global Pride Month. There should not be a single #PRIDE message appearing on social media without mention of solidarity, for the LGBTQI community of Uganda, with a call to outrage and action. It is impossible for us as communities to treat this coming month of June, as celebration without acknowledging what is happening to our LGBTQI+ family in Uganda. If we sit back these heightened anti-Homosexuality and Kill the Gays laws will spread throughout the Continent. It is time for multinational corporations to speak out, governments to suspend aid and call for sanctions.

Countries have a choice. While we respect sovereignty, Uganda cannot have it both ways. Its desire to trade and function globally, rather than isolate, means it has no choice but to do a better job of navigating its human rights record versus its desire to legislate sovereign laws. The message is – a country cannot function globally if it robs people of basic human rights and must grow up to self-sustain in its isolation. That said the unconstitutional laws that infringe human rights will now be tested by the independent Ugandan courts. It is going to take some brave judges in a populace where 90% want to rid the country of its gays, lesbians, bi and trans people.

Many in Uganda’s LGBTQI+ community are desperately trying to flee the country. Some have already done so. Structures by community human rights defenders, on the ground, are proving to be inadequate, as people are reporting that their requests are not receiving attention. However such is complicated. Trust is being whittled down as a dangerous “who can we trust” environment is developing, with many opportunists trying to make a buck off this terrifying situation.

AHRC is one of few organizations providing resources for those forcibly displaced as a result of the law. We are in contact with people in hiding and assisting others who are fleeing. But our fund is low and our partners few. All the while big multinational corporations, such as Citibank and U.S. hotel chains, and others continue to make money in Uganda and have remained dead silent since passage of the Bill first occurred in March. It is time now for fast action by any global group operating in Uganda. While backlash is feared, activists are saying that the world must show it is on the side of human rights for all.”

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See full Article HERE:  African Human Rights Coalition, May 29, 2023: – 

UPDATED:

May 11, 2023
Melanie Nathan
Nathan@AfricanHRC.org

Country Conditions Expert Witness for Ugandan and other,
African LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum in America and globally.