A UGANDAN parliamentarian who crafted a harsh anti-homosexuality Bill has vowed to push ahead with his bid to get the law passed despite mounting opposition from government ministers and an international backlash.
David Bahati said the Bill – which would impose severe punishment for homosexual behaviour, including the death penalty – may be amended once it comes out of committee in February in response to concerns from “a number of stakeholders”. But he predicted it would ultimately pass. “The process of coming up with the law to defend our children and traditional family values in Uganda moves on,” he said.
“There is nothing really that can discourage me from moving forward. As you know, this is the process of legislation – you get criticism. This is part of the joy of the democratic process.”
If passed, Mr Bahati’s Bill would, among other things, give the government the power to extradite Ugandan gays and lesbians from other countries. Writing about homosexuality in Uganda could land reporters in jail, and sexually active HIV-positive people could be convicted of “aggravated homosexuality”.
The Bill has widespread support in Uganda and much of sub-Saharan Africa, where homosexuality has been labelled an import from the West, despite a long, if quiet, history in the region.
There is strong evidence suggesting that the idea of the Bill was encouraged by American evangelical groups which have pushed nations to adopt anti-gay policies. They claim there is a “gay agenda” to recolonise Africa and undermine its economy by “converting” its youth to homosexuality.
The Bill has provoked outrage among many foreign governments and civil society groups, which say it severely restricts minority rights and could ultimately cripple the fight against HIV/Aids by driving gays and lesbians with the virus underground.
In recent days, government support for the Bill in its current form has appeared to crumble, with President Yoweri Museveni reportedly saying the death penalty provision was too harsh. Prominent Ugandan religious leaders and American evangelicals have also condemned the death penalty.
Yesterday, Aston Kujara, state minister for investments, said the government believed the Bill was not necessary. He said existing Ugandan law outlawing homosexuality was sufficient.
It was not clear whether Mr Kujara was speaking for all of Mr Museveni’s ruling National Resistance Movement. Other members of parliament with the party said they would still support an amended form of the Bill.
“We can amend the death penalty, but the Bill should remain because I believe that we have got to retain something that we believe in,” NRM spokeswoman and member of parliament Mary Karoro Okurut said.
Mr Bahati belongs to the NRM and would come under intense pressure to withdraw the Bill if party leaders told him to do so. But there is still no sign of that happening. Nonetheless, the apparent divisions made gay rights activists cautiously hopeful that the Bill would ultimately fail.
“It’s clear the Bill does not have the full support of government,” said Dennis Wamala, chairman of Other Sheep Uganda, a Christian ministry that promotes the rights of gays. “The ideal situation would be to withdraw it completely.”