Members of Parliament in Uganda on Tuesday night overwhelmingly voted to pass the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2023 which redefines and criminalizes different aspects of homosexuality and related sexual practices.
A last-minute introduction of the death penalty for the offense of aggravated homosexuality was introduced in the Bill.
Aggravated homosexuality is defined in the enacted Act as the offense of homosexuality where the victim is below 14 years or above 75, a person living with a disability or mental illness, or where a person contracts an illness with no scientific cure, or the offender is a parent, guardian or a serial offender.
A total of 389 members attended the session, well above the 176 voting members needed to pass the bill.
The bill appeared for the second reading on Tuesday, but the House voted to suspend its rules to have both the second reading and voting to pass conducted on the same day.
The bill, which was gazetted on 3 March proposes penalties ranging from 3 years to life imprisonment for acts of homosexuality, aggravated homosexuality, attempted homosexuality, aiding and abetting, and conspiracy to commit acts of homosexuality and related practices.
Under the Act, a person found culpable of promoting homosexuality faces 20 years imprisonment. There are also punishments for journalists and editors, film directors, and corporate entities/organizations whose work is interpreted to promote homosexuality, The Monitor reported.
Also in trouble are landlords who rent their premises out to homosexuals, owners of brothels used by homosexuals, and individuals who recruit or groom children into homosexuality.
Fines for media houses that are found propagating messages promoting homosexual acts were also raised from 40,000 currency points to 50,000 or about Shs 500 million (133,000).
Legal entities found culpable of any of the offenses face Shs 1b fine and a decade-long suspension of their activities. A person who contracts, attends, witnesses, presides over, or participates in the preparation of a same-sex marriage risks 10 years in prison.
Failure to report an attempted or acts of homosexuality is punishable by Shs 100 million (USD 26,000) fine or imprisonment for six months, or both.
This is the second time Uganda’s Parliament passes a law to criminalize homosexuality. A similar one sponsored by current Industry State minister David Bahati was nullified by the Constitutional Court in 2014 on a technicality.
On 16 March during a special sitting of parliament, President Yoweri Museveni branded homosexuals deviants, asked Western countries not to impose their practices on others, but said his government would need a deeper scientific discussion on whether homosexuality is a result of “nature or nurture”.