The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Here below is the Anti-Homosexuality Act that President, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni signed today.
The Bill was first passed 21 March 2023 by Parliament but was returned by the President who needed several concerns clarified.
The Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs reviewed the concerns and proposals made by the President regarding distinguishing between being a homosexual and actually engaging in acts of homosexuality.
The President said the law should be clear so that what is being criminalized is not the state of one having a deviant proclivity but rather the actions of one acting on the deviance or promoting the same.
The Committee Chairperson, Robina Rwakoojo said the President’s concerns were genuine and had been initially expressed by the committee in its report to the House.
The committee recommended that Clauses 2 and 3 be amended to create further clarity on the purpose and intention of the Bill, which is to criminalize sexual acts committed by persons of the same sex rather than punishing a person based on their perceived sexuality or physical appearance.
The committee also recommended the merging of two sub-clauses under Clause 9 of the Bill that relates to owners of premises that may be reported to be used to commit the offence of homosexuality.
On the duty to report acts of homosexuality under Clause 14, the President expressed concern that the clause presented constitutional challenges and created unnecessary contradictions and duties which pose implementation challenges and conflicts in society.
The President recommended for deletion of clause 14 or in the alternative, to redraft it to restrict it to children and other vulnerable members of society as required in Article 17(1)(c) of the Constitution.
The committee, however, said clause 14 is relevant because it imposes a duty on a person who knows or has a reasonable suspicion that a person, has committed or intends to commit the offence of homosexuality, to report the matter to police for appropriate action.
“The committee recommends that Clause 14 of the Bill stand part of the Bill albeit with amendment to Clause 9(3) to create criminal sanctions against a person who does not report acts of homosexuality that are committed against children and other vulnerable persons,” said Rwakoojo.
