Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Uganda passes horror bill to outlaw LGBTIQ+ people's existence

23/03/2023

Uganda passes horror bill to outlaw LGBTIQ people's existenceUganda have voted to criminalise LGBTIQ people's very existence under a bill that is one of the most oppressive anti-LGBTIQ legislations

by Mambaonline.com

23-03-2023 10:43

in LGBTQIA

MPs in Uganda overwhelmingly passed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill on Tuesday. Photo: Mambaonline

Lawmakers in Uganda have voted to criminalise LGBTIQ people's very existence under a bill that is one of the most oppressive anti-LGBTIQ legislations in the world.

--

The new bill will make identifying as LGBTIQ illegal in Uganda

Even children could be jailed if they engage in same-sex acts

People who provide accommodation to LGBTIQ also face jail time

There are calls for President Museveni to veto the bill

On Tuesday, the Ugandan Parliament overwhelmingly passed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023.

If signed by President Yoweri Museveni, the bill will add to the already existing colonial-era ban on homosexuality.

ALSO READ: Namibia: Supreme Court keeps gay couple's son in limbo

--

The bill's provisions are shockingly broad and infringe on almost every aspect of LGBTIQ existence.

These acts include promotion of homosexuality and the recruitment of children into homosexuality which have been blamed for the rising incidents of homosexuality in Uganda, said the Chairperson of the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, Robina Rwakoojo.

Under the bill's provisions, a person who publicly identifies as LGBTIQ could face 20 years in prison.

According to Uganda's Parliament, the bill also imposes a life sentence in prison for an individual convicted of committing the offence of homosexuality, while the attempt to engage in same-sex sex will attract a seven-year prison term.

--

This deeply repressive legislation will institutionalise discrimination, hatred, and prejudice against LGBTI people Anyone who takes part or assists in a same-sex marriage will be liable to a 10-year prison sentence. So-called aggravated homosexuality can be punished with the death penalty.

ALSO READ: Prof Tim Noakes slammed for homophobic cartoon retweet

Even children could be jailed if they engage in same-sex acts The owner, occupier or manager of premises who knowingly allows their premises to be used for acts of homosexuality will face a 10-year prison sentence.

Any legal entity convicted of promoting homosexuality will pay a major fine of shs1 billion (around US$ 265,000).

Horrifyingly, the bill also provides for a three-year imprisonment for a child convicted of the act of homosexuality.

During the debate on the bill, MP Sarah Opendi mirrored the widespread ignorance about human sexuality in Ugandan society and equated gay people with paedophiles.

She told the speaker that even life imprisonment is not adequate and asserted that these people should be castrated!

MP Fox Odoi Oywelowo presented a minority report saying that the bill is misconceived and duplicates provisions that exist in other laws. It is therefore, the position of the minority that the provisions of the bill, if passed into law will infringe on the rights of Ugandans specifically freedom of expression, association and liberty Oywelowo said.

ALSO READ: Masc gay men discriminate against fem gay men in the workplace

The legislation will be sent to President Museveni who recently described gay people as deviants .

He has the option of vetoing the bill or signing it into law. If it is signed, Museveni and his country will face considerable international backlash.

News of the bill's passage was met with alarm from human rights activists and groups.

Pan Africa ILGA said the bill is another way of using the law to punish people who cause no harm but for being who they are .

It called on the international community, including UN agencies and bodies, diplomatic missions and donor agencies to Uganda, to condemn the bill. They should boycott every attempt by Uganda to discriminate against sexual and gender minorities who cause no harm for being human, said the group.

ALSO READ: Adoption of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill welcomed

Amnesty International called for President Museveni to urgently veto the legislation. This deeply repressive legislation will institutionalise discrimination, hatred, and prejudice against LGBTI people, including those who are perceived to be LGBTI and block the legitimate work of civil society, public health professionals, and community leaders, said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty's Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.

Ugandan LGBTIQ activist Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera defiantly tweeted in response to the bill: I am a lesbian daughter of the soil. Deal with it. Will jail stop me from my feelings towards beautiful women? Your fundamentalism can't work on me.

Article by Roberto Igual

This article was initially published on MAMBAonlie.com

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ARTICLES BY Mambaonline.com

SOAPIE QUIZ: How well do you know Gqeberha: The Empire'? ENTER HERE & WIN R1 000 in cash!
LINK: https://www.thesouthafrican.com/culture/lgbtqia/uganda-passes-horror-b...
See more stories from thesouthafrican

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

04/06/2026

TiVo: TV Viewing Hits Post-Pandemic Peak

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/06/2026

Bitmovin and Akamai Support NRJ Group to Deploy Next Gene...

Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming infrastructure, and Akamai, the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business onli...

04/06/2026

American Underground Opens at American Tobacco Campus, Completing a 16-Year Full-Circle Story

American Underground (AU), the Startup Hub of the South and a community of mor...

04/06/2026

Nielsen: Thunder Rolls as NBA's Most-Watched Team

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/06/2026

AI Drives Lenovo's 2026 FIFA World Cup Broadcast Plans

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/06/2026

ATSC Conference Looks Beyond Traditional TV for 3.0 Success

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/06/2026

ATSC Awards Highest Technical Honor to Julia Kenyon

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/06/2026

Lumine Group to Acquire Synamedias Video Network Business

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/06/2026

BFOA Launches 5th Annual Giving Day

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/06/2026

Hemisphere Media Group Brings WAPA+ Fast Channel to Prime Video

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/06/2026

APTS to Hold June 4 'Protect My Public Media Day'

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/06/2026

NVIDIA and Microsoft Reinvent Windows PCs for the Age of Personal AI

NVIDIA and Microsoft Reinvent Windows PCs for the Age of Personal AI Brie Clayton June 3, 2026 0 Comments RTX Spark - a 1-Petaflop Superchip, the Full...

04/06/2026

Inside the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man Grade

Inside the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man Grade Brie Clayton June 3, 2026 0 Comments Simone Grattarola discusses shaping the look in DaVinci Resolve...

04/06/2026

Cine Gear Expo Announces 2026 Awards of Excellence Recipients

Cine Gear Expo Announces 2026 Awards of Excellence Recipients Brie Clayton June 3, 2026 0 Comments Ed Lachman ASC, Caleb Deschanel ASC, and M. David M...

04/06/2026

St. Vincents Live with Orchestra Tour to Feature Berklee Alum Ruby Plume

St. Vincents Live with Orchestra Tour to Feature Berklee Alum Ruby Plume Berklee alumni St. Vincent and Ruby Plume will appear on the same bill across seven d...

04/06/2026

Culture and family at the centre of new RT travel series

BackStory follows four Irish young people as they travel back to their parents' homelands Modern Irish identity is enriched by cultures and influences from...

04/06/2026

Forecast: Fun Ahead - 18 Games Join in June to Stream on GeForce NOW

June's forecast with GeForce NOW: 100% chance of gaming. GeForce NOW is lining up new adventures for the month, from big-name blockbusters to quirky indies...

03/06/2026

SES Launches Multi-Orbit Satellite Inflight Connectivity on Viva Airlines

SES and Viva, Mexico's ultra low-cost airline, have launched multi-orbit satellite inflight connectivity on Viva's Airbus aircraft. A total of 60 A320s ...

03/06/2026

CFP, ESPN, and TNT Sports Announce 2026-27 College Football Playoff Broadcast Schedule

The College Football Playoff, ESPN, and TNT Sports have announced kick times and...

03/06/2026

RED Digital Cinema to Host Panels and Demos at Cine Gear Expo 2026

RED Digital Cinema will exhibit at Cine Gear Expo 2026 (Booth 33, June 5-6, Universal Studios Lot), hosting three panels and hands-on product demonstrations. P...

03/06/2026

Roku Launches Soccer Zone for FIFA World Cup 2026

Roku has announced the Soccer Zone, a dedicated hub for FIFA World Cup 2026 content available across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argent...

03/06/2026

Liverpool FC and Wasabi Technologies Renew Multi-Year Partnership

Liverpool FC and Wasabi Technologies have announced a multi-year extension of their partnership, with Wasabi continuing as the club's official cloud storage...

03/06/2026

Sky News Australia Deploys Grass Valley AMPP for Cloud-Based Newsroom Production

Grass Valley has announced that Australian News Channel (ANC), operator of Sky News Australia, has deployed Grass Valley AMPP as part of the relocation of its n...

03/06/2026

Gudrun Scharler Appointed CEO of Riedel Networks

The Riedel Group has announced the appointment of Gudrun Scharler as CEO of Riedel Networks. She succeeds Michael Martens, who has led Riedel Networks since 201...

03/06/2026

Clear-Com Deploys Arcadia Central Station and FreeSpeak II at Itaka Arena in Poland

Clear-Com has announced the deployment of its intercom solutions at Itaka Arena ...

03/06/2026

Scott Coker Announces Six Executive Hires for New MMA Promotion

Scott Coker has announced six senior executive appointments for his new global MMA promotion, which launched earlier this year with $60 million in financing. Ad...

03/06/2026

Telemundo Announces Digital and Social Media Plans for FIFA World Cup 2026

Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the FIFA World Cup 2026, has announced its digital and social media programming for the tournament, running Ju...

03/06/2026

Bundesliga Launches AI Assistant 'Captain' in Official App, Developed With AWS

The Bundesliga has announced the launch of Captain, an AI assistant built into t...

03/06/2026

Anthony James Partners Serving as Technology Consultant for UNC Kenan Stadium Modernization

Anthony James Partners (AJP) is serving as technology consultant for a moderniza...

03/06/2026

Audio-Technica Presents 2025-26 Samurai and Presidents Awards

Audio-Technica has announced the recipients of its annual sales rep firm awards for the 2025-26 fiscal year. The awards were presented by Jim Schanz, Executive ...

03/06/2026

iodyne to Demo Multi-Cam Ingest and Color Workflows With RED and Adobe at Cine Gear Expo 2026

iodyne will exhibit at Cine Gear Expo 2026 alongside RED Digital Cinema and Adob...

03/06/2026

Women's College World Series 2026: ESPN Brings Out Cinematic Cameras, POVORA CapCams for All-Texas Championship

The broadcaster will deploy 39 cameras for game coverage, six cameras for studio...

03/06/2026

How Comcast Xfinity Made RealTime 4K, Multiview a Reality for World Cup Fans with Vito Forlenza

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is providing a great opportunity for not only Fox Sports...

03/06/2026

Sonys New PTZ Cameras Deliver 4K 60p; New STARVIS Sensor Meets Low-Light Demands

Sony Electronics is introducing the SRG-AS10, a 4K 60p compatible PTZ Auto Framing camera that uses Sony's proprietary AI to automatically recognize and tra...

03/06/2026

NBA Finals 2026: ESPN's 1080p HDR Experience Drives San Antonio Spurs vs. New York Knicks Title Series

Game Creek Video's Flagship A, B, C, and D unit will wind up its first year ...

03/06/2026

New Sponsor Spotlight: Caretta Researchs Evangelos Vrysellas Says Booming Sports-Rights Market May Be Hitting the Brakes

According to Caretta Research, the sports-rights market may be hitting the brake...

03/06/2026

Film Festival Watch: Catch These 11 Must-See Sundance Institute-Supported Films at Tribeca 2026

Retrieval still courtesy of Tribeca. By Jessica Herndon This year, the Tribeca...

03/06/2026

Beat Panner from Sound Particles

Step sequencer-style panning tool revealed Alongside their flagship self-titled sound-design platform, Sound Particles offer an array of creative effects an...

03/06/2026

Eventide to launch the H9 Harmonizer Gen 2

Now features full H90 algorithm library Eventide have announced the upcoming launch of the H9 Harmonizer Gen 2, a new and improved version of their hugely p...

03/06/2026

Aim Audio's Essence price drop

Significant discount available until 1 October 2026 Aim Audio have just announced a promotion that sees a significant discount applied to their Essence micr...

03/06/2026

Clarification: SBS's position on definitions of antisemitism

Clarification: SBS's position on definitions of antisemitism 3 June, 2026 Media releases Statement by Mandi Wicks, SBS Director of News and Current Aff...

03/06/2026

Rohde & Schwarz to supply CERTIUM advanced communications system to Memmingen Airport

Rohde & Schwarz to supply CERTIUM advanced communications system to Memmingen Ai...

03/06/2026

Clear-Com Powers Itaka Arena with Arcadia Central Station and FreeSpeak II beltpacks

eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...

03/06/2026

Comcast Xfinity to Deliver 4K Coverage of FIFA World Cup 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/06/2026

Sony to Show New PTZ Cameras at InfoComm 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/06/2026

Oklahoma City Thunder Tops Nielsen Ranking of Most Viewed NBA Teams

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...