Ugandan Man Faces Death Penalty Under Anti-Gay Law
Image: Ugandan MP Asuman Basalirwa introduced the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023 in Parliament. Image: Twitter
A 20-year-old man in Uganda has been charged with “aggravated homosexuality, an offence punishable by death under the country’s new anti-homosexuality law.
The man was charged on August 18, for having sexual intercourse with a 41-year-old man with a disability, reported CNN.
In May, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 into law, which includes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”. Aggravated homosexuality is defined under the law as incest, sex with children, people with disabilities, the elderly or an HIV-positive person having sex with another person.
The law bans gay marriages, punishes same-sex acts with life imprisonment and imposes a jail term of up to 20 years for those convicted of “promoting homosexuality.
The 20-year-old is scheduled to appear before court in September, reported CNN.
Uganda Faces Backlash
Since May, several people have been arrested for same-sex acts under the new law, reported BBC.
Uganda’s draconian anti-gay law was criticised by UN agencies and world leaders.
US President Joe Biden termed the law a “tragic violation of universal human rights — one that is not worthy of the Ugandan people and one that jeopardises the prospects of critical economic growth for the entire country.”
Earlier this month, the World Bank announced it was halting all new public funding to Uganda over its anti-gay law. The World Bank said that the anti-gay law “undermines those efforts. Inclusion and non-discrimination sit at the heart of our work around the world”.
Uganda’s state minister for foreign affairs Okello Oryem hit back at the World Bank decision, pointing to many US states passing laws against LGBTQI communities and laws in Middle Eastern countries, where homosexuality invites the death penalty.
