Museveni to Meet NRM Caucus over the Anti-Gay Bill

By Francis Lubega

16^th March 2023

President Yoweri Museveni has promised to hold more engagements with NRM Parliamentary Caucus over the homosexuality debate.

Addressing Parliament at Kololo grounds, Museveni called on the western world to stop portraying acts of homosexuality as public consumption goods rather than a private and confidential matter.

This comes at the time as the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee is scrutinizing the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023 which was tabled by Bugiri Municipality MP Asuman Basalirwa.

Museveni said that since Africa cannot impose certain norms to Europeans, they too should respect African culture and norms.

In his Bill, Basalirwa emphasized the need to improve the Penal Code Act, which was enacted by British colonialists to prohibit recruitment, promotion, and funding of same-sex practices because the vice threatens the continuity of the family and the safety of children. This is the second attempt by Uganda to have a stand-alone legislation against homosexuality.

On December 20th, 2013, Parliament passed the first Anti-Homosexuality Bill that was tabled by Ndorwa East MP, David Bahati and assented to by President Yoweri Museveni on February 24th February 2014. However, the Constitutional Court annulled the law on August 1st, 2014, on grounds that it had been passed without the requisite quorum.

During the 16^th February 2023,  Janani Luwum Day at Wii-Gweng village in Mucwini Sub-County, Kitgum District the President assured the public that Uganda will not embrace homosexuality and that the West should stop seeking to impose its views to compel dissenting countries to normalize what he called deviations.