Ugandan LGBTQ rights activist Clare Byarugaba was looking forward to showing her country off to her French partner’s parents. They were interested in visiting her hometown, and she planned to take them hiking into Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, in the country’s lush southwest, to track one of the more than 400 mountain gorillas. But the parents scrapped their plans because they disapproved of Uganda’s new, more extreme anti-LGBTQ legislation.
The Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023, which Uganda’s Parliament passed twice between March and May with few changes, imposes a harsh penalties on members of the LGBTQ community, including life imprisonment for sexual acts; the death penalty applies for “aggravated homosexuality,” defined in part as engaging in sex if one is HIV-positive.
The bill currently sits on the Republic of Uganda President Yoweri Museveni’s desk to sign or to veto. And its impact on tourism is being felt.
