Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni this week signed into law his country's most aggressive assault yet on the rights of Uganda's LGBT community. The Anti-Homosexuality Bill dictates a life sentence for anyone caught having gay sex and the death penalty for anyone convicted of "aggravated homosexuality," a term that encompasses sex with minors or sex that results in the transfer of sexually transmitted infections, such as HIV. Furthermore, the law says anyone who "promotes homosexuality" be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison in a "vaguely worded" provision that puts activists and public health advocates at risk.
One of the most severe anti-gay bills in the world, it marks the culmination of years of legislative efforts to set sentencing requirements for those convicted of same-sex relations. A similar bill passed in 2014 but was ruled unconstitutional by a Ugandan court on procedural grounds.
