People in same-sex relationships in Uganda now face the possibility of life in prison after the country’s parliament unanimously passed its 2023 anti-homosexuality bill. The legislation, which Amnesty International has called “appalling”, “ambiguous” and “vaguely worded”, establishes a range of harsh penalties for same-sex “offences” – including the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”.
The text of the bill says the law is intended to “protect the traditional family” by not only criminalising same-sex acts themselves but also “the promotion or recognition of sexual relations between persons of the same sex”. If assented to by Uganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni, the law would also make it a duty of a gay person’s family and community to report individuals in same-sex relationships to the authorities.
It’s a significant blow to the LGBTQ+ community in Uganda, which fought to overturn the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2014 that already contained draconian provisions, including life imprisonment for same-sex acts. Just five months after Museveni assented to the 2014 act, Uganda’s constitutional court overturned it, not due to public outcry, but on procedural grounds.
