Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, announced on Thursday that he would sign the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which would impose some of the world’s harshest penalties for LGBTQ+ people, once provisions are added to “rehabilitate” gay individuals. Museveni faced intense pressure from the United States, the European Union, and major corporations to abandon the legislation. In 2014, Museveni signed another anti-LGBTQ+ law that led to sanctions against Uganda.
The Anti-Homosexuality Bill includes a death penalty for so-called aggravated homosexuality and 20-year prison sentences for “promoting” homosexuality, with the definition of aggravated homosexuality including having gay sex when HIV-positive. Museveni said he wanted the legislation amended to allow people who voluntarily renounce homosexuality to be “rehabilitated.”
The announcement came as no surprise to human rights activists, who have long opposed the bill. Clare Byarugaba, a rights activist, said that the delay in passing the legislation was “the much-needed reprieve the LGBTIQ community needed.”
Conversion therapy treatments, which are supposed to turn gay people straight, have been widely discredited by medical associations as ineffective and harmful to mental health. Nevertheless, Museveni’s proposal to include “rehabilitation” provisions in the legislation raises concerns among LGBTQ+ activists.
The president also faced a court challenge, with Deputy Attorney General Kafuuzi Jackson Karugaba advising him to seek amendments to the bill in order to avoid legal challenges. Amnesty International condemned the bill, calling it a “blatant violation” of human rights.
If the Anti-Homosexuality Bill goes into effect, it will further threaten the safety and rights of Uganda’s LGBTQ+ community, which already faces severe discrimination and violence.