'Kill The Gays': Uganda to resurrect bill that imposes death penalty on homosexuals

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'Kill the Gays', a law that was nullified five years ago, a law that calls for death penalty against homosexuals, will be re-introduced in the parliament of Uganda in the coming weeks, Simon Lokodo, Ethics and Integrity Minister of Uganda told Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"Homosexuality is not natural to Ugandans, but there has been a massive recruitment by gay people in schools, and especially among the youth, where they are promoting the falsehood that people are born like that," Lokodo said.

He also added, “Our current penal law is limited. It only criminalises the act. We want it made clear that anyone who is even involved in promotion and recruitment has to be criminalised. Those that do grave acts will be given the death sentence.”

Lokodo said that the President of Uganda stood by the bill and it will be reintroduced in the Parliament in the coming weeks. The Ethics Minister was also optimistic of the chances of the bill's passing with a two-thirds majority. 

Uganda's constitutional court had overturned the law because it includes the death penalty, on a technicality back in 2014.

With the re-introduction of this bill, Uganda is destined to face widespread international condemnation. 

When the bill was signed back in 2014, US reduced aid, imposed visa restrictions and cancelled military exercises with Uganda. Other countries who were providing aid to the African nation also stopped. 

Lokodo also said that Uganda was prepared for any negative international response, “we are ready. We don’t like blackmailing. Much as we know that this is going to irritate our supporters in budget and governance, we can’t just bend our heads and bow before people who want to impose a culture which is foreign to us.”

Julian Onziema from Sexual Minorities Uganda, an alliance of LGBT+ expressed the fearful sentiments of the society. “Hundreds of LGBT+ people have been forced to leave the country as refugees and more will follow if this law is enacted. It will criminalise us from even advocated for LGBT+ rights, let alone supporting and protecting sexual minorities,” he said. 

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