By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
NATIONAL
The United Nations, European Union and the US government have issued warnings to the government of Uganda against signing the new Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023 that was passed by parliament on Tuesday.
The bill which now awaits for President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s consent is according to foreign powers an assault to human rights and has the most violent penalties than any law of the world.
The UN through their agency of the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC), European Union parliament have advised Ugandan president and his administration against enforcing the new law, which they say violates the rights of gayists.
US Secretary of State Speak Antony Blinken has encouraged Uganda to rethink the anti-gay legislation, before signing it into law.
The new Act, according to Secretary Blinken will have far reaching consequences on the campaign efforts to combat HIV/AIDS in Uganda
Antony Blinken Speak forbade the new law’s execution.
“The Anti-Homosexuality Act, enacted by the Ugandan Parliament yesterday, would undercut fundamental human rights of all Ugandans and might undo progress made in the battle against HIV/AIDS,” he stated.
We urgently request that the Ugandan government reconsider implementing this law.
It should be noted that America is the major funder of the Anti-AIDS campaigns in Uganda and on the African continent through their USAID agency.
More to remember is in 2014 when Museveni assented to the Anti-Homosexuality law which prompted majority of the western powers to cut all the financial aid on budgetary fundings to Uganda. This greatly impacted country’s economy at the time
The warnings follow at the same time when Ugandan ambassador in the US, Adonia Ayebare reported about violent attacks at Uganda House in New York noting that the attacks may be as a result of the recent legislation on homosexuality.
“Violent incident at Uganda House new york, an individual yet to be identified damaged a glass of a rear entrance door and injured a South Sudanese Diplomat ( tenants), the police is on the scene , fortunately our CCCT cameras captured the incident,” Ayebare posted on Twitter.
Speaking to Parrots UG, the Bugiri municipality member of parliament, Hon. Asuman Basalirwa also the mover of the bill disclosed that since he tabled the bill on the floor of parliament, he has been receiving threatening messages, phone calls and abuses from the people he did not disclose which prompted him to switch off all his mobile phones at a certain point
Basalirwa however asked the president to respect parliament’s decision by signing the bill into law than bowing to the pressures of the selfish and immoral whites.
Uganda’s foreign minister Hon. Okello Oryem in congruent with Basalirwa said the law will have to be signed despite the intimidations.
Basalirwa said that parliament will use the constitutional powers granted to it to pass Anti-Gay law should the president fail to assent to it.
