Museveni assents to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill

This was revealed by the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, on Monday, May 29 2023 on her official Twitter handle.

“His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Uganda, General Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, has executed his constitutional mandate as prescribed by Article 91 (3) (a) of the Constitution. He has assented to the Anti-Homosexuality Act,” she twitted.

She added: “As the Parliament of Uganda, we have answered the cries of our people. We have legislated to protect the sanctity of family as per Article 31 of the Constitution of Uganda. We have stood strong to defend our culture and aspirations of our people as per objectives 19 & 24 of national objectives and directive principles of state policy.”

The Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023 which was passed by Parliament on 21 March seeks to prohibit same-sex sexual relations.

However, the President sent back the Bill to Parliament with suggestions of amendments (five clauses).

The parliamentary committee on legal and parliamentary affairs reviewed the concerns and proposals made by the President regarding distinguishing between being a homosexual and actually engaging in acts of homosexuality.

The President said the law should be clear so that what is being criminalised is not the state of one having a deviant proclivity but rather the actions of one acting on the deviance or promoting the same.

The committee chairperson, Robinah Rwakoojo, said the President’s concerns were genuine and had been initially expressed by the committee in its report to the House.

“The committee recommends that Clauses 2 and 3 be amended to create further clarity on the purpose and intention of the Bill, which is to criminalize sexual acts committed by persons of the same sex rather than punishing a person based on their perceived sexuality or physical appearance,” Rwakoojo said.