The parliamentarians’ decision had initially caused some stir in the press and public opinion, to the point that the Head of State, Yoweri Museveni, had asked the deputies to revise the project, prompting them to specify that “being homosexual” was not a crime, but that only unnatural relationships were.
The parliament was kind enough to give in on this point – in a version amended at the margin and approved unanimously minus one vote. However, MPs, against the president’s advice, maintained a provision making “aggravated homosexuality” a capital crime, meaning that repeat offenders could be sentenced to death. Knowing that the death penalty has not been applied for several years in the country.
This provision shows the profound rejection of this ignominious sin in Ugandan society, and the desire to protect the country from it. But it seems disproportionate. However, it is arguably only intended as a threat that will not be carried out.
As one might expect, the champions of an aging progressivism were quick to react by spouting the usual clichés: the American president, Joe Biden, condemned a “shameful” law and a “tragic attack” on rights humans. He also mentioned possible consequences regarding financial help that the United States grants to Uganda. Money is money.
The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, spoke of it as a deplorable law, while 10 Downing Street expressed “dismay.”
The Africans will appreciate in passing how a secularized West treats a sovereign state of their continent, as if the old habits of colonialism officially despised by the progressive democracies imbued with wokism, are still alive, when the ideological need arises.
On the side of the Ugandan Catholic Church, less accommodating than the European episcopates on questions relating to natural law, the story is not the same. The bishops had previously given cautious approval to the draft text. Additionally, Msgr. Charles Kasibante, Vicar General of the Diocese of Kampala, co-signed a statement in February expressing his “great concern” over “the growing spread of homosexuality and the LGBT agenda in Uganda.”
When the law was passed, Fr. Pie Male, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Kampala even told the Monitor that “the Church is grateful that Museveni signed the law because the scriptures clearly oppose homosexuality.”
Anita Annet Among – a devout Catholic who serves as President of the Parliament – tweeted for her part: “I thank my colleagues for having voted in the interest of the country and for having resisted all external intimidation.”
The leader of the Anglican religion in Uganda also declared himself “grateful” for the new law which makes “aggravated” homosexuality a crime punishable by death, signaling a new distancing from his peers in the United Kingdom.
As for the Vatican, all is silence for the moment. Even though Pope Francis clearly opposed the criminalization of homosexuality last January, declaring that it “is neither good nor just.” The diplomatic services of Cardinal Pietro Parolin want to avoid a diplomatic muddle.
The President has approved the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023, which is the law voted on in parliament on March 21.