Reviving Anti-gay Bill

On Aug.29, this year, Lokodo was one of the government officials to welcome the results of findings from a genetic-based study of sexuality that showed that there is no “gay-gene.”

“Of course there is no person born gay,” he told The Independent,“Since it has been proven by scientists, we are going to persecute every one of them who is pretending to be normal.”

Lokodo has also been buoyed by individuals like George Oundo, the chairperson of the ex-gay community in Uganda who on May 27 petitioned the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, saying Uganda needed an anti-homosexuality law to help create awareness in Uganda.

“If this Bill is re-tabled, it will help expose the extent of the moral breakdown, especially with the children and the youth. We aim at promoting moral and spiritual values since they are just recruited and not born as gay or lesbians,” Oundo said.

It is difficult to ascertain the true numbers of people who identify as gay in Uganda but some of them The Independent has talked to say they foresee an escalation of violence, discrimination and arbitrary arrests just like in 2014 when the anti-gay law was passed.

On Oct. 15, Human Rights Watch asked the Ugandan government to investigate the fatal attack that saw a 28 year old man, Brian Wasswa, a known activist for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people in Uganda die following a brutal attack in his house in Jinja.

The incident which Human Rights Watch says happened on Oct. 04 in Jinja town, eastern Uganda, came just days before Minister Lokodo said the government intends to re-introduce the anti-homosexuality bill.

Wasswa had worked since 2017 as a paralegal trained by Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF), a legal aid organisation that supports vulnerable communities, including LGBTQ people.

He was also working as a peer educator with The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO), a Ugandan non-governmental organisation dedicated to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, and care, where he conducted HIV outreach to LGBTQ people.

Frank Mugisha, the executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda told The Independent on Oct. 18 that Wasswa was a well-known person in Jinja. Mugisha said Wasswa settled in Jinja from Lugazi in neighbouring Buikwe District after his parents disowned him when he disclosed his sexual orientation at the age of 17.

“We highly suspect that he was killed for his gay-activism because he was killed inside his home and no other property was taken besides his phone,” Mugisha said,  “He did not owe anyone money and he was a quiet man who avoided wrangles in his neighbourhood.”

Oryem Nyeko, a Human Rights Watch Africa researcher, said the Uganda government should make it “crystal clear that violence is never acceptable, regardless of one’s sexual orientation or gender identity.”

“It is incumbent on the Ugandan authorities to deliver justice for the murder of Brian Wasswa,” Nyeko said. “Police should conduct thorough investigations, and political leaders should refrain from any rhetoric that might encourage violence against LGBTQ people.”

Amnesty International’s Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes, Joan Nyanyuki, has also responded to Lokodo’s announcement saying: “It’s outrageous that instead of the Ugandan government taking urgent steps to decriminalize gay sex, they want gay people executed.

“This is going to fire up more hatred in an already homophobic environment. This is an example of how Uganda’s politicians are stoking dangerous intolerance and bias against LGBTQ people.”

“Uganda’s MPs must resoundingly reject any plan to legalize this kind of bigotry and witch-hunting of anyone who is perceived as being different.”