Jeema rallies MPs to pass Anti-Homosexuality Bill
Justice Forum spokesperson Ssentongo Kyamundu (left) and other party leaders at a press conference in Kampala on March 13, 2023. Photo/ABUBAKER LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- The Basalirwa prepared Bill is seen as replacement of minister David Bahati-sponsored anti-gay law that was quashed by court in 2014 on grounds that it was enacted without quorum
Justice Forum (Jeema) party leaders have cautioned Members of Parliament (MPs) against absenting themselves from discussions on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023.
Parliament’s Legal Committee is currently scrutinising the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which was last week tabled before the House by Bugiri Municipality Member of Parliament Asuman Basalirwa.
It seeks to criminalise homosexuality as well as its promotion and financing.
Jeema leaders, while addressing the journalists at the party headquarters in Kampala yesterday, urged legislators to attend Parliament in big numbers to ensure that there is quorum to pass the Bill.
Mr Mohammed Kateregga, Jeema’s secretary general, stressed that homosexuality is a danger to the country, calling upon all stakeholders to rally behind the legislators to ensure that the vice is stopped through prohibitive and punitive legislations.
“We recall that a few years back, the Constitutional Court nullified a similar Bill, because of lack of quorum at the time when it was passed. We, therefore, urge Members of Parliament not to absentee themselves this time round” Mr Kateregga said.
He added: “Our MPs should close all the loopholes which failed the previous law, if similar unfortunate circumstances happen in the passing of the new Bill, homosexuals will still challenge it as they did with the Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2014.”
The Basalirwa prepared Bill is seen as replacement of minister David Bahati-sponsored anti-gay law that was quashed by court in 2014 on grounds that it was enacted without quorum. However, the overall penalties in the new Bill are comparably considered to be lesser than those specified in the 2014 nullified law.
Despite the Bill being prepared by the Jeema president, leaders in the same party insist that the penalties stipulated in the Bill are not sufficient if the country is serious about ending the disastrous vice, which is likely to end the future of the country. “We feel that 10 and two years imprisonment for those directly or indirectly engaging into homosexuality is not enough. When we go to Parliament to submit on the matter, we shall be able to justify why the culprits need life imprisonment,” Mr Kateregga said.
The spokesperson for Jeema, Mr Ssentongo Kyamundu, urged members of the public to impress it upon their respective Members of Parliament that it is their patriotic duty to ensure that this Bill is passed.
LOOKING BACK
Last week, Speaker of Parliament Anita Among vowed: “As Parliament of Uganda, we are going to pass this (Anti-homosexuality) Bill. At whatever cost, we will pass it, we are going to protect the morals [and] the values of Ugandans.”
