Speaker Among Received Threats before Passing Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

The Speaker of Parliament Hon. Anita Among, has disclosed that she received a high volume of threats before the House approved the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023.

The Bill, which was passed on Tuesday, includes severe punishments such as death for aggravated homosexuality and up to 20 years in prison for various homosexual acts, as well as promoting homosexuality, child grooming, and the promotion of homosexuality

During a special service prayer held at Parliament on Thursday morning to remember her predecessor, the late Jacob Oulanyah, Anita Among disclosed that she had to turn off her mobile phones for several hours before presiding over the plenary session that approved the contentious Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023.

This decision was made in response to the high volume of threats she received, which were related to the passing of the Bill. The Bill has elicited varied reactions from different stakeholders.

"For your information I got a lot of threats. I was intimidated. We are going to lose out drugs of AIDs; aid is going to be cut off. Tourism, trade, export [is going to be cut] I said so what?" the Bukedea Woman MP said.

She added: "I got a lot of calls; I was forced to switch off my phones. I said let me finish this session. I want to thank the legal brains [in the House like] Hon [Medard] Ssegona; you did a great job. I want to promise the Ugandans, MPs that once we are united, nobody will separate us."

Despite receiving a large number of threats related to the passing of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023, Among emphasized that these threats would not deter Parliament from its responsibility to protect the moral values of Ugandans.

"Whatever we did, the legislation on the Anti-Homosexuality that we passed was basically showing people that we are a people-centered Parliament. We do it for the majority of the people; we are not working for the few people," Ms. Among added before echoing her vows: "We will work for the people. We will work for humanity. We are people's servants; we are here to serve the people of Uganda wherever they are..."

Following the passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023 by Parliament, lawmakers and supporters celebrated the decision while condemnation of the law flooded in from the global community, including key partners like the UN and the United States. The law has been widely criticized as discriminatory and a step backwards. In a statement, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Volker Turk, urged President Museveni to refrain from signing the Bill into law.

While the legislators and proponents celebrated the passing of the Bill which now awaits President Museveni to sign, messages of condemnation started pouring in from the global community, including key partners such as the UN and the United States, terming the law as discriminatory and regressive. In a statement, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr Volker Turk, asked Mr. Museveni to abstain from assenting to the Bill.

“The passing of this discriminatory Bill - probably among the worst of its kind in the world –- is a deeply troubling development,” he said in a statement. If signed into law by the President, it will render lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Uganda criminals simply for existing, for being who they are. It could provide carte blanche for the systematic violation of nearly all of their human rights and serve to incite people against each other,” he said. 
Similar sentiments were echoed by the US Secretary of State, Mr. Anthony Blinken.

“The Anti-Homosexuality Act passed by the Ugandan Parliament yesterday would undermine fundamental human rights of all Ugandans and could reverse gains in the fight against HIV/Aids. We urge the Ugandan government to strongly reconsider the implementation of this legislation,” Mr. Blinken tweeted. 

The global community's negative reactions to the Bill are reminiscent of the aftermath of the passing of a similar law in 2014.

At that time, donors, including the US government, imposed sanctions on Uganda for enacting laws that went against universal human rights. As a result, individuals like the current State Minister for Trade, David Bahati, who sponsored the Bill, were barred from entering the US. These sanctions also affected funding for donor-reliant health and security initiatives. Other African countries, such as Ghana, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, among others, have also banned homosexuality.