Uganda plans new anti-LGBTQ law

President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. Photo credit: Courtesy

Uganda’s National Assembly Speaker has announced that the country will propose a new anti-gay bill on Wednesday.

Mr. Annet Anita Among’s announcement comes against a backdrop of rampant social media  allegations of conspiracy theories accusing shadowy international forces of “promoting homosexuality”.

According to AFP, Among said at a prayer meeting on Tuesday that “tomorrow we are going to bring a bill for anti-homosexuality”.

Among also posted a video clip of the meeting on her Twitter account, writing: “We shall jealously protect our cherished values and culture.”

Western governments and aid agencies working in Uganda are routinely accused of “promoting homosexuality” in the East African nation, and have repeatedly defended the LGBTQ community from attacks related to their identity.

AFP reports that in recent weeks, online conspiracy theories conflating child sexual abuse at boarding schools with consensual same-sex acts between adults have reached fever pitch.

Uganda’s government last month set up a committee to investigate the alleged “promotion” of gay, lesbian and transgender rights in schools.

In 2014, a Ugandan court struck down a bill passed by MPs and signed by President Yoweri Museveni that sought to impose life imprisonment for homosexual relations.

The bill had prompted global outrage, with some donor nations cutting aid to the country following its passage through parliament.

According to the audio clip heard by AFP, Among said: “We want to appreciate our promoters of homosexuality for the socio-economic development they have brought to the country… but we do not appreciate the morals they are killing.”

“We do not need their money, we need our culture,” she added.

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