Washington Post Reports ‘Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill Almost Dead’
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The Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart has written an intriguing article on the proposed law in Uganda that would criminalize homosexuality, an issue we’ve discussed here on the blog and in conversations with one of the leading international opposers to the bill, British MP Peter Tatchell. A commission created by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has recommended that the legislation be withdrawn. According to Mr. Capehart, “all the international outrage that the horrific bill whipped up is having an effect.”
Ugandan lawmaker Adolf Mwesige led the commission and, according to the New York Times, “said that virtually all clauses in the legislation were either unconstitutional or redundant, and that any other clauses should be placed in another bill dealing generally with sexual offenses.” Mwesige told the paper, “If we proceeded, it would definitely provoke criticism, and rightly so.”
Indeed, international outrage and criticism from human rights groups and objections from major donors like Sweden, prompted the Kampala government to be wary of the bill. In mid-January Museveni issued a statement distancing himself from the bill. He appointed a cabinet committee to review the bill. On May 7, the committee recommended that the bill be withdrawn.
The committee’s report found that the bill has “technical defects in form and content” and that many of the clauses are either unconstitutional or redundant of existing laws. Furthermore, the committee recommends deflecting negative attention away from the bill by changing its title or combining it with Uganda’s existing law, the Sexual Offenses Act.
Only Clause 13 of the anti-gay bill — which addresses the promotion of homosexuality — “was worthy of consideration,” according to the report.
The bill won’t be dead until it is officially dropped or voted down by the Ugandan parliament. This is expected to happen within weeks, Mwesige told the Times.
We certainly agree with Mr. Capehart that “it’s sad and enraging that a bill so hateful, so backward, so wrong came so close to becoming law.”