It’s a bit tongue in cheek in places but the general thrust is as serious as a heart attack. This bill needs to be passed so that we deal with that result rather than all the mischief and idle speculation from friends and detractors.

* If Ugandans are wondering why there are no armed police around when they are actually needed, they perhaps should wonder no longer!

For some (eg Bahati) the Bill is a ‘matter of belief’; for others it is a tool in the power games; for others it is, as Lynn suggests, a convenient diversion from corruption. For Uganda as a whole, it could be an unmitigated disaster, and its ‘now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t’ stuff a symptom of the increasingly delicate political situation in that country.

We have been expecting anther ‘push’ on the Bill around now. The Ogwal resolution discarded by the Pan African Parliament was possibly the ‘opener’ this time round. (The notion that this ‘push’ has something to do with Baird upbraiding Kadaga is just another canard.)

I’ve seen recently that the Irish government is withholding aid after fraud was found which channeled funds into the account of the Ugandan Prime Minister that was meant for rebuilding in the north after the fight with Kony. And Janet Museveni has had to refute allegations that she participated in the multi-billion shilling theft scandal at the Office of the Prime Minister. No doubt bringing up the AHB might be a way of shifting focus away from the fraud by scapegoating gays once again.

1. what happens to individual gay Ugandans – of course;

2. what happens to those who choose to exercise their freedom of speech and conscience with regard regard to their fellow citizens;

3. the precedent set by the passing of laws that attack freedom of speech and conscience;

4. the promotion of suspicion and violence in Ugandan society at a time when the overall political situation is becoming ‘delicate’;

5. the diversion of attention and resources away from those things that ordinary Ugandans need for their well being;

6. the damage to Uganda’s reputation and the resultant loss of good will on the part many in ‘the West’.

All of these matters are important to Uganda, as all the Ugandans I speak to here in London will tell you. I even know Ugandans who are becoming reluctant to admit they are Ugandans (one now tells people that he is Rwandan, because he finds the reception ‘better’) because they are very embarrassed by what is going on.

My message to Ugandan MPs like ‘Maazi NCO’ (who seems to have gone rather quite these past few days) is this: “be very careful what you wish for!”

(Of course, there is a small chance, given what is undoubtedly happening ‘behind the scenes’ in Kampala, that the Bill could be voted upon and defeated.)

1. what happens to individual gay Ugandans – of course;

2. what happens to those who choose to exercise their freedom of speech and conscience with regard regard to their fellow citizens;

3. the precedent set by the passing of laws that attack freedom of speech and conscience;

4. the promotion of suspicion and violence in Ugandan society at a time when the overall political situation is becoming ‘delicate’;

5. the diversion of attention and resources away from those things that ordinary Ugandans need for their well being;

6. the damage to Uganda’s reputation and the resultant loss of good will on the part many in ‘the West’.

All of these matters are important to Uganda, as all the Ugandans I speak to here in London will tell you. I even know Ugandans who are becoming reluctant to admit they are Ugandans (one now tells people that he is Rwandan, because he finds the reception ‘better’) because they are very embarrassed by what is going on.

My message to Ugandan MPs like ‘Maazi NCO’ (who seems to have gone rather quite these past few days) is this: “be very careful what you wish for!”

(Of course, there is a small chance, given what is undoubtedly happening ‘behind the scenes’ in Kampala, that the Bill could be voted upon and defeated.)