Comments on: Uganda Watch: Anti-Gay Bill Next to be Considered by Parliament (UPDATED)

By: ken

ken — Wed, 30 May 2018 19:03:02 +0000

Seems like they are playing a shell game with the bill. Perhaps hoping to catch people off guard when it comes up. Or perhaps using it as a decoy to cover something else they want to bring up.

By: Richard Willmer

Richard Willmer — Wed, 30 May 2018 17:28:33 +0000

Looks like there will now be a recess until Easter Tuesday (02-04-2013): http://www.parliament.go.ug/new/index.php/about-parliament/parliamentary-news/174-parliament-goes-on-recess
Also looks like Kadaga is keen to get the M&D Bill through (she seems to be claiming it is not a new law, but a ‘remix’ of existing measures). Many churches are not keen on the M&DB.

By: Richard Willmer

Richard Willmer — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 18:23:56 +0000

By: Richard Willmer

Richard Willmer — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 01:19:35 +0000

Good to see this matter being debated seriously in the country that gave ‘official’ homophobia to Uganda: http://oblogdeeoblogda.me/2013/03/14/house-of-lords-calls-for-decriminalization-of-homosexuality-in-commonwealth-because-of-higher-hiv-rates/
(The British laws have been made worse by the M7 regime: women were criminalized in 2000, and life imprisonment for consensual relations introduced in 2005. HIV infection rates [the effect on actual numbers of sick people being compounded by this being a rising percentage being of a fast growing population] have moved up sharply in the past few years … with bahatism threatening to drive them higher still.)

By: Richard Willmer

Richard Willmer — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 21:19:35 +0000

By: Richard Willmer

Richard Willmer — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:55:18 +0000

There are ‘struggles’ behind the scenes, from what I hear. We know that a group of opposition MPs don’t want the Bill (on principle?), and there are those in the government who feel the same way (on more ‘pragmatic’ grounds?). Kadaga perhaps does want it in order to ‘save face’ and to get ‘one up’ on her intra-party opponents. Bahati seems rather quiet these days – maybe now he’s just a pawn in bigger people’s games? And so are many ordinary Ugandan citizens, of course.
(I lean towards to ‘cock-up’ rather than ‘conspiracy’, and suspect that sensible UG politicos see the situation in much the same light. Let’s hope they prevail.)

By: ken

ken — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:38:00 +0000

Seems like they are playing a shell game with the bill. Perhaps hoping to catch people off guard when it comes up. Or perhaps using it as a decoy to cover something else they want to bring up.

By: Richard Willmer

Richard Willmer — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:13:57 +0000

There’s plenty going on behind the scenes, one hears, and the two bills currently in Second / Third Reading (Marriage & Divorce; Public Order Management) are both highly contentious. My guess is that the ‘Hang-the-Gays’ Bill (as it still very much is, let us remember) will continue to languish in various positions under “Notice of Business ..” for a while yet.

By: Richard Willmer

Richard Willmer — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:55:18 +0000

By: Richard Willmer

Richard Willmer — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:13:57 +0000