Speaking to a delegation from the Robert F. Kennedy Center, Uganda’s President Yowari Museveni sounded moderate tones in discussing homosexuality yesterday.
Contrary to numerous reports of discrimination and violence, Museveni said that in Uganda, “there is no discrimination, no killings, no marginalization, no luring of young people using money into homosexual acts”. Perhaps he means there shouldn’t be such actions, but the country’s Parliament needs to put away the Anto-Homosexuality Bill before his words can have any credibility.
Currently, Parliament is on recess to get constituent feedback on the contentious Marriage and Divorce Bill. The Anti-Homosexuality Bill remains at #3 on the list of items to be considered.
Category: uganda
Uganda Watch: Anti-Gay Bill Next to be Considered by Parliament (UPDATED)
The Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009 continues to move up and down the list of items to be considered next by Uganda’s Parliament. Today, it is the third item but the first bill to be considered once current business is completed.
Several bills have leapfrogged over the anti-gay bill in the last several weeks and so the position of the anti-gay bill on any given day is not necessary an indicator of when the bill will come to the floor, if at all. However, Speaker Kadaga continues to keep it on the agenda.
UPDATE: The order paper for today (3/14/13) maintains the same order of business with the anti-gay bill still being third on the list of business to follow the current action on the floor.
Uganda's Anti-Gay Bill Next Up on the Parliament's Agenda (UPDATED)
UPDATE: On today’s (2/20) Order Paper, the AHB has been moved down to 5th on the list of items to be considered next. It is hard to know what to make of the Speaker’s erratic scheduling but it may be an effort to keep observers off guard. In any case, the bill remains on the agenda and may come up at any time Speaker Kadaga wants to move it forward.
According to today’s agenda, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill is the first bill to be considered after today’s business is completed. Since today’s agenda is quite full, I imagine that some of what is planned for today will carry over until tomorrow. Thus, it seems unlikely that the bill will come up tomorrow. If the Speaker’s priorities remain the same, it could come to the floor Thursday or early next week. Here is the line up of business to follow today’s work.
(B) BILLS THIRD READING
MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE BILL, 2009
(Hon. Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs)
- ADJOURNMENT
NOTICE OF BUSINESS TO FOLLOW
- THE ANTI-HOMOSEXUALITY BILL, 2009
- PETITION OF THE PEOPLE OF BULEGENI TOWN COUNCIL IN BULAMBULI DISTRICT
- REPORT OF THE ADHOC COMMITTEE INVESTIGATING THE ELECTRICITY SUB SECTOR
- REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTS ON THE REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL FOR THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE 2009
KAMPALA
19TH FEBRUARY 2013
It appears that the bill will come up for a second and third reading at some point in the next two weeks. Given the opposition of the Executive branch, it may be that some maneuver will take place at the last minute to keep it from a vote. However, it appears that the bill will make it to the floor soon.
Opposition Surfaces as Uganda's Anti-Gay Bill Moves Toward Vote
In recent days, concern about David Bahati’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill has surfaced within Uganda. For instance, Keith Muhakanizi, the deputy secretary to the Treasury, acknowledged recently that the anti-gay bill has hurt Uganda’s economy. According to a news report, Muhakanizi told MPs at Parliament: “I have never seen a country like this where politicians hurt the economy instead of building it.”
One MP, Fox Odoi, a member of Parliament’s committee on Legal Affairs has come out against the bill. According to the report,
Odoi, who has written a minority report bashing the bill, added that if lawmakers ignore his report and pass the bill, they will have set a wrong precedent–that government can enter or legislate what happens in your bedroom.
Odoi’s report can be read here and urges that Parliament scrap the entire bill. While one may debate some of Odoi’s conclusions, she points to child protection proposals that are more in line with what proponents of the anti-gay bill say they want while at the same time pointing out that the anti-gay bill infringes on individual rights and does nothing to protect children.
As opposition surfaces, the anti-gay bill moves closer to a vote. This morning the bill is listed on the agenda as the first bill to be considered after today’s business and three additional reports to Parliament.
NOTICE OF BUSINESS TO FOLLOW
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PETITION OF THE PEOPLE OF BULEGENI TOWN COUNCIL IN BULAMBULI DISTRICT
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REPORT ON THE STATUS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES
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REPORT OF THE ADHOC COMMITTEE INVESTIGATING THE ELECTRICITY SUB SECTOR
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THE ANTI-HOMOSEXUALITY BILL, 2009
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MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE BILL, 2009
-
THE PUBLIC ORDER AND MANAGEMENT BILL, 2011
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REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTS ON THE REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL FOR THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE 2009
Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill is Back
As Melanie Nathan pointed out yesterday, Uganda’s Parliament is back from recess and has the Anti-Homosexuality Bill on their list of business to come. You can see it at number 8 (open Word document) on the list of planned business for this session.
In case you want to read it, here is the bill. Rumors continue that the bill will be modified coming out of committee but no one should believe it until it happens.
If you have some time and want the backstory, read here.