Ugandan government not backing anti-gay bill, minister says

Feb 10, 2012, 9:56 GMT

Kampala - The Ugandan government will not support a draconian anti-gay bill introduced by a member of parliament, but it cannot stop anyone from proposing such laws, the information minister said on Friday.

'This bill is a private member's bill (over) which we have no control. The government is not interested in this bill and we threw it out of the cabinet long back,' Information Minister Mary Karooro Okurut told dpa by telephone.

'This is a free country. There is freedom of expression, speech and opinion and we cannot stop someone from expressing (himself),' the minister added.

The anti-homosexuality bill was first introduced by legislator David Bahati in 2009. The proposed law was not debated in the last parliament, but Bahati has re-introduced it in the newly opened session of the legislative body.

The original draft spelled out tough sentences, including the death penalty, for so-called incidents of 'aggravated homosexuality' - when one of the participants is a minor, disabled or is infected with HIV.

The proposal also include sentences ranging from three to 10 years for offences such as sheltering or renting out premises to gays or failing to report homosexual activities.

The bill received widespread criticism, including from US President Barack Obama.

The international outcry heightened in January 2011 when leading gay activist David Kato was murdered. His name was among 100 people people mentioned by a local Ugandan tabloid, Rolling Stone, in an article accusing them of being homosexuals and calling for their death.

The Ugandan government, facing threats from foreign donor governments to withdraw aid, announced late last year that it would not support the bill as submitted in 2009, saying the country's existing laws prohibiting homosexual acts were sufficient.