The Ugandan Parliament has passed an anti-gay law. Accordingly, people who carry out homosexual acts in the East African country or do not report attempts at homosexual acts face between seven and ten years in prison or high fines. As the law was passed, parliamentarians kept shouting homophobic comments. One of the deputies called for the castration of homosexuals.
Human Rights Watch previously criticized the law. “The potential ramifications are far-reaching,” said Oryem Nyeko, Uganda researcher at Human Rights Watch. Aside from restricting fundamental rights to privacy, freedom of expression and freedom of association, this type of criminalization of people creates a climate of fear and encourages discrimination. In 2014, the Ugandan parliament passed a similar law that would have provided for life imprisonment for convicted homosexuals. However, the Constitutional Court overturned the law due to procedural details.
In other East African countries, too, the climate for gays and lesbians has recently worsened. A leading politician from the Tanzanian ruling party called for the castration of homosexual people at the weekend. Kenya’s President William Ruto said in early March that homosexuality had no place in his country.
