Uganda – extraditions and death for HIV+ sex
posted: 30/11/2009
Life imprisonment is the minimum punishment for anyone convicted of having gay sex, under an anti-homosexuality bill now before Uganda's parliament.
If the accused person has HIV, is a serial offender, a "person of authority" over the other partner, or if the "victim" is under 18, a conviction will result in the death penalty. Uganda would seek the extradition of its citizens with HIV and others charged under this law from the UK and other countries.
Ugandans with HIV in UK face extradition
Members of the public are obliged to report any homosexuals to police with 24 hours or risk up to three years in jail – a scenario that human rights campaigners say will result in a witch-hunt. Ugandans breaking the new law abroad will be subject to extradition requests. This means a Ugandan living with HIV in the UK could be extradited for having sex with his same sex partner. George House Trust thinks UK courts are likely to reject these extradition requests on Human Rights grounds.
Human rights groups within and outside Uganda have condemned the proposed legislation, which is designed to strengthen colonial-era laws that already criminalise gay sex. Stephen Lewis, a former UN envoy on Aids in Africa, said the law "makes a mockery of Commonwealth principles" and has "a taste of fascism" about it.
US funded evangelism behind law
But within Uganda deeply-rooted homophobia, aided by a US-linked evangelical campaign falsely alleging that gay men are trying to "recruit" schoolchildren, and that homosexuality is a habit that can be "cured", has ensured widespread public support for the bill.
President Yoweri Museveni appeared to add his backing earlier this month, warning youths in Kampala that he had heard that "European homosexuals are recruiting in Africa", and saying gay relationships were against God's will.
Human Rights, treaties, international aid – we don’t care
In a interview with the Guardian, James Nsaba Buturo, the minister of state for ethics and integrity, said the government was determined to pass the legislation, ideally before the end of 2009, even if meant withdrawing from international treaties and conventions such as the UN's Universal Declaration on Human Rights, and foregoing donor funding.
Homosexuality has always been a taboo subject in Uganda, and is considered by many to be an affront both to local culture and religion. This negative stigma and the real threat of job loss and worse harassment means that no public personality has ever "come out".
Gay men ignored by HIV prevention
Even local HIV campaigns – heavily influenced by the evangelical church with a bias towards abstinence over condom use – have deliberately avoided targeting gay men for both prevention and access to treatment. "This means many gay men here think AIDS is a non-issue, which is so dangerous," said Frank Mugisha, who together with a few colleagues, has risked arrest by agitating in recent years for a change in the HIV policy. Mugisha, 25, is chairman of Sexual Minorities Uganda, a coalition of local lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex groups that will all be banned under the law.
US anti-gay evangelism
Both opponents and supporters agree that the impetus for the bill came in March during a seminar in Kampala to "expose the truth behind homosexuality and the homosexual agenda".
The main speakers were three US evangelists: Scott Lively, Don Schmierer and Caleb Lee Brundidge. Lively is a noted anti-gay activist and president of Defend the Family International, a conservative Christian association, while Schmierer is an author who works with "homosexual recovery groups". Brundidge is a "sexual reorientation coach" at the International Healing Foundation.
Pastor wires up schools myth
The seminar was organised by Stephen Langa, a Ugandan electrician turned pastor who runs the Family Life Network in Kampala and has been spreading the message that gays are targeting schoolchildren for "conversion". "They give money to children to recruit schoolmates – once you have two children, the whole school is gone," he said in an interview.
Asked if there had been any court case to prove this was happening, he replied: "No, that's why this law is needed."
After the conference Langa arranged for a petition signed by thousands of concerned parents to be delivered to parliament in April. Within a few months the bill had been drawn up.
Lonely church opposition
Christopher Senyonjo, a retired Anglican bishop, said the bill would push Uganda towards being a police state. "This law is being influenced by some evangelicals abroad," he said. "There's a lack of understanding about homosexuality – it's not recruitment, it's orientation." But among religious leaders of all faiths his is a rare voice. "As one parent told him: 'We would rather live in grass huts with our morality than in skyscrapers among homosexuals'."
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