OWEYEGHA-AFUNADUULA: Homosexuality As a Political Tool In Uganda

By Oweyegha-Afunaduula

Recently the British Government sanctioned certain politicians, including the Speaker of the Parliament, Anita Among, for corruption. However, the Speaker, and many NRM government functionaries interpreted the British government action as a retribution because Uganda enacted a law against Homosexuality.

The Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda was determined to ensure the law, called Anti-homosexuality law 2023 was in place, to constrain the spread of what in Uganda is regarded as a taboo in many of the country’s cultures.

Indeed, in May 2023 the Anti-Homosexuality Bill was passed into law and subsequently assented to by the President. However, it has generated a lot of debate nationally and globally, with some quarters convinced it was draconian (e.g., Diana Peel, 2023).

The Ant-homosexuality Law 2023 was not the first attempt by government to resist homosexually in Uganda.  There was the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009, which proposed penalties (including death, extradition and life imprisonment). This was amended and then passed as the Anti-Homosexuality Act (2014).

Homosexuals, however, interpreted this as a means that government sought to use to institutionalize State-inspired homophobia against them through legislation. Scholars at Makerere University, such as Sylvia Tamale and Stella Nyanzi combined forces with some public figures such as Andrew Mwenda, Nicholas Opio and Andrew Karamagi, to remove this law from the country’s chain of laws.

They cast that law as an affront against the international LGBTQ movement and thus an instrument of human rights abuse. Indeed, the international LGBTQ) was solidly behind the academics and public figures that chose to take government to court so that the law could be rescinded.

They succeeded in convincing the court to judge in their favour and the Ant-homosexuality 2014 was rendered dysfunctional. In effect they used the Anti-homosexuality Law 2023 as a political tool in favour of securing the rights or wrongs of homosexuals in Uganda and succeeded for a until 2022 when Hon. Basalirwa came up with another Anti-homosexuality 2022, which was debated in Parliament with a lot of enthusiasm and passed into law as Anti-homosexuality Law 2023, by the President of Uganda, Tibuhaburwa Museveni assenting to the Bill.

Some school of thought argued that NRM government was legally fueling anti LGBTIQ to as a political tool to stay in power. This was clearly articulated by Godiva Akullo and Rosebell Kagumire in their article. However, according to Government, the Anti-homosexuality Law was both a legal and sociopolitical tool to protect Ugandans, especially the young generation, very vulnerable to the vice, which is today like a new religion or faith in the West. .

It should be noted that Government did not focus on LGBTQ but homosexuality. Those fighting to dislodge government of Uganda from its now politically entrenched stance against homosexuality have hidden homosexuality under LGBTQ. Indeed, the West, where homosexuality has been legalised, have used their political and economic weigh to coerce the government of Uganda to relent.

According to Hudu Hussein (2024), in his article “Homosexuality is an imperial cultural colonialism too” published in the Daily Monitor of 17 March 2023, the West is pushing its homosexuality agenda behind the veil of human rights (1) to strip us from our norms, values and identity in a bid to create one culture for the entire human race in order to penetrate and control our society more effectively; and (2) to control the growth of the African population, which can be a threat to the West if empowered.

They are raising homosexually, an ancient vice which was punished by God by using death as the weapon. They have also turned it into both a political and economic weapon to make nations in general and Uganda in particular succumb to the sinister plot against humanity.

In the spirit of globalization, they are using the sterile culture of money as a tool to woo the poor and vulnerable into accepting and practicing the vice. With the young people it has been easy: use money to provide services such as schools and health centres as well as facilities there in to access and recruit them into the now worldwide movement against God and nature. This way, they are selecting the sexuality of the young on their behalf.

Kristol Titeca (2024) reports that the Anti-homosexuality Law is widely popular when he writes, A 2022 Afrobarometer survey confirms these finding, showing how 94% would ‘somewhat dislike’ or ‘strongly dislike’ having a homosexual neighbor. A 2015 survey showed how 94% would “report relatives – including their siblings and children – as well as close friends and co-workers to the police if they discovered that they were in same-sex relationships”.

Among 37 African countries surveyed in 2021/2022, Uganda ranks last in acceptance of sexual difference. In these circumstances, foreign anti-gay influence finds fertile ground. One activist summarized this as: “At this point, not much pushing is needed. Ugandans are very homophobic; the seeds were already planted; not much water is needed.”

Phillip Matogo (2023), in his “The Anti-gay Law will extend NRM rule asserts that President Tibuhaburwa will use it to extent his rule; that he is already galvanizing it as a political tool. Actually, the political strategy is to cast Ssentamu Kyagulanyi’s National Unity Platform (NUP) as a pro-gay party working with foreigners to enforce homosexuality in Uganda.

This is being linked to the latter’s support of the economic and political stance of the West to restrict visas to certain individuals in the army and government and using aid as a political tool against Uganda.

Uganda is still heavily dependent on foreign aid and this is being politically and economically being exploited to coerce the country to rescind its Anti-homosexuality law. But many years ago I wrote an article in the Daily Monitor “Foreign Aid: Who is Aiding Who?” and concluded that Africa aids the West more than the West aids Africa.

On 19th October, 2023 Nile Post published my article “How can Uganda liberate herself from Aid Dependency? I suggest ways of government going about freeing Uganda from aid dependency. Goven the current politicly use by the West of aid to coerce Uganda into accepting homosexuality as a new religion or faith, government cannot afford to postpone rethinking aid altogether.

There is no doubt that homosexuality is a highly politically sensitive matter both nationally and globally, and will determine the pace at which Uganda experiences development, transformation and progress. The most likely thing is that internally the NRM government will use it to stifle Opposition, especially the biggest party, NUP, which it is strategically politically linking to the vice for political gain.

The West will continue to cast homosexuality as a human rights issue politically and translate this stance into a financial and economic matter as well: no money no economic support unless Uganda government rescinds the Ant-homosexuality Law 2023, which collectively the West regards as an affront against the human rights of a minority group

Unlike in the case of the Anti-Homosexuality Law 2014 when the Uganda Constitutional Court ruled that it violated human rights, in the case of the Anti-homosexuality Law 2023, it on April 3 2024 ruled to uphold the law. However, institutions such as Human Rights Watch were not happy.

They argue that the Law has abusive and radical provisions, entrenches discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and queer (LGBTQ and makes them prone to further violence. In other words, the constitutional court upheld most of the provisions of the Ant-homosexuality Law 2023, including the depth penalty.

A Human Right Watch researcher, Larissa Kojoue,  reasoned that the Constitutional Court came down on the side of hate, violence, and discrimination instead of standing up for fundamental human rights for all.

She said, “In defiance of international law, the judges ruled that the act does not violate fundamental rights to equality and non-discrimination, privacy, freedom of expression, or the right to work for LGBT people. She predicted that “The ruling will have a detrimental impact on all Ugandans, including LGBT people, families, and communities who continue to suffer the stigma that the Anti-Homosexuality Act enshrined into law.”

Human rights have clearly been cast as a political weapon to be used in Uganda and globally by those who regard homosexuality as a human right. All indication so far are that the Executive, Legislative and judicial arms of government are united politically against homosexuality.

Whether NRM government uses it as a political weapon to perpetuate itself in power, it has sided with the people of Uganda against the vice of homosexuality. The costs are clear: global political alienation and economic stifling of by the homosexual rich West withdrawing aid. But aid benefits the West more than it benefits Uganda. If anything it is a few people in government benefitting from aid.

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