MPs, religious leaders hit back at Museveni on anti-gay law

KAMPALA: A cross section of religious leaders and Members of Parliament have accused President Museveni of aiming to “buy time” and capitulating to pressure from donors by effectively refusing to sign the law outlawing homosexual acts in the country.

They said the legislation has been in place for five years--long enough for the President to study it and make submissions as “he deems fit” so he should stop “fooling the country.”

The MPs, Theodore Ssekibubo (Lwemiyaga County), said the Bill was deliberated several times during NRM caucus meetings and in party retreats at Kyankwanzi, but the President never raises any objection.

“What was he thinking all along?” Mr Ssekikubo remarked, “It’s his lack of decisiveness that prompted Parliament to pass the Bill because; we couldn’t sit there and look on as morals are increasingly breaking down.”

The legislation which currently awaits the President’ signature to come into full practice was passed last week on Friday by Parliament, and it provides for a sentence of life imprisonment for anyone convicted of homosexuality-gays and lesbians.

A proposal to put the punishment to 14 years in jail was rejected by the House.

But, the, President was quoted in a statement from State House on Christmas day saying he will first go through the specifics and if he finds that “it is not right” he would send it back to the Parliament.

 “They (MPs) never consulted me (on the laws). I had told them to wait because I have a lot of work, but they rushed and have passed them.”

Kalungu County West MP, Gonzaga Ssewungu, said Mr Museveni is going astray because “there is no law in this country that justifies a Private Members Bill to first go to him for consultation.”

“He should stop fooling us. The Bill was first of all moved by the NRM deputy Chief Whip (David Bahati) and in all these retreats the President should have begged him not to bring it up for debate,” Mr Ssewungu noted, “We passed it and now he is wasting our time again. If he supports homosexuality let him declare openly but for the sake of our children it should only be practiced in his home area-Rwakitura.”

In a telephone conversation with Saturday Monitor, the Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC) executive secretary, Rev. Dr Silvester Arinaitwe, also voiced concerns about the widespread “sodomy in society” the law seeks to address.

“As religious leaders we were consulted in 2009 when it first came up and we advised to drop the clause on death penalty and life imprisonment and since then have not been engaged again. But if these clauses were dropped or revised that I don’t see any other reason for not signing the law,” Dr Arinaitwe added.

The European Union, United States government and several global personalities, have all since condemned Uganda for approving the law which they said is against tenets of human rights---notably “nondiscrimination” as enshrined in international covenants on Civil and Political rights.

Ms Alice Alaso, the Serere Woman MP, accused the President of simply “being diversionary and a sign bowing to pressure from donors to let moral values in the country drop to zero.”

Pastor Martin Ssempa of Makerere Community Church and a renowned anti-homosexuality activist, said, “If the President did not ask for time to consider the Public Order Management Law which equally infringes on human rights why should he need time to sign this one.”

“Personally I think he is trying to deflect hostilities and pressure from donors, but we all critics are under attack from these people but cannot back down in the struggle to uphold morals, and specifically to fight for our children sodomised every day.”

Other Mps, Robinah Nabanja, (Kibaale, Woman) and Katoto Hatwib (Katerera County), who supported the Bill said, despite belonging to the ruling party they will not support the President on failing to sign the law.

Side bar

If the President refuses to assent to any Bill into law and is returned to Parliament for at least three times, Article 91 of the constitution empowers the Speaker to automatically cause the Bill into law if supported by two-thirds of MPs.