Parliament kicks off public probe into anti-gay bill

Parliament ’s legal Affairs Committee started hearing views from the different stakeholders about the Anti -Homosexuality bill, 2023.

The exponent of the bill Mr Asuman Basalirwa who was the first to interface with the committee said the act was against the order of nature and that if no punitive action is taken against the proponents the victims will continue to suffer.

He further said married people who engage in anal or oral penetrative sex should be punished under the new law.

…..I have had an opportunity to speak to some counselors and they have said of incidences where a man is married to a woman and instead of using the normal address ,is using the wrong address ,” Asuman said.

He also defended the lighter sentences proposed in the bill saying they were deliberately deflating the international opposition.

He later on said the committee of parliament  needs to review the sentence to make it more deterrent for the culprits of homosexuality.

“ so chair , i propose that the sentence be increased to life imprisonment as it in the penal code,” he said.
The Budama West Mp Mr Fox Odoi called the law obnoxious. He argued that there are already legal provisions as stated in the constitution and penal Code of Act which prohibit same sex marriage hence no need for additional legislation.

Further more, he added that there is a basis for stopping a married man from having anal sex with his wife.

“When you are talking about protecting the women in marriage,are you only talking about protecting the anus of the women or are you talking about all the other things I have talked about?” He added that there is no statistics to indicate that homosexuality is on the rise instead the police statistics should indicate the biggest problem is defilement.