Same-sex partnerships are already punishable by death in Mauritania, Somalia and northern Nigeria, according to ILGA, an advocacy group that defends gay, bisexual, transgender and interracial people. In Uganda, life imprisonment was previously possible for this, but this week parliament passed a stricter anti-gay law.
The death penalty was not included in an earlier version of the law, but it was included in Tuesday’s discussion. In the future there will also be penalties for identifying as LGBTQ – up to ten years in prison – and for “promoting” or “inciting” homosexuality. This means that people who rent apartments to homosexuals can also go to prison.
Portal/Abubaker Lubowa Uganda’s parliament is discussing tougher anti-gay laws
The heated atmosphere was also noticeable in the parliamentary debate. A member of parliament demanded: “Homosexuals must be castrated.” Translated, this can mean either sterilizing or castrating homosexuals. Anti-gay sentiment is pervasive in everyday life. LGBTQ staff have also reported instances in the past of gay men being denied AIDS medication in hospitals, amid fears that staff would be accused of supporting gay men.
Law one of the “worst of its kind”
UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk described the law as one of the “worst of its kind in the world”. The US government has also expressed concern that the law would undermine universal human rights, jeopardize progress in the fight against HIV and tarnish Uganda’s international reputation. If the law goes into effect, the US will consider economic sanctions against Uganda, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
The European Union was also deeply concerned. “The EU rejects the death penalty in all circumstances,” said a spokesman for foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. Austria’s foreign ministry urged Uganda’s longtime president, Yoweri Museveni, not to sign the bill.
The law will take effect when signed by Museveni. This is considered likely. “Homosexuals are a deviation from the norm,” he recently expressed his anti-gay stance.
Roots in the colonial era
Uganda is not alone in its crackdown on homosexuals. In Tanzania and Zambia, homosexuality is punishable by life imprisonment, in The Gambia, Kenya and Malawi up to 14 years imprisonment. Many of the homophobic laws in African states have their roots in colonial times and helped solidify anti-homosexual sentiment.
Even as society’s rejection of homosexuality is easing slightly, politicians such as Kenya’s President William Ruto receive wide approval when they insist on stopping same-sex marriage as it contradicts the country’s culture and religious beliefs.
Incumbent governments in many states are open to further toughening anti-LGBTQ legislation and have criticized the West for promoting homosexuality and exporting a “culturally alien lifestyle”. Politicians “try to present themselves as moral people at the expense of the queer population,” Annette Atieno, a spokeswoman for Kenya’s National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, told the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (“NZZ”).
setbacks in Ghana
A law is also being discussed in Ghana that would drastically restrict the rights of LGBTQ people. Same-sex sexual activity is already illegal and now, as in Uganda, publicly identifying as LGBTQ is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Criminal sanctions are also planned for defending LGBTQ rights and making statements about them online, reports the NGO Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which campaigns for fundamental rights. According to the EFF, social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter face sanctions if they fail to restrict LGBTQ content.
For Ghana, this tightening spells a step backwards, as a certain tolerance towards LGBTQ people has developed in the country, especially in cities. In 2021, an LGBTQ support center was also inaugurated with the presence of international diplomats. However, the resistance from politics and the church and on social media was enormous. Within weeks, the center was closed again, CNN reported. Shortly thereafter, plans emerged for stricter anti-LGBTQ laws, which have since taken shape and have been heavily criticized by activists.
Pro-LGBTQ ruling in Kenya
There was also a strong homophobic backlash, fueled by outrage on social media, in Kenya recently following a court ruling in favor of registering a non-governmental organization that campaigns for LGBTQ rights. The decision has led to increased calls from politicians, religious leaders and extremists to target and kill LGBTQ people, warned Amnesty International Kenya. A real campaign against LGBTQ people developed out of resistance to the verdict.
IMAGO/ZUMA Wire/James Wakibia Also in Kenya there is a strong homophobic attitude in politics and society
Politics and the church discuss Kenya’s values. “Homosexuality, lesbianism and same-sex partnerships are unnatural, wrong, evil and inherently immoral,” said Martin Musonde, president of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops. The Thomson Portal Foundation reported that calls for tougher legislation are getting louder – and not just in Kenya. In Tanzania, for example, a representative of the ruling party recently called for the castration of homosexuals.
Rise of the Evangelicals
Evangelical groups, especially in the US, have played a significant role in the homophobic climate in many African countries and the resulting stricter laws. They have been taking their fight against homosexuality to Africa for several years now, targeting not just church representatives but politicians as well.
At events, American Christian fundamentalists have given talks on the threat to traditional values in Africa by homosexuality. Furthermore, many evangelicals carry the theory – scientifically refuted – that changing people’s homosexual orientation is possible and should be encouraged.
“Export of a Movement and Ideology” from the US
“Foreign Policy” concludes that this is the US’ “export of a movement and ideology” that is polarizing African countries and harming and endangering LGBTQ people. In the mass media, stories of people claiming to have been “lured” and “recruited” into homosexuality have circulated several times. The ground for this has been laid for a long time.
As early as the 2000s, Scott Lively, who is well known in US evangelical circles, appeared at several anti-homosexual events in Uganda, which eventually led to a bill calling for the death penalty for homosexuality. Due to a formal error, the bill was rejected by Uganda’s constitutional court.
South Africa guarantees rights
South Africa is a pioneer in terms of gay rights in Africa. While violence against homosexuals is still very common here, at least the constitution guarantees the rights of sexual minorities. Same-sex marriage has been legal in South Africa since 2006. In Austria, it has only been legal since 2019.
Portal/Nic Bothma The Pride March has been held in South Africa for many years
Also in Africa, this access is not something natural. Homosexuality is illegal in over 30 of 54 African countries. A rethink is slowly taking hold. In the last decade, five other countries have legalized homosexuality: Mozambique, Botswana, Lesotho, Seychelles and, most recently, Angola in 2021.