Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni reaffirmed his support for an anti-LGBTQ law during his State of the Nation address on Wednesday, ignoring international appeals for its repeal.
The law, considered one of the world’s most severe, includes provisions for a potential death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.”
Museveni, after a meeting with members of his National Resistance Movement party, declared, “The signing of the bill is finished, no one will move us. The NRM has never had two languages, what we tell you during the day is what we shall tell you during the night.”
Ugandan activists have called on international donors to impose sanctions on the country’s leaders due to the enactment of this law.
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In a joint statement, human rights groups criticized the legislation as “dangerous and discriminatory,” expressing concerns about shrinking civil society freedoms under Museveni’s increasingly authoritarian rule since he assumed power in 1986.
US President Joe Biden, the European Union, and UN chief Antonio Guterres have all criticized the law, cautioning that foreign aid and investment for Uganda could be in jeopardy unless the legislation is repealed.
In 2014, international donors reduced aid to Uganda after Museveni signed a bill that aimed to impose life imprisonment for homosexual relations, although it was later overturned.
Despite the international backlash, the anti-gay law enjoys significant support in Uganda, where lawmakers defend it as a necessary defense against Western immorality.
In a statement from the president’s office, Museveni urged Ugandans to stand firm, emphasizing that the issue of homosexuality is a serious matter concerning the human race.
