Uganda plans to introduce a
new anti-gay law that will
withstand any legal
challenge, a government
minister has told the BBC.
It will not explicitly refer to
homosexuality, but will rely on
the penal code which prescribes
a life sentence for "unnatural
acts", he said.
Activists say the plan is more
draconian than anti-gay
legislation annulled by the
courts in August.
The US and other donors cut
funding to Uganda in protest
against the law.
Uganda is a deeply conservative
society where homosexual acts
are already illegal.
New legislation against gay
people will increase the
government's popularity, says
the BBC's Catherine Byaruhanga
in the capital, Kampala
However, many political
observers wonder whether the
bill, known as The Prohibition of
Promotion of Unnatural Sexual
Practices Bill, will see the light of
day because of the huge
pressure the government is
facing from Western
governments not to further
criminalise gay people, she says.
'Language twisted'
The minister, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, said the
proposed legislation will be a
streamlined version of the
annulled Anti-Homosexuality
Act.
It will clarify what constitutes the
promotion and funding of
"unnatural" acts, he said.
This could affect the financial
support gay rights groups
receive from donors, our
correspondent says.
Gay-rights activist Frank Mugisha
said a leaked copy of the bill
suggested that it would be
harsher than the previous
legislation.
"They have just twisted the
language but it is the same
thing. It's actually worse because
the 'promotion' part is harsher
and it will punish the funding of
LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender] and human rights
groups," Mr Mugisha was
quoted by the UK's Guardian
newspaper as saying
Ugandan human rights lawyer
Nicholas Opiyo told the BBC he
was confident the proposed law
would be defeated in court.
The Anti-Homosexuality Act was
annulled by the Constitutional
Court, which ruled that
parliament lacked a quorum
when it was passed.
US President Barack Obama
denounced the legislation as
odious, and the US cut aid to
Uganda - a key ally in its
campaign against militant
Islamists in the region.
The US did not reinstate the aid,
even after the Constitutional
Court annulled the legislation,
our reporter says.
Foreign donors are watching to
see what happens next, she
adds.
The new bill has been drawn up
by MPs from the governing
National Resistance Movement,
and had not yet been approved
by the cabinet, the minister said.
The scrapped legislation allowed
for life imprisonment for
"aggravated homosexuality" and
for entering into a same-sex
marriage.
It also proposed a prison
sentence of up to seven years or
a fine or both for the promotion
of homosexuality.
The original draft of the bill
called for the death penalty for
"aggravated homosexuality".
Source:m.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29994678