Last month, Uganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni, signed into law one of the harshest pieces of anti-gay legislation in the world.
Homosexuality was already illegal in Uganda, a conservative East African nation, but the new law calls for more stringent punishments: Ugandans now face life imprisonment for engaging in gay sex. Anyone who tries to have same-sex relations could be liable for up to ten years in prison. Under the law, those convicted of “aggravated homosexuality,” defined in part as acts of same-sex relations with children or disabled people, or those carried out under threat, would receive the death penalty. And a vague clause mandates a prison term for anyone who promotes homosexuality; rights groups fear this clause threatens local agencies that provide medical treatment for vulnerable L.G.B.T.Q. groups in Uganda.
Abdi Latif Dahir is the East Africa correspondent for The New York Times. Based in Nairobi, Kenya, Mr. Dahir has reported on the aims of President Museveni’s government, and the Ugandans who went into hiding or fled the country ahead of the bill’s enactment. He discussed his reporting in a phone interview. This conversation has been edited.
Can you give us the context for this legislation’s introduction?
Uganda went through a bloody and vicious election in 2021. During a general election that year, there was a huge crackdown on rights groups and opposition figures. The president, who has also been in power for almost four decades, was triumphant. A lot of observers said that it was not fair.
But that crackdown never stopped, particularly against human rights advocates and opposition members. In 2022, this crackdown starts moving toward the gay community in Uganda. We see the closure of Sexual Minorities Uganda, one of the largest gay rights groups in the country. We see religious groups talking about the dangers facing the sanctity of the family. Then we see attacks on members of the L.G.B.T.Q. community.
At the end of last year, members of Parliament spoke about dangers facing young children. We heard Parliament say that there needed to be an investigation of schools. They made baseless allegations that there were students who were being recruited into homosexuality. While all of that is going on, this bill was introduced and passed in Parliament in March.
There is a lot of vague language in the law, and uncertainty about how to interpret the rules. In the seven days since this legislation became law, have you seen any clues as to how it will be implemented?
A lot of people are going into hiding in Uganda or crossing the border into Kenya. Over the past month, gay rights groups and human rights groups have been talking about people who call them seeking assistance. We’ve seen people posting online that their landlords and landladies are telling them that they need to vacate their premises. People are getting evicted largely because this law introduces provisions that say if you knowingly give a premises for same-sex intimate relations to take place, you can also be liable.
In vague terms, the law criminalizes the support of homosexuality. Does that have a chilling effect on speech within the country?
Human rights groups and gay rights groups have faced a major crackdown. It will limit the advocacy that those groups can do within the country. If any of the Ugandan lawyers or human rights activists talk about the rights of L.G.B.T.Q. people, for example, they could be in trouble for that. It’s a vague provision that could target a lot of the organizations and aid groups that also support and provide lifesaving H.I.V. treatment to L.G.B.T.Q. people. It puts all the great work that Uganda has done in tackling H.I.V. and AIDS into jeopardy.
It also jeopardizes the work of those nurses, medical workers, health workers and aid providers spread out across the country. You could go to jail just because you are supporting members of the L.G.B.T.Q. community.
Can society at large voice its approval or disapproval of this legislation if there’s a crackdown on dissent?
We’ve seen widespread support for this law across the country. Uganda is a very conservative nation. You’ve had churches and mosques making this a central issue of discussion.
Beginning around 2009 and 2010, evangelical groups in Uganda, particularly from the United States, were very visible in the campaign for anti-gay legislation. They provided tacit support in the years after. The anti-gay sentiment is very localized now, and it’s very, very radicalized.
In small villages without water or electricity, I’m being told, the churches and mosques are continuously talking about this issue instead of talking about the challenges the community faces. This law codifies what a lot of people on the ground are already picking up and talking about.
Is Uganda a more culturally conservative country than its East African neighbors? Are religious groups more of a political force there?
I don’t think Uganda is much more conservative that its neighbors in East Africa. Yes, the First Family is very religious and one of President Museveni’s daughters is a pastor. But you see this religiosity in Kenya, too, which last year elected its first evangelical president. President William Ruto has put religion at the center stage of his presidency.
But what’s different in Uganda is that, because of the way the political system is shaped, religious leaders tend to toe the line and provide a boost of support that the government needs. President Museveni has been in power for almost four decades and has been able to dole out patronage to preserve power and fealty to him. His party dominates Parliament and he has been able to maneuver around and control various areas of society and branches of government including the judiciary and Parliament.
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