Anti-Homosexuality Law Will Be Passed At All Costs- Speaker Among Assures Ugandans

Speaker of Parliament Anita Among has assured Ugandans that the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023 will be tabled and passed at all costs noting that the law will protect Uganda’s culture and its sovereignty.

Among’s tough comments follows a clash when Bugiri municipality legislator Asuman Basalirwa failed to table the Bill for the first reading on Tuesday because the Ministry of Finance had not granted him the Certificate of Financial Implication as required.

“We put this on the order paper knowing that this is an urgent matter. May we hear from the Cabinet on what is happening? The fight that we are in is a moral fight, it is a cultural fight and it is indeed a fight to protect the sovereignty of our families. We need to respond to the cries of our citizens in Uganda. You have seen what is happening in schools, are we going to sit here and continue lamenting when we know we can do something?” Among wondered.

“As the Parliament of Uganda, we are going to pass this Bill. At whatever cost, we will pass it, we are going to protect the morals and the values of Ugandans,” she added.

Parliament has granted leave to Hon. Asuman Basalirwa to introduce a private member’s Bill titled the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023.

The House granted the MP leave on Tuesday, 28 February 2023, after it returned from a three-week recess where legislators monitored the progress of the Parish Development Model (PDM).

The Bill seeks to prohibit any form of sexual relations between persons of the same sex and prohibit the promotion or recognition of such relations.

The bill was thereafter, contained in the gazette last Friday and the Ministry of Finance was expected to have accorded Hon. Basalirwa a certificate of Financial Implication to allow the next process of tabling it for the first reading but all was in vain.

Following the development both Hon. Basalirwa and the speaker tasked government officials to explain to Ugandans whether they support the bill or not.

“The front bench of the government takes a clear stand on this matter and comes out clearly. Are they willing and ready to avail the certificate or not? They must take a stand, otherwise, if they don’t take a stand, then an impression will be created that all of us here are condoning homosexuality,” Hon. Basalirwa said.

In response, however, the government Chief Whip, Mr Hamson Obua, defended the Ministry of Finance delayed process of availing the Certificate of Financial Implication saying the request was not made in time

“As far as I am aware, the request for the Certificate of financial Implication was made on Friday, March 3, and the law of both Public Financial Management Act 2015 and the Rules of procedure of Parliament give the minister 60 days. It may be urgent but the minister is still protected by the law passed by Parliament, the minister still has 60 days,” Mr Obua said.

While moving the motion last week, Basalirwa observed that Parliament passed the Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2014 on 20 December 2013, which was nullified by the Constitutional Court citing a lack of necessary quorum of lawmakers to vote on the Bill.

“This House had an opportunity to correct the anomaly then, but it was lost. We now have another opportunity to follow all the procedures to have a law in place,” he said.

Basalirwa described homosexuality as a ‘cancer’ eating up the world, and urged legislators to join in ensuring the establishment of a law to curb it.

“We always talk about human rights but it is also true that there are human wrongs. Homosexuality is a human wrong that needs to be tackled through a piece of legislation,” he added.

Backing Hon. Basalirwa’s motion, Among further reiterated a call to MPs to stand firm and vote for a law that will act against the vice which she said is a threat to society.

“This vice has persisted and the people who are suffering are our children. We must stand up and be counted as Parliament. We need to have a law in place as regards homosexuality,” Among said.