COU Archbishop Kaziimba Requests President Museveni to Sign Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023

The Archbishop of the Church of Uganda – CoU, Dr. Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu has called on President Yoweri Museveni to sign into law the recently passed Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023.

While delivering his Easter message at the Church of Uganda Provincial Offices at Namirembe, Kazimba urged the president not to let the influence of foreign countries deter the country from keeping to her culture, and religious beliefs.

“They disguise themselves as “human rights activists,” but are corrupting real human rights by adding LGBTQI+ to their agenda. There have always been a few people in our communities who were known as homosexuals and the communities knew how to relate with them.  The fact that very few of our local languages even have a word for homosexuality shows how it is not a part of our cultures and our communities. This is one of the areas where our culture is aligned with the Bible, which never speaks positively about homosexual relationships,” said Archbishop Kaziimba.

He appealed to the President to assent to the Bill into to become law and ensure that Uganda sets an example for other countries.

“The LGBTQ-affirming countries have shown us the negative consequences. To surrender to their threats is to set Uganda on a path of self-destruction. Please, Your Excellency, protect us,” said the Archbishop.

He further stated “There is no moral equivalence between LGBTQ relationships and lifelong, heterosexual, monogamous marriage.  The Bible teaches, and scientific studies have shown, that children flourish when they are raised by both their mother and father, and with the presence, involvement, and support of their extended family. This is the African way; this is the Biblical way; and this is the way shown to us through natural law,” he added.

Parliament passed the bill in March that among other harsh penalties provides for the death penalty for the offence of aggravated homosexuality

The offence of aggravated homosexuality is where a victim is a child below 14 or above a person 75 years, a person with a disability or suffers a disability as a result of the sexual act, a person with mental illness and others.

Those convicted of attempted aggravated homosexuality will face 14 years once convicted, the offence of homosexuality will attract 20 years in prison, attempted homosexuality 10 years, recruiting, displaying and distribution of material for same-sex sexual acts 20 years, allowing the use of premises for homosexuality 10 years and other penalties.

The Archbishop has also challenged Ugandans about sexual immorality in the country.

“I have phrased this challenge very deliberately as the “challenge of sexual immorality” – because it is not only homosexuality that is challenging us. But, heterosexual immorality is also challenging us. Fornication, defilement, rape and adultery are attacking our families, our souls, and our country,” he said in part.

He commended Parliament for upholding the position of homosexuality being illegal, saying that LGBTQ relationships should not be promoted in school curricula, in cartoons, and in the so-called “human rights workshops,” or any other forum as normative.

In December 2013, Parliament passed the first Anti-Homosexuality Bill that was tabled by Ndorwa East MP, David Bahati and assented to by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on February 24th February 2014. However, the Constitutional Court annulled the law on August 1st, 2014, on grounds that it had been passed without the requisite quorum.