Uganda’s parliament passed sweeping anti-gay legislation on Tuesday, which proposes tougher new penalties for same-sex marriages.
Any person in the conservative east African nation that engages in same-sex marriage or who professes to be LGBTQ could face up to ten years in jail under the proposed legislation.
The bill has a lot of support from Ugandan citizens, but the reaction from civil society has been muted as a result of President Yoweri Museveni’s increasingly authoritarian regime.
The bill was criticized by international critics, with some western nations freezing or redirecting millions of dollars in government aid as a reaction, before being thrown out by a judge who later struck down the bill on a technicality.
Despite this, Museveni has consistently stated that he does not consider the issue a priority and would like to maintain good relationships with western donors and investors.