Ugandan police carry out their first arrests using the new Draconian anti-gay laws

Ugandan police carry out their first arrests using the new Draconian anti-gay laws

Posted by Sylvester on Tuesday, March 11, 2014 0

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UGANDAN police have carried out the first set of arrests under the countries new Draconian anti-gay laws that President Yoweri signed into effect on February 24 under which accused persons can be sent to prison for life for aggravated homosexuality.

After months of dilly-dallying, President Museveni eventually signed Uganda's new and harsh anti-gay bill into law, under which first time offenders can get sent jail for 14 years. Widely condemned as a harsh and a fundamental breach of human rights, the new law has led to Western nations suspending aid to Uganda and the World Bank has postponed the immediate disbursement of a $90m (£54m) loan.

In addition, the Netherlands has frozen a €7m subsidy to Uganda’s legal system, while Denmark and Norway said they would redirect around  €6m each towards private sector initiatives, aid agencies and human rights organisations. Britain and the US have also threatened economic sanctions against Uganda over the new law.

However, government spokesman Ofwono Opondo said: “The West can keep their aid to Uganda over homos. We shall still develop without it."

Despite the protests, the Ugandan government has proceeded with implementing the new law and over the weekend the first set of arrests were made. Two men were nabbed in a Kampala hotel after a lodging attendant caught them having sex and subsequently informed the police.

According to reports, sexual moans were heard about 20 minutes  after the men had checked into the room they had booked in the hotel. Shortly after being informed, the police arrived at the scene, handcuffed the two men and took them away.

World Bank president Jim Yong Kim has warned Uganda that legislation restricting sexual rights can hurt a country’s competitiveness by discouraging multinational companies from investing or locating their activities in those nations. He added that the World Bank would discuss how such discrimination would affect its projects and gay and lesbian staff members, pointing out that fighting to eliminate all institutionalized discrimination is an urgent task.

However, Ugandan authorities have defended the decision, saying President Museveni wanted to demonstrate Uganda’s independence in the face of Western pressure and provocation. Like most African countries, Uganda is a very conservative society, where many as majority of the population oppose homosexuality.

President Museveni himself has been under attack personally with his daughter Diana Kamuntu recently revealing in a recent radio interview that she is a lesbian. A young South African man has also claimed that he and President Museveni were gay lovers and the president showered him with gifts as a result.