BREAKING: The President of Uganda has refused to approve a bill to toughen punishments for homosexuals.BBC reports:
He has written to the parliamentary speaker criticising her for passing it in December without a quorum.
The bill provides for life imprisonment for homosexual acts and also makes it a crime not to report gay people. The promotion of homosexuality – even talking about it without condemning the lifestyle – would also be punishable by a prison term.The BBC’s Catherine Byaruhanga in the capital, Kampala, says the president is aware that if he signs the bill there will be an international outcry, which could see some countries suspend aid to the country.
The Uganda Monitor reports:
In an eight-page letter to Speaker and MPs dated December 28, 2013, the President said he was forced to contrite on the issue by “a small group of our MPs, led by Hon Kadaga” who forced through the Bill even after he had advised to shelve it until the government had studied it in depth.
“Some elements, however, insisted and even without quorum of Parliament, passed it,” the President said. “How can you pass law without the quorum of Parliament after it has been pointed out? What sort of Parliament is this? How can Parliament be the one to break the Constitution and the Law repeatedly?”