Lawmakers in Uganda made changes to the proposed bill to make it clear that while “participating in acts of homosexuality” would be a crime punishable by life in prison, identifying as gay would not be.
Museveni had urged Members of Parliament MPs to remove a clause designating “aggravated homosexuality” as a capital offence, but they refused to do so, leaving the possibility of repeat offenders receiving the death penalty.
Meanwhile, Uganda hasn’t used the death penalty in a long time.
“A person who is thought, alleged, or suspected of being a homosexual, who has not engaged in a sexual act with another person of the same sex does not commit the offence of homosexuality,” the revised bill states.
In the previous version, Ugandans were also obligated to report any alleged homosexual activity to the police or risk a six-month prison sentence.
Lawmakers on Tuesday decided to change the clause after Museveni said earlier this month that it may “create problems in society.”
The reporting obligation is now solely applicable to alleged sexual offences against minors and other vulnerable individuals, and the maximum sentence has been increased to five years in prison.
The original bill’s clause that anyone who “knowingly encourages homosexuality” faces up to 20 years in prison has not changed in the revised form.
Organisations that are determined to have promoted same-sex behaviour risk a 10-year ban.
According to Frank Mugisha, Executive Director of Sexual Minorities Uganda, a significant gay rights organisation whose operations were shut down by the government last year, posed a serious risk to LGBTQ people.
As stated by the law, “you can be gay, but you shouldn’t talk about it,” he told AFP; therefore, there is a paradox.
Furthermore, it shows how extreme and homophobic the MPs are and puts LGBTQ people in even more danger that lawmakers approved the bill with almost complete unanimity.
Museveni will now receive the bill and have the option of either using his veto or signing it into law.
A two-thirds supermajority of MPs could overcome his veto and pass the bill if he brought it back to parliament a third time.
Amnesty International called the bill a “contemptuous law that blatantly violates the human rights of LGBTQ individuals in Uganda, including the right to privacy, freedom from discrimination, and equal protection under the law,” and urged Museveni to veto it. Amnesty International’s deputy regional director, Flavia Mwangovya, made the request.
“Since LGBTQ people already experience persecution and prejudice in Uganda, this bill will have a catastrophic effect on them. It will exacerbate prejudice and violence against LGBTQ people and propagate stigma and stereotypes about homosexuality,” she added in a statement released on Tuesday.
Ugandans in general accept the legislation, and civil society’s response has been subdued as a result of years of civic space being reduced under Museveni’s increasingly authoritarian administration.
Last month, the European Parliament passed a resolution denouncing the measure and urging EU member states to exert pressure on Museveni to delay its implementation, citing the danger it posed to its relations with Kampala.
The White House has additionally cautioned the Ugandan government of potential economic consequences if the law is implemented.
The US embassy wrote to delegates last week, advising them of delays “in light of the recent developments with the anticipated adoption of the Anti-Homosexuality Act and how it potentially affects our capacity to provide services and assistance” in funding proposals to combat the AIDS pandemic.
Under colonial regulations, homosexuality was illegal in Uganda, however, since the country gained independence from Britain in 1962, there has never been a conviction for consensual same-sex conduct.