Uganda: The Politics of Uganda's Anti-Gay Law

analysis

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni approved a new law that imposes life sentences for homosexuality in defiance of opposition from international donors, with whom he has in any case not enjoyed warm relations for some time. In the longer-term, this may severely impact the president's popularity, but in the short term he will receive a much-needed domestic bounce.

President Museveni has signed into law a draconian anti-homosexuality legislation, putting him on a collision course with donors, activists and NGOs, most prominently the US government. The part played by religious activists in pushing the new legislation has been widely discussed. US-linked evangelical churches are hugely popular in Uganda, and have close links to prominent actors, including First Lady and Government Minister Jeanette Museveni and David Bahati, the MP responsible for drafting the legislation. This has undoubtedly been an enormously important factor in changing Uganda's traditional climate of relative tolerance.

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