Uganda: Bishops want shelved anti-gay Bill revived

Speaking after their recent annual conference organised by the Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC), an ecumenical body which brings together the Anglican, Catholic and Orthodox churches, the bishops resolved that the parliamentary committee on Gender should be tasked to engage the House on the Bill which is now at committee level.

“We also ask the Education committee to engage the Ministry of Education on the issue of incorporating a topic on human sexuality in the curricula of our schools and institutions of learning,” the resolutions signed by archbishops Henry Luke Orombi, Cyprian Kizito Lwanga and Metropolitan Jonah Lwanga, indicated.

The clerics also appealed to all the churches in the country “to remain steadfast in opposing the phenomena of homosexuality, lesbianism and same-sex union”.

The Anti-Homosexuality Bill was proposed by Ndorwa West PM David Bahati and has become a subject of international discussion with most Western powers describing the Bill as barbaric.

Dr Sylvia Tamale, an outspoken pro-gay activist and Makerere University don, said her views “against the Anti-Homosexuality Bill have never changed”.

“I think it is unconstitutional and pursuing it is diversionary as it distracts us from the important issues that the average Ugandan really cares about,” she said on Friday in an email to Sunday Monitor.

The anti-gay Bill has seen ups and downs with donors and international activists threatening to withhold aid should it be let to pass.
Among some of the propositions in the Bill was one of death and life sentence for those for those caught engaging in homosexuality for a second time.

-full report at Daily Monitor

(Anthony, a Ugandan Catholic who was at the United Kingdom Cutting Edge Consortium 2012 Conference on combating faith – based homophobia, passed on this message: :

The Ugandan Gay and Lesbian community is inviting you to a peaceful demonstration outside the Ugandan Embassy just by Trafalgar Square on 15/06/2012 at 1:00pm. We would like to pass on a message  of love to all religious leaders in Uganda on that day. We will be glad to see u.)
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  1. Pingback: In reversal, Catholic Church backs ‘Kill the Gays’ bill | 76 CRIMES

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