EFF Condemns Anti-gay Law Signed By Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) led by Julius Malema have released a statement condemning the signing of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill into law by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. In a statement seen by Pindula News, the EFF views the signing of the bill as a significant step backwards in promoting democracy, freedom of expression, and freedom of association in Africa.
The law legalizes the persecution of members of the LGBTQI± community by imposing life imprisonment and, in some cases, death sentences for those who engage in same-sex relationships.
The EFF believes that the anti-homosexuality bill, which is based on state-sponsored hate and homophobia, is not rooted in any historical truth or objective reality. The party said the law is a product of outdated attitudes that have been imposed on African societies by Western societies.
The EFF encourages all human rights activists to continue to oppose “these illogical, hateful, and homophobic laws” passed against the LGBTQI± community in Uganda. The party also said the laws are a stepping stone towards the repression of people on the basis of villainizing their identity, and all of Africa must resist hateful ideas seeking to criminalize the identities of people. We present the statement below:
EFF STATEMENT ON THE UGANDAN PRESIDENT YOWERI MUSEVENI’S DECISION TO SIGN THE ANTI-HOMOSEXUALITY BILL INTO LAW
Monday, 29 May 2023
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) condemns the signing of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill by Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni officially into law, an act which has today officially legalized the persecution of members of the LGBTQI± community.
Museveni, who had returned the bill to the Ugandan Parliament to be revised due to its lack of provision for so-called “rehabilitation” of those engaged in same sex relationships, has now signed the inhumane and draconian legislation into law, a fundamental step backwards in the quest to promote democracy, freedom of expression and freedom of association in Africa.
As of today in Uganda, those who identify as homosexuals and choose their partners on the basis of their sexual identity can be sentenced to life imprisonment and in instances of “repeat offenders”, death. The bill that has been signed by Museveni is nothing short of state-sponsored hate and homophobia.
The narrative that gender and sexual identities that are non-heteronormative are against African values, cultures and that they somehow erode family values is baseless and dangerous. It is a hateful logic that is not rooted in any historical truth or objective reality, as many within the LGBTQI± community continue to practice their cultures and spiritualities to no detriment of any of the institutions they choose to associate with.
Ironically, the values of anti-homosexuality which inspire the anti-homosexuality bill which Museveni has signed into law, stem from colonialist laws imposed by the British in Uganda during the time of British Colonialism in the country.
The assertion therefore that homosexuality is a product of imperialism is counter-intuitive and nonsensical, as Western society has historically been at the forefront of outlawing and shaming homosexuality, and these outdated attitudes are what inform the pervasive homophobia in society today.
The EFF encourages all human rights activists within and outside of Uganda to continue to stand against the illogical, hateful and homophobic laws being passed against the LGBTQI± Community in Uganda.
The laws are a stepping stone towards the repression of people on the basis of villainizing their identity, and all of Africa must resist hateful ideas which seek to criminalize the identities of people.
