By Philippa Bradbury
Uganda is currently in the process of passing a bill which states that any person who commits a homosexual act with someone who is below the age of 18, HIV positive, or disabled, will be sentenced to death. The bill was proposed by David Bahati, an MP of the ruling party of Uganda. He believes that this bill will “protect the traditional family by prohibiting any form of sexual relations between persons of the same sex”. According to John Otekat Emile, the bill has a 99 percent chance of being approved.
99 percent? That is an amazing statistic and one that is actually quite horrifying, especially when you compare it to the fact that it has been estimated that there are 500 000 homosexuals living in Uganda. Surely, this would not only be a violation of human rights but also constitute towards crimes against humanity?
Different cultures view homosexuality in different ways. African cultures especially do not condone it, but I think this bill is rather extreme, especially when one considers that worldwide, there are generally only 2300 deaths a year resulting from the death penalty, in which 72 percent are in China. Homosexual acts are thus being equated to murders which are “heinous, atrocious, cruel, depraved and/or involving torture”.
There is a moral line that cannot be crossed and if this bill is passed, then the lines for all crimes are smudged, if not wiped away completely.
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