'Little backing' for Uganda anti-gay Bill

A Ugandan parliamentary panel said on Friday there is little backing for the country’s widely condemned anti-gay Bill, and no timetable had been set for its debate.

“I think it is useless and will not achieve what it intends to achieve,” said Alex Ndeezi, a member of the legal and parliamentary affairs committee tasked with reviewing the Bill before it can be presented to the house.

The Bill imposes drastic penalties for homosexual offences, including the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” in cases of rape of a minor by a person of the same sex, or where one partner has HIV.

The panel’s chairperson, Stephen Tashyoba, said the draft law was not a priority.

“As far as I am concerned, we really have more urgent matters to discuss like electoral reforms, which are already behind schedule,” he told AFP.

Homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda and offenders can be jailed for life.—Sapa-AFP