Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on
Monday signed a harsh anti-gay bill into law.
The measure, approved by lawmakers on
December 20, was first introduced in 2009 and drew international
condemnation for including the death penalty. The bill as passed
replaces capital punishment with life imprisonment for people
repeatedly convicted of having consensual sex with a member of the
same sex. The sentence can also be imposed in cases where one of the
partners is HIV-positive, a minor or disabled. The bill also seeks
to outlaw the promotion of homosexuality, effectively silencing
opponents of the measure.
Museveni at first said that he
disagreed with the bill, claiming that “sick” gay people need
help. Last weekend, at a parliamentary retreat, he announced that a
report prepared by Ugandan scientists had convinced him that being
gay was a choice and that he would sign the legislation, a move
criticized by U.S. President Barack Obama as “complicating” the
U.S.'s relationship with the African nation. He later challenged
U.S. scientists to prove being gay is not a choice.
At the bill's signing ceremony,
Museveni charged that the West was attempting to impose its values on
Uganda.
“We have been disappointed for a long
time by the conduct of the West, the way you conduct yourselves
there,” he
told reporters on Monday. “Our disappointment is now
exacerbated because we are sorry to see that you live the way you
live, but we keep quiet about it. Now you say, 'You must also live
like us' – that's where we say no.”