A Draconian Law against Homosexuality

On 29 May, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda signed one of the world’s most stringent anti-LGBTQ+ legislations that restricts LGBTQ+ rights and introduces harsher penalties for certain types of homosexual acts. The act enforces a punishment of life imprisonment for engaging in consensual homosexual acts and the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.” According to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), over half of the 54 nations in Africa have laws that prohibit consensual homosexual activity.

The roots of Africa’s anti-LGBTQ+ stance can be traced back to the colonial period when British colonial rule introduced anti-sodomy provisions in their penal code. However, by the time the United Kingdom decriminalised homosexuality in 1967, many former colonies had already attained independence and did not inherit such legal reforms. Out of the 17 African nations that were colonised by Britain and implemented anti-LGBTQ+ laws, only three have subsequently repealed them, according to the Human Rights Watch.