Parliament has reconsidered the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023 and passed it with amendments.
Last month, President Yoweri Museveni returned the bill to parliament, asking for changes that differentiate between identifying as LGBTQ and actually engaging in homosexual acts.
In the reconsidered bill, persons who knowingly allow their premises to be used for acts of homosexuality now face seven years in jail upon conviction while those who fail to report acts of homosexuality while having knowledge about them face a fine of Shs10 million or five years in jail.
The provisions retained in the new bill include the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality and a 20-year sentence for promoting homosexuality.
The Bill awaits his assenting into law.
Last week, the United States put Uganda on notice that it risks losing $400 million (Shs1.4t) in Washington’s annual support to HIV/Aids care and treatment over the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
However, this afternoon, James Nsaba Butuuro, the former Ethics Minister urged MPs not to bend to threats from the international community.
“We must reject this arrogance (of the Western world). The Western world can go away with their support and that will help us to look at ourselves because what we steal from ourselves is more than three times what these people give us,” he said.