Ugandan Official Opposition Leader Says If Elected He Would Decriminalise Homosexuality

Monday, the most prominent opposition leader in Uganda, Kizza Besigye, said that the county’s police have more pressing tasks that investigating homosexuality and he hinted that if elected he would work to decriminalise the practice, Africasia.com reporting that Besigye, who is challenging President Yoweri Museveni for the third time in a vote scheduled for February 18th, added “This is something that is done in the privacy of people’s room, between consenting adults.” Besigye made mention that he was speaking for himself and not for the four-party opposition groups he leads, and said the so-called homosexual issue has “generated far too much excitement” among current leaders. He said that police resources concentrated on investigating homosexuality “could be better spent elsewhere,” and perhaps most importantly, said his personal opinions on sexuality were not relevant, saying “We are talking about the law.” Besigye said that the current provisions prohibiting homosexuality are meaningless, particularly since it has not been prosecuted. Uganda’s penal code does ban sexual acts “against the order of nature” however, in 2009, David Bahati, introduced legislation that if enacted would expand the list of prosecutable crimes regarding homosexuality. Although that bill has yet to be debated in parliament, and President Museveni seems reluctant to have it pass, Bahati recently said he would do “whatever it takes” to see the Anti-Homosexuality Bill passed.