Uganda’s anti-gay bill is about everything but protecting children

This article might contain some strong language.

I first heard the term “homosexual” in 2009. I’d undoubtedly heard of it before but hadn’t given it much thought. It was at this time that talk of Uganda’s first anti-homosexuality bill began. When one of the boys in my class branded me a homosexual in such a hissy and mocking tone for being “girly,” I knew something was wrong. In fact, I took it upon myself to discover more about this “homosexuality” thing. 

What I discovered was a slew of misinformation, ranging from horror stories of ruptured behinds to gay pampers stories and the occasional HIV/AIDS infection story thrown in to amp up the scare aspect. Because I had no access to better information, I feared and hated myself and gay people for the longest time. 

In 2023, proponents of Uganda’s distinct brand of homophobia are still using this misinformation virtually word for word to defend their hatred of gay Ugandans. These discussions and stories were on full show during the late-night debate in Uganda’s parliament that resulted in the passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. 

I can honestly say that anuses had never been discussed as extensively in the Ugandan parliament as they were on the night of March 21, 2023. One persistent theme emerged from all of the talks concerning body parts and sexual organs: the protection of children. 

Almost every speaker that night brought up the subject of children. They discussed at length on homosexual child sexual abuse and the necessity to safeguard Uganda’s youngsters from homosexuality. Yet, does this legislation truly protect children? Or are Uganda’s youngsters (gay or otherwise) merely pawns in the information battle and chest-thumping of severely flawed politicians? 

Let us look at the bill title: “An Act to prohibit any form of sexual relations between persons of the same sex; prohibit the promotion or recognition of sexual relations between persons of the same sex; and for related matters.” Does this title say anything about Uganda’s precious children who are the pretext these politicians were using to bring up the bill?

Not to diminish Ugandans’ sincere views on this topic, I believe that many Ugandans (progressive or conservative) are deeply concerned about child sexual assault. So many elements have contributed to this heightened anxiety, some of which are systematic, while others are orchestrated inorganically by politicians wanting attention. 

For starters, consider the Catholic Church’s lack of transparency in the face of hundreds of thousands of child sexual abuse accusations worldwide. Closer to home, in the Buddo case,  which involved a male teacher suspected of preying on his students and was extensively discussed in parliament in the run-up to the passage of the bill, the school administration’s frustrating need to “protect their reputation” by harassing a journalist covering the story was seen as an attempted cover-up and a symbol of an overall broken system. That dysfunctional system has prompted a large number of Ugandans, who have already been subjected to incessant hysteria and misinformation about homosexual people, to accept the new flashy Anti-Homosexuality Bill as a means of addressing the system’s flaws. 

Nonetheless, I believe that this is the worst bill for anyone concerned about child sexual abuse. Especially those who show much more concern or are exclusively “concerned” when it involves homosexuals. 

For one, child sexual abuse (both homosexual and heterosexual) is already covered explicitly under Section 129 of the Penal Code (Amendment) Act 2007. It has penalties ranging from life imprisonment and extends to execution/death sentence. Yes, this law exists! A quick scan of the new bill shows a much more lenient sentence for abusers and a vague description of what comprises abuse. This is informed by the virulent homophobia and plain incompetence of the bill’s drafters. I would also argue that the bill in its current form makes it much easier for a child sex offender (be it a priest, teacher, head teacher etc) with some institutional backing to get away with abusing children. They could even get off on a technicality or, given their enormous resources, give monetary compensation to the victims. The vagueness of the offense of homosexuality and its conflation with child abuse (whether it is “promotion,” just saying you are gay, or actual sexual abuse by persons in positions of power) leaves it up to the system to determine wrongdoing. A legal system that is almost comically corrupt and was designed to favor the rich and powerful. 

Take the previous Anti-Homosexuality Bill passed in 2014, a child in all instances of this bill, is considered a victim and treated as such. In the new version, any child committing the offense of homosexuality is criminalized and liable to a 3-year sentence. And since the text is vague on what exactly entails “child homosexuality”, it essentially eliminates protection for child victims of abuse. Very few victims will be keen to report abuse if it means that there is a chance, even slight, that they will be jailed for 3 years!

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I am not advocating for same-gender-loving adults to be imprisoned or murdered, and I also find it absurd that those who are really concerned about child sexual abuse would support this law to feed their hatred and/or fear of gay people. The only aim of this bill is to target adult homosexuals who are living their lives and loving each other. Uganda’s children are just collateral. It was never really about them. 

In fact, the numbers prove my point. According to the 2022 Annual Crime Report released by the Ugandan police, 8,960 defilements were reported, of which only 205 secured convictions (there is no mention of which of these are of a homosexual nature since the current law does not distinguish gender or sexual orientation when convicting defilement cases). Further, out of 14,795 persons that were victims of sex-related crimes, 12,816 were female juveniles, 33 were male juveniles and 1,946 were female adults. Making matters worse, only 224 of all sex-related crimes have secured convictions.  

Abusers, according to the Annual Crime Report, are often family members and guardians as well as teachers. The data clearly shows two things: One, there was never a serious effort to combat sexual abuse of children given the abysmal conviction rate as well as a large number of backlogged defilement cases. Two, that the existing laws can actually be used to convict child sex abusers. Further still, abuse victims are predominantly female and the abuse done by mostly heterosexual people, given the fact that over 90% of the persons held for sex crimes are male.

So in conclusion, the concern for children whom in any other circumstance (child marriage, defilement, Female genital mutilation), politicians could care less, is mostly performative.  In fact, a lot of Ugandans, even the homophobes are starting to catch on. But, will it be too late for the kids… and the gays too?

Edited and Reviewed by Caleb Okereke and Uzoma Ihejirika.