The Bugiri Municipality MP, Asuman Basalirwa (pictured) has renegaded on his earlier proposal of a 10-year prison sentence for anyone liable of practicing homosexuality, and is now seeking to make the punishment tougher, by slapping a life imprisonment for a convicted person.
Basalirwa’s shift in position came during a meeting held with the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee where he had appeared to defend the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023, revealing that the decision to propose the 10years jail sentence was intended to protect the bill from being hijacked by the international community.
He cited the case of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023, he said was demonized for proposing to kill homosexuals in Uganda saying the 10years prison sentence saw him being criticized by homophobes, but the move was deliberately done to deflate international opposition against this bill at the earliest.
He said, “With this proposal, they find it very difficult to baptize this bill, in fact I left them in a dilemma, in one angle, they don’t like the bill, in another angle, they have provisions that seem to be lighter that time and strategically, I made sure that the sentences appear to be light it has provisions that seem to be lighter that the sentences appear lighter, but when I appear before the Committee, and probably on the floor, I will seek your indulgence to enhance your sentences to match the existing piece of legislation. I propose that the sentence goes to what is existing now and that is life imprisonment as is in penal code act.”
Basalirwa also decried the assault he is facing from the gay community, who have asked the management of twitter to suspend his account for his targeted attack against them, but vowed not to bow to their pressure.
“They did submit a complaint to de-register me and Twitter wrote to me that I respond and I haven’t responded and I think I will not respond. I want the Committee to understand the team the other side, lobbyists the other side, we should stand our ground because this is about our family values, we should stand our ground. If these guys were eating their things there, but they are provoking us. You don’t provoke people by recruiting their children going into schools, it is a provocation,” said Basalirwa.
However, Basalirwa faced an onslaught of questions from fellow legislators mainly Fox Odoi (West Budama North East) who tasked Basalirwa to furnish Parliament with statistics that cases of homosexuality have increased in Uganda, pointing out that facts on ground show that heterosexual men in Uganda have inflicted more sexual violence on women and children, as opposed to gays.
Odoi said, “You talked about homosexuality being on the increase. I know Basalirwa for being a good lawyer, every statement you make must be borne by evidence, statistics and data. The statistics in Uganda don’t speak to your position that homosexual vice is on the increase. The statistics in Uganda show that the crime most committed is defilement and it is heterosexual defilement.”
He added that Basalirwa bill is diversionary from the real sexual violence in Uganda, where homosexuals are being used as a scapegoat by the responsible institutions to curb the vice that is mostly being perpetuated by men against women.
“Statistics show that every 42seconds in Uganda there is a female child being defiled. That is the problem, the problem isn’t homosexuality, in fact I dare say, this is a diversion. The people we should be running after is you and me heterosexuals not the homosexuals. Can we look at your statistics to back your assertions that the offence of homosexuality is on the rise? Promotion which is your other addition, can you help us avail us with data, statistics because legislation must be evidence based?” remarked Odoi.
In the objective of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023, Basalirwa argued that the legislation is intended to protect family values in Uganda, prompting MP Odoi to task Basalirwa to explain which family values he was fronting, given the fact that Uganda is a multi-tribal nation with various values held among the different tribes.
“You talked about family values, what do you mean when you talk about family values? You are cognizant of the fact that Uganda has 62 tribal groupings therefore you can’t talk about a national concept of family values. Can you educate me on the national family values of the entity Uganda?
On the proposal by Basalirwa to legislate against the “unnatural” sexual acts, Odoin questioned, “Do you also want us to prohibit a married man from having a blow job? Do you want us to prohibit a hand job because your job wants to prohibit anything sexual? When you are talking about protection of women are you only focusing protecting only the anus of women or you want us to focus on the other things I have talked about.”
However, Basalirwa appeared uncomfortable on having such a discussion, asking Odoi to explain how blow jobs and hand jobs are done, explanations that Odoi gladly rendered in the midst of laughter from fellow lawmakers.
Basalirwa further proposed that aggravated homosexuality offenses be punishable by 10 years though some MPs on the committee were proposing 17 years being that it encompasses minors, the transmission of HIV/AIDs, and rape against one’s will.
