Kampala: Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni said "nobody will move us" and that the harsh rules have been officially signed - despite international condemnation from the likes of US President Joe Biden. Earlier, Uganda approved one of the strictest anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the world to punish what the president of the nation considers "disoriented" LGBT+ individuals who attempt to "recruit" others.
Museveni also said LGBTQ+ people who "violently grab some children" and then "rape them and so on and so forth" will face the death penalty. Museveni made the remarks as he defended the law which sparked outrage across the world after it was passed recently.
More than 340 Ugandan MPs voted to pass the law. Only one voted against. LGBTQ+ people living in the country said that they already felt unsafe before the new law was passed. In response to the new legislation, US President and others have vowed to stop providing aid to Uganda and to impose additional penalties.
The version of the bill signed by Museveni doesn't criminalize those who identify as LGBTQ+, which had been a key concern for some rights campaigners, who condemned an earlier draft of the legislation.
However, Uganda already forbade homosexuality acts. Anyone found guilty will be sentenced to life in prison under the new law. The new legislation also specifies that some offenders will now be subject to the death penalty. The law also imposes a 20-year prison sentence for "promoting" homosexuality.