There is a common belief adopted by many Africans that homosexuality is “un-African” and as the governments argue, “a western import.” Former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe described homosexuality as “inhuman.” At an event in Harare, Zimbabwe newspaper The Herald reported that Mugabe said: “Gays have no human rights. They have human rights – human rights for doing an inhuman thing.” However, homosexuality has played a prominent role in Uganda’s history before Western colonisation. Sexual orientation was an accepted concept in pre-colonial Uganda. King Mwanga II of Buganda, Uganda’s largest kingdom, ruled between 1884 to 1888 and 1889 to 1897, before British rule and was bisexual. He was known to have regular sexual relations with both sexes having multiple wives and same-sex intercourse. Then, sodomy was not sinful nor considered an abomination. Some believed that same-sex intercourse produced a supernatural power. Male prophets known as ‘Zvibanda’, ‘Chibados’, ‘Quimbanda’, ‘Gangas’ and ‘Kibambaa’ were thought to hold ‘powerful spirits’ that could be passed to other men via anal sex. There were no laws in Uganda criminalising homosexuality during this time.
King Mwanga II of Bugandi. Photo: Face2Face Africa.
The criminalisation of homosexuality in Uganda stemmed from the British colonial rule in the 19th century. Under the British anti-sodomy law, police were given permission to arrest men engaged in same-sex intimacy.
In 1894, Uganda became state-controlled by Britain and the anti-sodomy laws were adopted in the country. When Uganda became an independent state in October 1962, the country was able to legislate their own laws. The laws criminalising homosexuality remained fairly unchanged. It was renamed to the Penal Act.
Religion has also played a fundamental role in the dismissal of gay rights. Nearly 85% of Ugandans identify as Christian with 14% identifying as Muslim. Aside from a couple of vague Old Testament references homosexuality is not explicitly referenced in the bible however American Evangelists such as Scott Lively has preached against gay rights since 2002.
In a conference held in Uganda, Lively explained that “the gay movement is an evil institution whose goal is to defeat the marriage-based society and replace it with a culture of sexual promiscuity.”
A month later, the Anti-Homosexuality bill was presented. Uganda’s organisations protecting the LGBT community argue that Lively’s active preaching has played a part in today’s draconian laws.
In 2009, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill was published implementing the death penalty for same-sex relationships. In 2014, the bill was commenced but it was due to a technicality - not morality. There have since been calls to revive the bill known as “Kill the Gays”.
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