Very troubling news, as people who identify as gay in Uganda are in danger of life imprisonment after a new bill has been passed in parliament.

While being gay was already illegal in Uganda, this new bill is one of the toughest and most backwards pieces of anti-gay legislation in Africa and the world.

The new bill also includes the death penalty for a number of cases and has apparently resulted in a lot of blackmail and danger of attacks on gay people. A rights activist told the BBC:

"There is a lot of blackmail. People are receiving calls that 'if you don't give me money, I will report that you are gay,'"

Absolutely terrifying.

Previously it was illegal to conduct same-sex sexual activities in Uganda, but the new bill now makes it illegal to so much as identify as gay. Meanwhile, friends and family and others are told they now have a duty to report any individuals in same-sex relationships to the relevant authorities.

This bill wasn’t passed controversially in parliament either, as it had an overwhelming majority backing in Kampala, with Amnesty International calling it "appalling", "ambiguous" and "vaguely worded".

Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International's director for East and Southern Africa, expanded on this, saying:

"This deeply repressive legislation will institutionalise discrimination, hatred, and prejudice against LGBTI people - including those who are perceived to be LGBTI - and block the legitimate work of civil society, public health professionals, and community leaders,"

Another anonymous activist added that in the weeks leading up to the relevant debate, homophobic sentiment was very prominent on the media.

"Members of the queer community have been blackmailed, extorted for money or even lured into traps for mob attacks.

"In some areas even law enforcers are using the current environment to extort money from people who they accuse of being gay. Even some families are reporting their own children to the police."

While the bill is yet to be signed off on by President Yoweri Museveni, there’s not a huge amount of hope that he’ll do the right thing and dente it. While doing so would maintain good relationships with Western countries, donors and investors, he has previous made several anti-gay remarks in the last few weeks alone. On top of that, he’s on record criticising Western countries for putting pressure on Uganda to not pass the bill.

The bill’s backers say that they are trying to protect children, but Clare Byarugaba, LGBTQ+ Rights Activist, Chapter Four Uganda is not convinced by this argument. She told the BBC:

"They are trying to drum up anti-gay rhetoric to divert attention from really what is important to Ugandans in general. There is no reason why you should have a bill that criminalises individuals that are having consensual same-sex adult relationships.

"Whether you're heterosexual or homosexual, the government and parliament should introduce laws, or at least implement existing laws that protect all children - boys, girls from defilement. So the issue of recruitment has been unproven, it is baseless, it is biased."

So what is actually in this bill?

As per the BBC:

The final version has yet to be officially published but elements discussed in parliament include:

• A person who is convicted of grooming or trafficking children for purposes of engaging them in homosexual activities faces life in prison

• Individuals or institutions which support or fund LGBT rights' activities or organisations, or publish, broadcast and distribute pro-gay media material and literature, also face prosecution and imprisonment

• Media groups, journalists and publishers face prosecution and imprisonment for publishing, broadcasting, distribution of any content that advocates for gay rights or "promotes homosexuality"

• Death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality", that is sexual abuse against a child, a person with disability or vulnerable people, or in cases where a victim of homosexual assault is infected with a life-long illness

• Property owners also face risk of being jailed if their premises are used as a "brothel" for homosexual acts or any other sexual minorities rights' activities

Really terrible stuff. Obviously trafficking and grooming children and general sexual assault is reprehensible, but to specifically single out gay people is nothing but vile bigotry.