New Ugandan Law to Crack Down on NGOs 'Promoting Bad Homosexuality'

Ugandan lawmakers will consider new legislation that would strengthen the restrictions placed on nongovernmental organizations who may work with the LGBT community, reports Reuters.

Despite the fact that the existing Anti-Homosexuality Act already allows for directors of such groups to spend up to seven years in jail, draft legislation would ban foreign NGOs from any involvement with Ugandan politics or policy, and require them to fully disclose all financial information to the Ugandan government.

"There are some NGOs who have come here to undermine us, to promote very bad behavior like homosexuality," James Baba, a junior internal affairs minister, told Reuters Monday. "As a responsible government we need to check that. They [NGOs] will not be able to do that when we pass this law."

The draft legislation is now being considered in the national cabinet before its introduction in parliament, and would require any foreign charities who work in Uganda to formally disclose to the government the organization's annual budget, sources of income, and records of how that income was used.

The provision preventing foreign NGOs from commenting on Ugandan politics and policies is viewed by many as the latest attempt in an ongoing effort to silence dissent and political opposition to President Yoweri Museveni's 26-year rule, and the ruling party's stranglehold on Parliament.

Trending stories

Trump's orders prompt CDC to erase HIV resources

Broadway bound: The best hotels in NYC’s Theater District for every type of traveler

Out and About with Karan Soni

Discover the power of Wellness in your life

How climate disasters hurt mental health in young people

The Charles is Pacific Grove's new LGBTQ+ hotel

France becomes world’s first country to enshrine abortion rights in constitution

Gerald Garth is keeping people of color happy and healthy through trying times

Broadway's best raise over $1 million for LGBTQ+ and HIV causes

Bobby Berk reveals his favorite part about being gay: 'The sex!'

All 6 rogue Mississippi cops got long prison sentences in 'Goon Squad' torture of 2 Black men

Beyond Wonderland's accepting & unifying rave culture is needed more than ever

'The Last Of Us' stars share powerful messages to queer fans: 'We hold space for you'

Robert Irwin is stripping down & rocking tiny briefs in new underwear campaign

23 brutally funny 'Hands Off' protest signs that prove the resistance is alive & hilarious

'Survivor' star Teeny Chirichillo comes out as trans in candid new essay

Elon Musk uses burner accounts on X, doesn’t fact-check: report

15 lesbian coming-of-age movies that will hit you right in the feels

Season 4 of The Switch on resilience & radical self-love returns this spring

French Polynesia doesn’t need Pride flags to earn its place on every LGBTQ+ bucket list

Need survival tactics? Ask 'The Last of Us' cast

Troye Sivan, Billie Eilish, Lorde turn Charli XCX's Coachella set into gay 'Brat' heaven

The Kilted Age: Claybourne Elder models the power of queer history and parenting

Issa Rae says 'Black Mirror' love story with Emma Corrin created 'curiosity and chemistry'

Joe Biden has tied the record for most LGBTQ+ judges confirmed in federal courts

• 0
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8

Reuters notes that last year, the ruling National Resistance Movement party passed a law that requires any public gathering of more than three people who plan to discuss politics to seek pre-approval from the local police chief. Museveni is up for re-election in 2016, and has been working to quell growing discontent with abject poverty, systemic corruption, and lack of basic services for everyday Ugandans since the president took power in 1988, when Uganda gained its independence from the United Kingdom.