Here's an update to yesterday's post on the possible imminent passage of Uganda's anti-homosexuality bill.
Jim Burroway at Box Turtle Bulletin has an update on the bill and the timing under which it might be considered.
Burroway notes that while bills listed under "business to follow" often sit under that category for months before they are considered. He also notes that tomorrow, May 11, is not only the last scheduled day of parliament, but also a day in which Uganda's opposition leader returns from a trip to Kenya where he was treated for injuries sustained by Ugandan security forces during a peaceful protest.
Burroway wonders if the bill might be addressed as a diversion from the rioting and domestic strife taking place in the country over corruption, and food and fuel prices.
The BBC reports that Pastor Martin "Eat Da Poo Poo" Ssempa has called for the death penalty to be removed from the bill:
But according to AP news agency, MP David Bahati, who proposed the legislation, last month said that the death penalty "was something we have moved away from".
Pastor Ssempa also rejected this clause but nevertheless urged the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee to back the bill. "The parliament should be given the opportunity to discuss and pass the bill, because homosexuality is killing our society," AP news agency quotes him as telling the MPs.
Activist group GetEQUAL is holding a protest today at 4-6 p.m. at the Ugandan Embassy, 5911 15th Street NW in Washington, D.C.
If you can't make it to the protest in person, you can call, write, and/or fax the Ugandan Ambassador to the United States. Please be polite, but firm. The contact information is:
His Excellency Professor Perezi K. Kamunanwire
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Tel: (202) 726 4758
Fax: (202) 726 1727
pkamunanwire@ugandaembassyus.org
Also, sign AllOut's petition or Avaaz.org's petition.
