KAMPALA, Feb 18 — Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said he will go ahead and sign an anti-gay bill into law despite pressure from the United States.
Museveni made the remarks late Sunday at the close of a meeting of the ruling party’s legislators, Xinhua news agency reported.
Last month, Museveni refused to sign the bill criminalising homosexuality but a State House statement issued last week said the president will go ahead with it following a scientific explanation from experts that homosexuality is not biological.
“Homosexuality is not a disease but merely an abnormal behaviour,” a government spokesperson said at a previous press conference. Museveni said all those promoting homosexuality should not only be dealt with by law, but also harshly.
US President Barack Obama on Sunday voiced his “deep disappointment” at Museveni’s plan to enact the legislation, warning the move will “complicate” US relations with Uganda and be a “step backward” for all Ugandans.
The bill, which has been in Uganda’s parliament since 2009, was overwhelmingly passed by legislators recently.
-BERNAMA
