KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Washington announced Friday that it will impose visa restrictions on Ugandans it accuses of “undermining the democratic process” in Uganda following the enactment of an anti-gay law in the East African country.
A State Department statement did not name any targeted individuals.
He said the US would consider other possible actions “to promote the accountability of Ugandan officials and others responsible for or complicit in undermining the democratic process in Uganda, abusing human rights, including those of LGBTQI+ people, or engaging in corrupt practices “.
Uganda’s new law, passed last month, punishes homosexuality, including the death penalty in some cases. The legislation has been widely condemned by rights activists and others abroad, but has broad support in Uganda, including among religious leaders and lawmakers.
LGBTQ rights activists point out that homosexuality was already illegal in Uganda under a colonial-era law that criminalized sexual activity “against the order of nature”. The punishment for this crime is life imprisonment.
Homosexuality is criminalized in more than 30 of Africa’s 54 countries. Some Africans see it as a behavior imported from abroad and not a sexual orientation.
