BREAKING: Uganda Kill The Gays Bill Disappears From Parliament Agenda

Editor’s note: The situation has changed. Please read: URGENT UPDATE: Kill The Gays Bill Back On Uganda Parliament Vote Agenda. This is a developing story, and we expect a vote later today. Please check back throughout the day for updates.

For the most up-to-date news on Uganda’s Kill The Gays bill, visit our Uganda section.

 

In an unexpected move, overnight, Uganda’s internationally denounced Kill The Gays bill has disappeared from the Uganda Parliament’s agenda. The bill is infamous around the world for its provision mandating the death penalty for anyone convicted of the “crime” of homosexuality, anyone convicted of same-​sex rape, anyone who is classified as a “serial offender,” even anyone with HIV. The bill was widely expected to be voted upon — and easily pass — Wednesday, after two days of committee debate that its author, David Bahati (photo), claimed had produced a version that stripped the death penalty for being gay out of the draft legislation. Parliament’s last scheduled day is today, but technically May 18 is the close of its session before a new Parliament is sworn in.

READ: U.S. State Department Responds To Uganda’s Kill The Gays Bill

Worldwide outcry from nearly two million individuals who signed online petitions and contacted Ugandan embassies, as well as from governments around the world, including the U.K., and United States — which contributes a large portion of Uganda’s annual operating budget through various foreign aid entities — may have had the desired effect.

 

It is critical to note that this does not mean the Kill The Gays bill is dead. It has “died” and been resurrected several times before, and its author, M.P. David Bahati — who has strong ties to the highly influential political and religious group, The Family — is not about to let it die.

 

“One member of parliament, John Alimadi, said Wednesday that the bill may have been dropped from the agenda because of a worldwide outcry against it,’ reported The Washington Post Wednesday.

It is critical to note that this does not mean the Kill The Gays bill is dead. It has “died” and been resurrected several times before, and its author, M.P. David Bahati — who has strong ties to the highly influential political and religious group, The Family — is not about to let it go, especially after spending the better part of two years advocating for it, and against his gay and lesbian constituents.

Uganda ranks number 143 of 169 countries in the  United Nations Development Programme Human Development Index, which examines a combination of health, education, and living standards. Uganda is also considered to have a high number of people who are illiterate, especially women. All these factors lead to a population easily indoctrinated into religious extremism.

READ: Barney Frank To Uganda: Pass The Kill The Gays Bill, Say Goodbye To Foreign Aid

The bill has been seen by many in the western media as a diversionary tactic for a government attempting to regain control amidst an increasingly angry and rioting population — one that is extremely homophobic and anti-​gay, thanks in large part to American Evangelical groups, including The Family, that have infiltrated the country of 32 million people, 84% of whom are Christian.

The Kill The Gays Bill also mandates jail time for those who know of homosexuals but do not report them to authorities within 24 hours and offers a maximum of seven years prison time for even renting a room to someone who is homosexual. Any assistance to a gay man or lesbian would be considered criminal.

The bill reportedly was shelved in March, but Bahati — who has said he wants to “kill every last gay person” — appeared defiant, stating at the time, “I think that the government is aware that 95 percent of Ugandans do not condone homosexuality.”

One week later, supporters of the bill, lead by right-​wing zealot Pastor Martin Ssempa, presented to Speaker of the Uganda Parliament, Edward Ssekandi, a petition reportedly carrying two million signatures, demanding the “Kill The Gays” bill — also known as the “Anti-​Homosexuality Bill” — become law.

The “Kill The Gays” bill, which has also become known as the “Bahati bill,” is necessary — according to the team of Pastor Ssempa and David Bahati — because homosexuals are supposedly “recruiting children” in Uganda, and, the two claim, paying them large sums of money to have same-​gender sex or to become homosexual. The petition reportedly came with a list of nineteen organizations that they claim are “promoting” homosexuality in Uganda.

But no one has ever provided actual proof. Bahati, who has a Cardiff University MBA, has been repeatedly asked in this country by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow for any proof of these allegations. Bahati promised to provide it but never has.