Petition delivered to Uganda’s Parliament; Ssempa miffed

Avaaz.org is hosting a petition opposing Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The first installment of signatures was delivered earlier today to the Speaker of the Parliament, Edward Sekandi. From Afrik.com:

The anti-gay bill was tabled in parliament by member of parliament David Bahati in October 2009. Since then a lot has been debated about the harshness of punishments in the bill.

The petition was today morning presented to the speaker of Uganda parliament Edward Sekandi by four people who said were representing Aids service providers, human rights activists, spiritual mentors and councilors.

Rev. Canon Gideon Byamugisha, the first Anglican church priest in Uganda to declare that he was living with HIV-AIDs in late 1980, led the group that presented the bill to the speaker in parliament.

Byamigisha told the press in Kampala that the speaker welcomed their petition and promised to send it to the committee working on the bill. He said that Sekandi told them that it is now too late to withdraw the bill because it is already in the hands of parliamentarians.
You can find the petition here. Normally I do not sign online petitions but this one has some connection in the real world via Rev. Byamugisha. I think this with the Facebook groups (over 100,000 members of the various groups) might give some sense of the magnitude of the hope for a reconsideration among Uganda’s key leaders.
UPDATE: Martin Ssempa is not happy with the petition, calling Byamugisha one of the “imperialistic agents of sodomy.” Ssempa want the petitioners thrown out of Parliament and sent to some camp for a little reeducation.  

2 thoughts on “Petition delivered to Uganda’s Parliament; Ssempa miffed”

  1. Something I wrote on his blog… naughty of me, I know.

    I’m in favour of the death penalty for anyone who deliberately corrupts children by showing them pornography.

    And I think the majority of Ugandans think likewise.

    Once the new Anti-Homosexuality Bill is in force, anyone who committed such a crime in the past involving homosexual pornography will be liable to jail. If they did it on two occasions, they will be liable to be hanged, and a good thing too.

    I’m told a parliamentarian did this, deliberately showed homosexual pornography, even in church, even to children! And we have proof, many eye-winesses and photos. The sooner he’s executed, the better.

    OK, I gave in to my baser instincts. I’m not actually in favour of capital punishment except in very exceptional circumstances, and this doesn’t even begin to qualify. I lied, bluntly.

    But if the law is made to commence from the time the bill was announced… allowed by the Westminster system without it being considered retrospective legislation… then yes, he may be hoist on his own petard.

  2. Ssempa:

    While we may recommend varying punishments on those who undertake statutory rape (aggravated defilement/homosexuality) of minors and the handicapped, we all agree that homosexuality is a global problem like HIV/AIDS and swine flu which needs emergency legislative efforts.

    It’s astonishing how he talks about all these things in one breath, as though they are the same. His arguments are very facile.

    [We] recommend that Gideon and his gangsters be treated as imperialistic agents of Sodomy who should be sent to Kyankwanzi cadre school and taught a lesson Patriotism! For God and my country…

    …just creepy. The concurrent strains of patriotism and anti-colonialism in this are disturbing.

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