Gay-rights activists in Uganda warned Monday of mounting violence against homosexuals after parliament passed controversial legislation last week that would make some gay acts punishable with life in prison.
"The witch hunt had already started, and now it has been legitimized by the parliament of Uganda, which is very scary," said Clare Byarugaba, coordinator for the Ugandan Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law, an umbrella gay-rights group. "We don't know how brutal the police will be now that the bill has passed.
With this legitimization, it's going to get worse." Homosexuality is illegal in most African countries, where sodomy laws were introduced during colonialism. Currently in Uganda, homosexual acts are punishable by 14 years to life in prison, according to rights activists.
But lawmakers in the conservative nation sought tougher legislation, saying the Western lifestyle risks destroying Ugandan family units.
Gay activists in Uganda are regularly detained, blackmailed and harassed in what they say has been an ongoing campaign led by religious and political leaders in the conservative East African country.
"What we are convinced and sure of is that nobody can in one's right conscience and consciousness choose to be homosexual," said Simon Lokodo, Uganda's minister for Ethics and Integrity.
"This must be under pressure or conditions because we know that the natural tendency is always for a male to go for a female and vice-versa." The moral fervor has even impacted the expatriate community in Uganda.
A retired British man is facing up to two years in prison over the possession of a gay sex video.
The man says the images were stolen along with his laptop in a break-in at his home. Images from the video were later published in a local tabloid newspaper notorious for outing gays.
Bernard Randall, 65, was scheduled to appear in an Entebbe court last week, but his case has been postponed until January 22.
Randall was arrested and released on bail last month and is charged with "trafficking obscene publications," which carries a sentence of up to two years.
His partner, Ugandan Albert Cheptoyek, was arrested and will stand trial alongside him, facing a more serious charge for "gross indecency," which carries a sentence of up to seven years.
"There certainly seems to be a ramping up of pressure from the state here against homosexuals," said Randall, citing a string of arrests and trials against gay activists in recent months.
"I'm still very concerned if they drop the case or if I'm found not guilty."
Early this year, another British national, David Cecil, faced up to two years in prison for staging a play with a gay character without government permission. Though the charges against him were dropped for lack of evidence, he was deported from Uganda one month later. Cecil has
