Latest news with #UgandaLaw
BBC News
05-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
World Bank U-turn ends loan ban to Uganda over gay rights
The World Bank says it is lifting a ban on loans to Uganda that it had put in place two years ago when the country passed tough new laws against LGBTQ 2023, Uganda voted in some of the world's harshest anti-homosexual legislation meaning that anybody engaging in certain same-sex acts can be sentenced to then, hundreds of people have been evicted from their homes, subjected to violence or arrested because of their sexuality, according to Uganda's Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF).But the World Bank says it is confident that new "mitigation measures" will allow it to roll out funding in such a way that does not harm or discriminate against LGBTQ people. The BBC has asked the Ugandan government and the World Bank for further comment."The World Bank cannot deliver on its mission to end poverty and boost shared prosperity on a liveable planet unless all people can participate in, and benefit from, the projects we finance, " a spokesman told the AFP news agency on Thursday, adding that the organisation had "worked with the [Ugandan] government and other stakeholders in the country to introduce, implement and test" anti-discrimination projects in "social protection, education, and forced displacement and refugees" have also been approved, an unnamed World Bank spokesperson told the Reuters news say the World Bank is one of Uganda's biggest sources of external financing, playing an important role in infrastructure development. Road upgrades and widened electricity access are among the projects the organisation is backing in the East African some economists criticise the funding model used by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in general, saying it perpetuates dependency and undermines sustainable growth in the world's poorest nations by tying them to restrictive loan is among several African nations - including Ghana and Kenya - that in recent years have witnessed moves to curtail the rights of LGBTQ of Uganda's draconian Anti-Homosexuality Act in 2023 prompted international cost the country somewhere between $470m and $1.7bn (£347m and £1.2bn) in the year that followed, mainly because of frozen financing, according to estimates by the UK-based charity Open for government says its anti-gay law reflects the conservative values of its people, but its critics say the law is little more than a distraction from real issues such as high unemployment and ongoing attacks on the opposition."It's low-hanging fruit," Oryem Nyeko, a researcher working at Human Rights Watch in Uganda, told CBC at the time."It's being framed as something that's foreign and threatening to people's children."Victims of beatings, evictions and worse say that Uganda's new law has emboldened people to attack them based on their perceived fact that the law also stipulates a 20-year prison sentence for "promoting" homosexuality has also been seen as an attack on anybody who defends LGBTQ rights, but the government denies this. You may also be interested in: Beaten and forced to flee for being LGBTQVeteran Ugandan politician charged with treasonGhanaian MPs reintroduce controversial anti-LGBTQ billWill Kenya be the latest African country to pass anti-gay law? Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
Reuters
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Uganda passes law to restore military prosecutions of civilians
KAMPALA, May 20 (Reuters) - Uganda's parliament on Tuesday passed an amended law that permits military tribunals to try civilians, prompting protests from the opposition who said the move violated a Supreme Court ruling in January that banned such trials. The practice, in use for the last two decades, has long been criticised by opposition politicians and rights campaigners who accuse the government of using courts martial to silence opponents, which it denies. In a post on the X platform, parliament said the legislation had been passed. The head of the military, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, praised the speaker of parliament and government lawmakers for passing the bill. "Today, you proved you are fearless patriots! Uganda will remember your courage and commitment," he said on X. Military spokesman Chris Magezi said the law "will deal decisively with armed violent criminals, deter the formation of militant political groups that seek to subvert democratic processes, and ensure national security is bound on a firm foundational base." During a debate on the law, opposition politician Jonathan Odur, said the legislation was "shallow, unreasonable and unconstitutional." "There's no legal basis to provide for trial of civilians in the military court." The next step will be for President Yoweri Museveni to approve the law for it to take effect. In a ruling in January, Uganda's Supreme Court forbade military trials of civilians, saying the tribunals lacked legal competence to handle criminal trials in a fair and impartial manner. The verdict forced authorities to transfer the trial of a major opposition figure, Kizza Besigye, who was undergoing military prosecution for offences including treason, to a civilian court. Besigye, who has previously challenged incumbent Museveni four times in elections, was detained in neighbouring Kenya last year and brought to Uganda to face a military court. His lawyers and his party, the People's Front for Freedom (PFF), have called the charges politically motivated. Opposition leader Bobi Wine was also in 2018 charged in a military court for alleged illegal possession of firearms although the charges against the pop star-turned-politician were later dropped. Human Rights Watch has previously criticised Uganda's military courts, saying they did not meet international judicial standards of competence, independence and impartiality. The courts also routinely use evidence extracted through torture of defendants while also ignoring other key fair trial rules, the rights group said. The military denies the accusations.
