Reports by U.S. and Ugandan news organizations that Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill had been “shelved” are, once again, incorrect.
This misunderstanding periodically occurs when reporters or editors misunderstand Uganda’s legislative usage of the term “tabled,” which means that a bill has been put “on the table” for eventual consideration, not that the bill has been withdrawn. The misunderstanding also happens when officials in the Uganda leadership anonymously seek to dampen foreign donors’ alarm over Uganda’s worsening human-rights situation with false assurances.
Conservative Christian pundit Warren Throckmorton clarified the bill’s status in a post on Monday.
Today, Mr. Tashobya [member of the committee overseeing the bill] told me that nothing had changed regarding the time table for considering the bill. He said the Parliament will reconvene very soon after the February 18 elections and consider the remaining bills, including the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
Throckmorton adds:
Jeff Sharlet reported a conversation with [David] Bahati on the matter. CNN interviewed David Bahati who said clearly that the bill would be considered. In November, Bahati told me that the bill would be considered before the Parliament ended in May. He confirmed that again to Rachel Maddow in December when he was in the US. Finally, Stephen Tashobya, the chair of the Ugandan committee which has jurisdiction over the bill, told me that the Anti-Homosexuality would be considered after the nation holds elections in February. Today, he said nothing has changed.
For more information: Uganda opposition leader against prosecuting gays, africasia.com
