Uganda president Yoweri Museveni has refused to approve a controversial bill that would have seen homosexuals jailed for life despite viewing gays as "sick" and "abnormal", his spokesman said on Friday.
In a letter to parliament, the president suggested homosexuality was caused by a genetic flaw, or a need to make money. Lesbians, he added, choose female partners because of "sexual starvation" and the failure to marry a man.
"He does not approve of homosexuality but he believes that these people have a right to exist," presidential spokesman Tamale Mirudi told AFP, explaining why the bill had been rejected.
"The president says that these people are sick, you cannot kill a sick person. A person that has been found guilty of homosexual practices cannot be imprisoned for life."
The Ugandan anti-gay bill cruised through parliament last month after its architects agreed to drop an extremely controversial death penalty clause, although the bill still held that repeat offenders should be jailed for life -- drawing widespread international condemnation.
Museveni, a key regional ally of the United States and the European Union, has already been under fire from key Western donors over alleged rampant corruption and had faced calls from diplomats and rights groups to block the legislation.
But the spokesman insisted the president was not backing down in the face of international condemnation.
"What the president has been saying is that we shall not persecute these homosexuals and lesbians. That is the point. That is the message. Maybe society can resent them but they cannot be persecuted because of their problem," Mirudi said.
"It was not because of a lobby. Nobody has influenced the president. The president's position has been the same for a long time, nothing has changed," he added.
Museveni, who is a devout evangelical Christian, said the best way to stop people being gay was to improve the African nation's economy and give young people jobs.
Although he has refused to sign off on the legislation, the president left little doubt that his homophobic outlook remained intact.
"You cannot call an abnormality an alternative orientation," the independent Daily Monitor newspaper quoted him as saying in a letter to MPs.
"It could be that the Western societies, on account of random breeding, have generated many abnormal people," wrote Museveni, whose often refers to lessons gleaned during his childhood in a livestock-rearing, cattle-herding community.
The president added that other people became gay for "mercenary reasons", or, in the case of lesbians, a lack of sex with men.
Gay activists welcome 'progress', religious groups angry
Prominent Ugandan gay rights activist Frank Mugisha told AFP that the president's decision not to endorse the bill was nevertheless "progress" and may be a sign that his stance was softening -- given that politicians have previously insisted homosexuality was only a lifestyle choice.
"The president's view is evolving but he needs to get more scientific information, more information from us and our partners the activists," Mugisha said, adding he hoped the president would one day come to view gays as "a minority or different people".
David Bahati, the Ugandan lawmaker who spearheaded the bill, told AFP that he was disappointed and defended the text as necessary to "protect the present and future generations of Uganda".
Jonah Lwanga of the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda also suggested the president had bowed to donor pressure.
"The president should not bow to pressure from outside. He should as a matter of urgency sign this bill into law," he said. "This is not about aid but the moral fabric of our nation and human race."
Homophobia is widespread in Uganda, where American-style evangelical Christianity is on the rise.
Gay men and women in the country face frequent harassment and threats of violence, and rights activists have reported cases of lesbians being subjected to "corrective" rapes.
In 2011, prominent Ugandan gay rights activist David Kato was bludgeoned to death at his home after a newspaper splashed photos, names and addresses of gays in Uganda on its front page along with a yellow banner reading "Hang Them".
AIDS activists say that the bill would have prevented gays from having access to essential public health information, such as how to protect themselves from HIV and how to access life-saving treatment and support services.
Uganda president Yoweri Museveni has refused to approve a controversial bill that would have seen homosexuals jailed for life despite viewing gays as “sick” and “abnormal”, his spokesman said on Friday.
In a letter to parliament, the president suggested homosexuality was caused by a genetic flaw, or a need to make money. Lesbians, he added, choose female partners because of “sexual starvation” and the failure to marry a man.
“He does not approve of homosexuality but he believes that these people have a right to exist,” presidential spokesman Tamale Mirudi told AFP, explaining why the bill had been rejected.
“The president says that these people are sick, you cannot kill a sick person. A person that has been found guilty of homosexual practices cannot be imprisoned for life.”
The Ugandan anti-gay bill cruised through parliament last month after its architects agreed to drop an extremely controversial death penalty clause, although the bill still held that repeat offenders should be jailed for life — drawing widespread international condemnation.
Museveni, a key regional ally of the United States and the European Union, has already been under fire from key Western donors over alleged rampant corruption and had faced calls from diplomats and rights groups to block the legislation.
But the spokesman insisted the president was not backing down in the face of international condemnation.
“What the president has been saying is that we shall not persecute these homosexuals and lesbians. That is the point. That is the message. Maybe society can resent them but they cannot be persecuted because of their problem,” Mirudi said.
“It was not because of a lobby. Nobody has influenced the president. The president’s position has been the same for a long time, nothing has changed,” he added.
Museveni, who is a devout evangelical Christian, said the best way to stop people being gay was to improve the African nation’s economy and give young people jobs.
Although he has refused to sign off on the legislation, the president left little doubt that his homophobic outlook remained intact.
“You cannot call an abnormality an alternative orientation,” the independent Daily Monitor newspaper quoted him as saying in a letter to MPs.
“It could be that the Western societies, on account of random breeding, have generated many abnormal people,” wrote Museveni, whose often refers to lessons gleaned during his childhood in a livestock-rearing, cattle-herding community.
The president added that other people became gay for “mercenary reasons”, or, in the case of lesbians, a lack of sex with men.
Gay activists welcome ‘progress’, religious groups angry
Prominent Ugandan gay rights activist Frank Mugisha told AFP that the president’s decision not to endorse the bill was nevertheless “progress” and may be a sign that his stance was softening — given that politicians have previously insisted homosexuality was only a lifestyle choice.
“The president’s view is evolving but he needs to get more scientific information, more information from us and our partners the activists,” Mugisha said, adding he hoped the president would one day come to view gays as “a minority or different people”.
David Bahati, the Ugandan lawmaker who spearheaded the bill, told AFP that he was disappointed and defended the text as necessary to “protect the present and future generations of Uganda”.
Jonah Lwanga of the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda also suggested the president had bowed to donor pressure.
“The president should not bow to pressure from outside. He should as a matter of urgency sign this bill into law,” he said. “This is not about aid but the moral fabric of our nation and human race.”
Homophobia is widespread in Uganda, where American-style evangelical Christianity is on the rise.
Gay men and women in the country face frequent harassment and threats of violence, and rights activists have reported cases of lesbians being subjected to “corrective” rapes.
In 2011, prominent Ugandan gay rights activist David Kato was bludgeoned to death at his home after a newspaper splashed photos, names and addresses of gays in Uganda on its front page along with a yellow banner reading “Hang Them”.
AIDS activists say that the bill would have prevented gays from having access to essential public health information, such as how to protect themselves from HIV and how to access life-saving treatment and support services.
