Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni, has backed a controversial bill with some of the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ legislation but will pass it back to parliament to include provisions for gay people to be rehabilitated.
However, at a National Resistance Movement (NRM) meeting on Friday, Museveni praised the lawmakers for approving the bill and insisted he would never bow to international condemnation.
The bill, which prescribes the death penalty in some cases, was passed last month and has already triggered a wave of arrests and attacks against LGBTQ Ugandans.
But Museveni rejected criticism from human rights groups.
Those who advocate or promote the rights of LGBTQ people can be jailed for up to 20 years and be sentenced to death for an offence of “aggravated homosexuality.”
The U.S. has warned of economic consequences if the legislation is enacted.
