Anti Homosexuality Act, US Revokes Uganda’s Speaker Visas

Uganda Today: Revoking Speaker Among’s USA visa over anti-gay law is barbaric and sheer arrogance!

By Muhimbise George

Shortly after the Speaker of Parliament Rt Hon Anita Among announced that the President had signed the Anti homosexuality law, the US government announced a cancellation of Hon Among’s visa to the United States!

This is perhaps the worst form of arrogance and exercise of raw power for a modern country like the US. Of course, on one hand it exposes the US and the west hypocrisy as self-styled champions of democracy and tolerance yet on the other hand it puts to test our independence as an African state and whether we have the backbone to stand our word and maintain our stand!

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This law was passed by a Parliament with close to 400 MPs voting in its favor, it was supported by Ugandans across political, religious, cultural and economic divide and finally assented to by the President. Why the US would single out only the Speaker and Hon Basalirwa speaks to the imperialistic politics of blackmail and intimidation that is being perpetuated by the so-called fathers of democracy. Why didn’t they punish all the MPs who passed the law or other Ugandans who supported it?

Indeed, Hon Among has staked her back, sacrificed herself for the sanctity of our values and the future of this country. She had two different paths to choose between; either a simple path of succumbing to the pressures including accepting to be compromised with the crumbs from the West or the hard path standing with confidence and courage in the face of threats.

She chose a hard one; to stand tall to be seen and to speak loudly to be heard; there is no doubt that both the future & history will absolve and exonerate her.

There is no doubt that the US and Western obsessive love for homosexuality to the extent of imposing it on Africans almost at a gun point is not only evil intended, bad and dangerous, but is also aimed at entrenching their hegemonic interests on us as Africans. It is good that the Ugandan Parliament stood their ground thus did not betray Ugandans.

The US and its allies have for decades directly or indirectly sponsored or presided over gross human rights violations in Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Palestine among others. The US has also established and maintained the famous Guantanamo Bay prison where reports of gross human rights abuse have been mentioned and they have continued funding African despots whose regimes continue to violet the fundamental freedoms and rights of their own citizens.

As war mongers, the US have continued to perpetuate and distill violence and tyranny in Asia, the Middle East and Africa in which gross human rights violation and bloodshed have consistently persisted, they dont have the moral authority to police anybody on human rights!

The west and US power has been constructed on bloodshed through their endless military adventures, the beauty is that the world has understood them, their influence has reached its peak, and soon will reach diminishing returns after which it will crumble like a pack of cards!

The US and the west should know that Uganda is sovereign state, they should know that we have our strongly cherished values and interests which we are willing to protect at all costs and they cannot impose homosexuality on us, at least without a fight.

Their arrogance demonstrates their chauvinistic attitude, an inflated sense of self-importance and exergerated ego! We aren’t their peg boys to follow their dictates without question.

The efforts and resources that they continue to pour in their “nonstarter” homosexuality project should be rather allocated to secure the rights and dignity of the millions of refugees that have been displaced in senseless wars in the countries mentioned above, championing the rights of the many political prisoners in many African states or to secure the rights of women and children who are being raped and defiled in DRC, South Sudan, Chad and other war tone countries!

The US surely have a lot on their plate, they should not stoop too law to start determining the travels of Uganda’s Speaker, in any case who is not dying to travel to their country! The people of Uganda irrespective of their differences are united in prayer and courage with the President, the Speaker and the Parliament of Uganda in defending our values, and the west should just accept!

Muhimbise George, muhimbiseg@gmail.com, +256 787 836 515

The Author is Human Rights Student at the Law Development Centre