President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda has refused to sign into law a controversial new bill against homosexuality that prescribes the death penalty in some cases, requesting that it should be amended.
Museveni's decision was announced late Thursday after a meeting of lawmakers in his ruling party, almost all of whom support the bill approved by lawmakers last month.
The meeting resolved to return the bill to the national assembly "with proposals for its improvement," a statement said.
It was not immediately clear what the president's recommendations were. Homosexuality is already illegal in the East African country under a colonial-era law criminalizing sex acts "against the order of nature." The punishment for that offense is life imprisonment.
Museveni is under pressure from the international community to veto the bill, which needs his signature to become law. The U.S. has warned of economic consequences if the legislation is enacted. A group of U.N. experts has described the bill, if enacted, as "an egregious violation of human rights."
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But the bill has wide support in Uganda, including among church leaders. It was introduced by an opposition lawmaker who said his goal was to punish the "promotion, recruitment and funding" of LGBTQ activities in the country. Only two of 389 legislators present for the voting session opposed the bill.
The bill prescribes the death penalty for the offense of "aggravated homosexuality," and life imprisonment for "homosexuality."
Aggravated homosexuality is defined as cases of sexual relations involving people infected with HIV as well as minors and other categories of vulnerable people.
Jail terms of up to 20 years are proposed for those who advocate or promote the rights of LGBTQ people.
A suspect convicted of "attempted aggravated homosexuality" can be jailed for 14 years and the offense of "attempted homosexuality" is punishable by up to 10 years, according to the bill.
Anti-gay sentiment in Uganda has grown in recent weeks amid press reports alleging sodomy in boarding schools, including a prestigious one for boys where a parent accused a teacher of abusing her son.
The decision in February of the Church of England to bless civil marriages of same-sex couples also has angered many in Uganda and elsewhere in Africa, including some who see homosexuality as imported from abroad.
Homosexuality is criminalized in more than 30 of Africa’s 54 countries.
