How our prejudices have combined with an exhausted government to create a disaster for our country
THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | The mighty World Bank has suspended all new loan applications to Uganda for passing the anti-homosexuality act. The law is primitive. I feel ashamed to be a citizen of a country that passes such barbaric legislation against a community for being who they are. Yet, although I am a defender of gay (and all other human) rights in Uganda, I do not agree this struggle needs foreign assistance in form of money, lectures and threats. As I have argued in this column for decades now, these foreign intrusions into our domestic affairs are often more harmful than helpful.
Ugandan gay activists have argued consistently against
foreign aid cuts and travel restrictions insisting that they are
counter-productive. First because they harm the country generally – including
gays. Second, they furnish Ugandan homophobes with the “evidence” that
homosexuality is a Western imposition on the country. This undermines the
legitimacy of local agency. Ugandan gay activists are, therefore, mature and
reflective; especially when compared to their counterparts in politics. Ugandan
opposition politicians keep calling for foreign aid cuts, travel restrictions
and economic sanctions from the West as the pressure button to promote the
democratic reforms and respect for human rights they demand.
Inviting foreigners to become arbiters in our domestic
national affairs not only undermines our sovereignty but it also undermines the
very democracy we are trying to build. The worst reflection of this is the
recent case taken to the International Criminal Court against President Yoweri
Museveni and his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba. Put yourself in their shoes: you
have control of the security infrastructure. The threat of jail after
retirement gives you an incentive to cling to power at all costs. This means
any political transition has to be contested to death. This is likely to
bequeath chaos to the country rather than a peaceful transfer of power.
The stupidity of our political opposition aside, the passing
of the anti-homosexuality law is a consequence and a reflection of how far our
government has corroded. As the President closes in on his 80th birthday next
year, he has grown tired and bored. His government has become lethargic,
apathetic and directionless. There is a tragic lack of strategic thinking about
important issues that concern the country. As a consequence, decisions that
have powerful implications on the future of the country are taken on the basis
of individual self-interest with little regard for the national good or out of
momentary feelings of those responsible.
Uganda has long and deep connections with the Western world.
These connections are historical, cultural and economic. More than financial
aid, the Western world is the largest source of foreign tourists into our
country. We also need to look at the West as a major destination for our
exports. Western firms invest in our country singly or in partnership with
Ugandans. And Western financial institutions extend loans to our businesses
here. To pass a law well knowing it is going to discourage lenders, investors,
tourists, and consumers of our goods from interacting with us shows absence of
strategic thinking in decision making.
For instance, what injury was Uganda trying to cure in
passing this law? Many politicians argue that it is to protect our children
from abuse by adults. The second, to stop “promotion” of homosexuality as a
normal lifestyle. Let us unpack each of these. Existing law in Uganda states
that any adult who has sex with a minor has committed a crime of defilement and
is liable, upon conviction, to a sentence of life in jail. The law does not
target any one group. This achieves the aim of protecting our children without
alienating our Western partners. To pass a law specifically aimed at
homosexuals lacks strategic sense. It does not add any value, except to make
some feel emotionally satisfied but at the price of undermining trade,
investment and tourism with Western countries.
According to the police crime report, out of 12,700 cases of
defilement reported in 2022, only 300 were boys, 12,400 were little girls. In
all the cases, the offenders were men. This means that 97 percent of defilement
cases in Uganda are of adult men abusing little girls. Our parliament has not
felt it important to reinforce the law to protect girls. Obviously, this is
because in our misguided minds, we consider such abuse within normal sexual
parameters and therefore tolerable. The West is right to complain that this law
is discriminatory, targeting a group in our society for being who they are.
This leaves only prohibiting “promotion” of homosexuality as
the justification for this barbaric law. What does “promotion” mean in the eyes
of our homophobes? Am I promoting homosexuality by arguing that homosexuals are
normal people and homosexuality a normal sexual lifestyle? If yes, I (and so
many other Ugandans) do this every week on traditional and social media. If the
law makers were serious, how come they have not arrested and charged me under
this law alongside thousands of Ugandans who argue that homosexuality is
normal? This shows our legislators and their supporters were not even thinking
about what they were doing.
Ugandans will continue with their homosexual liaisons
confident that government is not going to be inspecting their bedrooms to see
who is sleeping with who. Why, then, pass a law you know you are not going to
enforce yet will alienate you from a very important source of tourists,
investors, investment funds and trade opportunities? Secondly, our parliament
can criminalize homosexuality but it cannot abolish it. Therefore, prohibition
of “promotion” of homosexuality will only stop healthcare centers from
providing sex education plus mental and clinical treatment to homosexuals. What
does Uganda benefit by denying a section of its society access to mental and
clinical treatment, because it has made its existence a crime? Note: Uganda has
criminalised the use of drugs but it has never criminalised treatment of drug
offenders.
Thus, every time I have appeared for debates on television
or radio and even in private conversations with Ugandan elites of the homophobe
variety, I have been appalled by how much their prejudices blind them to
critical thinking. While the costs of this law are well known on trade,
investment and tourism (I am deliberately omitting foreign financial
“assistance” because I do not believe in it), the law does not have any
enforceable benefits. It only gives us some sentimental satisfaction that
something has been done against something we consider “evil.” Is this a worthy tradeoff?
******
amwenda@independent.co.ug
No comments:
Post a Comment