Gay Ugandans face injustice: where is SA?

SA has a long and shameful record of failing to defend human rights abuses on the international stage. From former president Thabo Mbeki’s refusal to condemn Zimbabwe’s torture and unlawful detention of political dissidents to the present administration’s embarrassing flimflammery on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a series of ANC-led governments has opted for quiet diplomacy over doing the right thing.

So, it is hardly surprising that SA has failed to take a stand on the injustice confronting gay Ugandans after its parliament passed one of the world’s most draconian anti-homosexuality acts last week. The legislation, widely expected to be signed into law by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, makes it a crime for anyone to identify as being gay, punishes gay sex with life imprisonment, and introduces the offence of “promoting” homosexuality, a term so broad it threatens journalists, nongovernment organisations, lawyers and medical professionals with jail terms of up 20 years for simply doing their jobs.

The Ugandan move against the LGBTQ community has rightly been described by the UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, as a deeply disturbing development that renders lesbian, gay and bisexual people criminals for simply being who they are. The legislation has also been slammed by international agencies such as the World Health Organization and Unaids.

In recent years, Ugandan religious leaders and politicians have intensified their campaign of harassment and persecution against LGBTQ people. Now gay people under 18 are threatened with the chilling prospect of up to three years in prison for “rehabilitation”, landlords face prison for letting properties to homosexuals, and people convicted of “aggravated homosexuality”, which includes anyone having same-sex relations with someone with a disability or HIV, may face the death penalty.

Uganda is not alone in its institutionalised prejudice. More than two dozen African countries have made it a crime to be gay, often casting homosexuality as a corrupting Western import.

SA stands out as a beacon of tolerance in Africa, as it was the first country in the world to include in our constitution the prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, thereby guaranteeing equal rights for gay people. That these values are not translated into SA’s foreign policy today is a sad reflection on those who hold leadership positions in government.

International relations & co-operation minister Naledi Pandor had the backbone to condemn the Taliban’s discrimination against Afghan women and its ban on educating girls. What a pity she cannot find the courage to do the same for gay Ugandans.