World leaders and gay activists have expressed negative reactions after Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed an anti-gay bill into law with life sentences as penalties, according to the Associated Press.
Kenyan prize-winning writer Binyavanga Wainaina, who came out as gay last month in an online essay, said Museveni is looking to create a political wedge issue that will help his constituents forget about government corruption and a lax economy, the AP reported.
"By the time the next election happens, mysterious opposition figures are going to be arrested for being homosexual, can we bet? Cause all you need is a suspicion, isn't it?" Wainaina told the AP. "They are never going to police it in an accurate way."
Ugandan gay activist Dr. Paul Semugoma, who staved off deportation from South Africa last week, described the new law as "inhuman," saying: "It is sad that they disapprove of me and consider me to be evil, unnatural and un-African because of my kind of love. What should it matter to anyone who I love?" according to the AP.
"It's simply politics of destruction," Semugoma said, the AP reported. "We (homosexuals) are convenient scapegoats to be used when they need to boost their political power."
Even opponents of the United States gay-rights movement have spoken out in disapproval, according to the AP.
"I would rather the Ugandans had followed the Russian anti-propaganda model which reflects my philosophy of preventing the mainstreaming of homosexuality with the minimum limitation on personal liberties for those who choose to live discretely outside the mainstream," said Massachusetts-based evangelical lawyer Scott Lively.
The U.S. national security adviser, Susan Rice, posted on her Twitter account: "Nobody should be discriminated against or punished for who they are or whom they love. Sad day for Uganda and the world," the AP reported.
"This legislation will institutionalize hatred and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in Uganda. Its passage into law signals a very grave episode in the nation's history," said Michelle Kagari of Amnesty International, according to the AP.
Britain Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was deeply saddened by the signing, the AP reported.
"The U.K. strongly opposes all discrimination on any grounds. We question the Bill's compatibility with Uganda's constitution and international treaty obligations. There can be no doubt that this Bill will increase persecution and discrimination of Ugandans, as well as damage Uganda's reputation internationally," Hague said, according to the AP.
"We will continue to press the Government of Uganda to defend human rights for all, without discrimination on any grounds," Hague said, the AP reported.
