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Uganda's Parliament Links Social Media Criticism of Public Spending to Its Anti-LGBT Stance

© AP Photo / Ronald KabuubiThe Ugandan Parliament votes
The Ugandan Parliament votes - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 16.03.2024
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According to local media, the dispute involves reports of misuse of taxpayers' money by the Ugandan parliament among users of social media, particularly X (formerly Twitter).
Reports on social media about the mismanagement of Uganda's Senate House are a campaign against the country's parliament because of its stance against homosexuality, Speaker of Parliament Anita Among said, as quoted by local media.

"I will never give you answer based on hearsay on rumormongering. And we aren’t going to run this House on rumormongering. Me to answer you on hearsay? On things you have cooked on social media because I have said no to b** shafting [homosexuality], I will not," she said.

The speaker thus referred to a request from opposition parliamentarians to comment on rumors on social media.
Among added that the debate should be based on evidence presented to parliament and not a rehash of information posted on social media platforms, calling for discussions to be held within the commission.
Ugandan parliamentarians previously faced backlash over an anti-homosexuality bill they passed last March and President Yoweri Museveni signed into law a few months later.
Last week, the media reported that Ugandan MP Sarah Achieng Opendi was denied a visa to attend a UN meeting in New York because of her strong support for anti-homosexual legislation.
Ugandan MP Sarah Achieng Opendi - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 07.03.2024
Sub-Saharan Africa
Ugandan MP Who Actively Supported Anti-LGBT Law is Denied US Visa to Attend UN Meeting
Since the president signed a law that prohibits same-sex relationships and imposes the death penalty for certain crimes, including engaging in homosexual acts with minors, Uganda has been criticized by Western countries and organizations: the US, for instance, announced several rounds of visa restrictions for Ugandan officials involved in the enforcement of the law.
In early December, the US imposed a new package of sanctions on Ugandan officials involved in the law, which Ugandan Foreign Minister Henry Okello Oryem criticized, accusing Washington of pushing its LGBT* agenda in Africa.
Museveni reacted by noting that pressure on Uganda by some countries "has no meaning," becasue Uganda is a nation of "wealth creators."
In early November, Washington similarly excluded the East African nation from the African Growth and Opportunity Act's preferential trade program, citing alleged "gross violations" of human rights.
* The "LGBT movement" is classified as extremist by the Russian authorities and is banned in Russia.
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