Kimaanya – Kabonera lawmaker Abed Bwanika has petitioned the Opposition Chief Whip in Parliament and National Unity Platform (NUP) President for Eastern Region, John Baptist Nambeshe, for a meeting of a lawful organ to debate and pronounce the party position on LGBT+Q.
In the petition, Bwanika states that the public regards NUP, either by association or omission, as supporting homosexuality.
Bwanika’s petition is triggered by remarks made by NUP President, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, aka Bobi, when he appeared on British and French media recently.
“That the NUP President-Robert Kyagulanyi’s interview on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in December 2023 raised a lot of controversy and the net effect that the Party is friendly and supports LGBT+Q, as opposed to the Uganda Anti Homosexuality Act and Penal Code Act,” reads Bwanika’s petition.
Bobi Wine’s interview with the BBC in London occurred a few months ago, during his trip to the UK.
The trip followed the lifting of a 10-year travel ban the UK government had imposed on Bobi Wine over his 2014 homophobic song that was interpreted by the British government as being against the LGBTQ+ community and rights.
In a BBC interview, Bobi Wine was asked about his stand on homosexuality, Uganda’s passage of the anti-gay law, the 2014 anti-gay lyrics, and if he regretted composing anti-LGBTQ songs.
He replied, “I wrote the lyrics, I sang them, and I took responsibility.”
The lyrics suggested that gay people should be fought and beaten.
Asked if he regretted composing the song, Bobi Wine said, “Certainly, we grow and we transform. I have always mentioned that I am a product of very many second chances, and I want to be known as a leader who is respectful and inclusive of everybody.”
Last year, the Ugandan Parliament passed the antihomosexuality law, which includes the death penalty for serial offenders.
The law also imposes life imprisonment for having gay sex, and up to 20 years in prison for anyone promoting homosexuality.
In Bwanika’s petition, he states that in another interview with French media channel France 24, Bobi Wine is quoted to indicate that LGBT+Q rights are among people’s rights that will be respected if at all the NUP takes charge of the Ugandan government.
During the France 24 interview, Bobi Wine was asked if he supported or opposed Uganda’s anti-gay law.
He replied, “I have always said that our struggle is a struggle for respect for human rights for every Ugandan.”
Asked if he would repeal or maintain it in case he came to power, the NUP principal said, “The anti-LGBTQ law has been criminalized. The LGBTQ issue in Uganda has been wesponized. It has been turned into a political weapon against political opponents. Anything that I can say can be used against me here in Uganda. Like I said, we are firm believers in human rights for every Ugandan. I would respect the human rights of all Ugandans.”.
Bwanika’s petition also calls for NUP’s clear stand on homosexuality on the grounds that Bobi has been pictured attending meetings organized or sponsored by international LGBT+ Q activists and sponsors, including; Rev. Jesses Jackson and US Secretary for Transport Pete Buttigieg at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition Annual Conference in Chicago.
“That it has been observed that LGBT+Q sponsors and organizations have in the past 4 months given awards to NUP President Robert Kyagulanyi in recognition of our party’s struggle in the promotion of all human rights, including the rights of LGBT+Q,” the petition reads.
Bwanika, who of late has been a fierce critic of Bobi Wine and the NUP, calls for a meeting of a lawful organ to debate and pronounce the party position on LGBT+Q.
“Your humble petitioner prays that a meeting of a lawful organ of the party be convened at the fastest instance to debate and pronounce an unequivocal position of the National Unity Platform on LGBT Q,” the petition reads.
