The Parliament has passed the sexual offences Bill 2019 reintroducing the ban on homosexuality in the country after a heated up debate through which the MPs also rejected to the proposal that allows a person, who had consented to a sexual act to withdraw that consent at any time before or during the performance of the sexual act.
The ban on same-gender sex comes after the Anti-Homosexuality Act was passed by Parliament in 2013. The law proposed life imprisonment or the death penalty. Although the bill was signed into law in 2014 by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, it was annulled at the constitutional court over issues of quorum.
Oboth Oboth says they are happy that the ban on Homosexuality has finally happened, he says that that there should not be any questions on forum like the last time.
According to the legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee chairperson Jacob Oboth Oboth, the bill proposes to introduce ‘post-penetration” consent which occurs in a situation where two people initially engage in consensual sexual intercourse, but during intercourse one person changes his or her mind and withdraws his or her consent to the sexual act.
The object of the bill is to enact a specific law on sexual offences for the effectual prevention of sexual violence; to enhance punishment of sexual offenders; to the protection of victims during sexual offences trials; to provide for extra territorial application of the law; to repeal some provisions of the Penal Code Act among others.
This proposal is found under unnatural offences which also prohibits sexual act with an animal or sex in an order contrary to nature. The punishment for this is imprisonment for five years. Although the proposals was read before the committee, members adopted with no objection or comment.
Now in a heated debate in Parliament, members of Parliament generally supported the bill, but men and women were divided when it came to issues of withdrawal of consent during sexual intercourse, before finally rejecting it.
