Uganda’s president has warned the country’s citizens not to engage in “outsider” sexual practices such as oral sex.
In a televised press conference, President Yoweri Museveni said: “Let me take this opportunity to warn our people publicly about the wrong practices indulged in and promoted by some of the outsiders.”
“The mouth is for eating, not for sex,” he said, adding: “We know the address of sex; we know where sex is.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The remarks come as part of a broader crackdown on sexual freedoms by the socially conservative evangelical leader.
Sexual activity “against the order of nature” has been outlawed under Uganda’s penal code since the colonial era, but Museveni’s comments reflect a toughening of existing laws in recent years, mostly targeting the LGBT community.
Amid rising concern about the “spread” of homosexuality, partly stoked by US-backed evangelical Christian preachers, in 2009 one of Museveni’s ministers proposed legislation making same-sex activity punishable by death.
The proposal, nicknamed the “Kill the Gays bill”, quickly drew international condemnation.
A toned-down version of the bill making “aggravated homosexuality” punishable by life in prison passed in December 2013.
Signing it into law, Museveni referred to gay Ugandans as “mercenaries” and “prostitutes” and repeated his oft-stated belief that homosexuality was not a legitimate orientation, Information Nigeria reported at the time.
“I have failed to understand that you can fail to be attracted to all these beautiful women and be attracted to a man,” he said. “There is something really wrong with you.”
The country’s constitutional court overturned the legislation the following year on technical grounds. However, LGBT Ugandans continue to suffer violence and persecution, often sanctioned by officials.
-
Fannie Flagg’s 6 favorite books that sparked her imaginationFeature The author recommends works by Johanna Spyri, John Steinbeck, and more
-
Google: A monopoly past its prime?Feature Google’s antitrust case ends with a slap on the wrist as courts struggle to keep up with the tech industry’s rapid changes
-
Patrick Hemingway: The Hemingway son who tended to his father’s legacyFeature He was comfortable in the shadow of his famous father, Ernest Hemingway
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weaponsThe Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarrayIn the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
