The Hospital Director, Gulu Regional Referral hospital, Dr Nathan Onyanchi has said there is an increasing number of patients seeking treatment at the hospital for homosexual related cases.
Responding to a question from Acholi Times last week, Dr Onyachi said the hospital treats an average of 45 patients with illnesses ranging from wounds and enlarged muscles around the anus.
“We are treating over 45 homosexual related cases at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital every month,” Dr Onyachi said.
The Assistance Commissioner National Disease Control Dr Allan Niyonzima Muruta who was with Dr Onyaci at the time of the interview chipped in that being a major cosmopolitan town in Uganda, Gulu gets many visitors and travelers.
“We are aware of the high numbers of Homosexual activities in Gulu; many business people do stop here while on transit to other locations,” said Dr Niyonzima
Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda and is a taboo among communities in northern Uganda and Uganda as a whole.Under the Penal Code, “carnal knowledge against the order of nature” between two males carries a potential penalty of life imprisonment.
Sexual minority rights groups are however increasingly becoming vocal in Uganda and are pushing for a recognition of their rights and advocating against stigmatization and persecution of sexual minorities in Uganda.
According to the 2007 Pew Global Attitudes Project, 96 percent of Ugandan residents believe that homosexuality is a way of life that society should not accept, which was the fifth-highest rate of non-acceptance in the 45 countries surveyed.
In 2009, Member of Parliament David Bahati introduced the The Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2009, which would broaden the criminalization of same-sex relationships in Uganda and introduce the death penalty for serial offenders, HIV-positive people who engage in sexual activity with people of the same sex, and persons who engage in same-sex sexual acts with people under 18 years of age.
Individuals or companies that promote LGBT rights would be fined or imprisoned, or both. Persons “in authority” would be required to report any offence under the Act within 24 hours or face up to three years’ imprisonment.
In November 2012, Parliament Speaker Rebecca Kadaga promised to pass a revised anti-homosexuality law in December 2012. Parliament, however, adjourned in December 2012 without acting on the bill. The bill passed on 17 December 2013 with a punishment of life in prison instead of the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality, and the new law was promulgated in February 2014.
In June 2014, in response to the passing of the Ugandan AHA, the American State Department announced several sanctions, including, among others, cuts to funding, blocking certain Ugandan officials from entering the country, cancelling aviation exercises in Uganda and supporting Ugandan LGBT NGOs.
In August 2014, Uganda’s Constitutional Court annulled this law on a technicality because not enough lawmakers were present to vote.
