Dr Chris Baryomunsi, Minister of Information, Communication Technology (ICT), and National Guidance, stated that Parliament will maintain its stance on the recently passed Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023, which is awaiting President Museveni’s signature.
“By training, I’m a medical doctor.” Homosexuality is not natural; it is not right for someone to claim that they were born gay and that there is nothing I can do about it. Many studies have been conducted, and there is no evidence to suggest that homosexuality is a genetic predisposition; rather, evidence suggests that it is a learned behaviour that can be unlearned,” the Kinkizi East MP said on Friday at the start of the two-day 1st African Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family Values and Sovereignty, which was attended by Members of Parliament and delegates from 17 countries.
“I asked some foreign media if they had heard us questioning the laws made in America or any of the European countries.” They pass laws for their countries, and we pass laws for ours. Why should you impose another culture on us? “We are saying that if you cherish it in your country, cherish it from there; don’t impose it on us,” he said.
Mr Baryomunsi, speaking on behalf of Speaker of Parliament, Ms Anita Among, stated that African leaders must be firm and promote mutual respect.
In her remarks, Speaker, whose speech was read by Mr Baryomunsi, stated that Uganda’s sovereignty and citizens are currently under threat from foreign influences.
“These manifest through conditional development assistance and associated pressures resulting from the promotion of unprecedented behaviours such as homosexuality and abortion, among others,” she explained.
According to Speaker Among, some development partners are blackmailing and threatening the country with the withdrawal of development assistance if Parliament passes the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in 2023.
“This confirms that poverty is the greatest threat to our nations.” “If our citizens had been empowered and self-sufficient, our countries would not be suffering from rising cultural pollution disguised as development assistance and human rights promotion,” she said.
Mr Hannibal Uwaifo, President of the African Bar Association, stated that greedy African leaders are to blame for the continent’s current state.
“We are a conservative bar, and while we are not immune to change, we are a conservative bar.” We cherish our African values and are proud to be Africans; we continue to insist that we do not require aid to succeed as a continent,” he said.
According to Sarah Opendi, chairperson of the Uganda Women Parliamentarians Association, the meeting aims to develop an African position to strengthen family values and sovereignty.
“As Africans, we must band together to ensure that our family values do not deteriorate.” Our actions today will have an impact on future generations, either positively or negatively. Our family values define us; nothing is more important than family. “When the family is destroyed, the communities are destroyed, and the nations are destroyed,” she said.
