UPDATE 9:36am ET: The Uganda Constitutional Court annulled the anti-gay legislation on Friday, Aug. 1, ruling that the bill was passed by MPs in December without the requisite quorum and was therefore illegal.
The U.S. government issued sanctions against Uganda after President Yoweri Museveni in February signed a bill into law that criminalized homosexuality, including imposing a visa ban on officials involved in human rights abuses and corruption. But both Museveni and Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan, who signed a similar law in early January, received an invitation to attend next week’s U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C., the largest event any U.S. President has held with African heads of state and government.
Now, LGBTI advocates are asking whether the invitations are a contrary display to the U.S. stance on LGBTI rights, and lament that the issue of anti-gay discrimination in Africa does not officially sit on the agenda alongside trade and investment for the summit in Washington, which will serve to create stronger U.S.-Africa ties with more than 40 African leaders.
About the author
Kelli Rogers@kellierin
Kelli Rogers has worked as an Associate Editor and Southeast Asia Correspondent for Devex, with a particular focus on gender. Prior to that, she reported on social and environmental issues from Nairobi, Kenya. Kelli holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, and has reported from more than 20 countries.
