Former South African president Thabo Mbeki has hit out at Ndorwa West MP David Bahati's anti-gay Bill, telling a public audience in Kampala that what two consenting adults do in private "is really not the matter of law."
The visiting former head of state's comments will come as a boost to the crusaders of gay rights in Uganda. Mr Mbeki, a guest of the Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR), issued the comments during a three-hour public question and answer session on Thursday evening debating post-cold war Africa and why the continent is reliant on external interventions in dealing with local issues.
Mr Bahati's Anti-Homosexuality Bill, first tabled in the 8th Parliament, is currently collecting dust on the shelves of the 9th Parliament following wide international uproar in large part for a clause that seeks to hand down the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality, including the spreading of HIV/Aids.
Mr Mbeki said apartheid South Africa prohibited sexual relations "across the colour line" aided by The Immorality Act which handed the police legal ground to raid "people's bedrooms" before dragging them to court for prosecution.
Source:
allAfrica.com, January 22, 2012
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