Reports: Ugandan anti-gay bill not blocked, or was it?
After Buzzfeed foreign correspondent J. Lester Feder tracked down an apparent copy of President Yoweri Museveni’s letter to parliament, he concluded that Museveni has only criticized the passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill and has not officially rejected it.
In his Buzzfeed article, Feder wrote that in the letter:
“Museveni accuses Speaker Rebecca Kadaga of defying the rule of law by passing the bill without a quorum.
“Yet he does not say he will block the bill from becoming law. … Though Museveni argues the bill was not duly passed, under the Ugandan constitution, a bill sent by parliament to the president becomes law with in 30 days if he does not block it. …
“The letter is dated December 28, which means Museveni has under two weeks at most to reject the bill. But the deadline could be as soon as Monday or Tuesday if he received the bill immediately after its passage on December 20.”
An earlier article about the letter in the Ugandan Monitor newspaper was headlined, “Museveni blocks Anti-Homosexuality Bill.”
Many other newspaper reported similar news. The BBC, for example, published its report under the headline, “Uganda President Yoweri Museveni blocks anti-gay law.” But, contradictorily, the BBC article also implied that Museveni has not blocked the bill, stating that “Mr Museveni is trying to reach a compromise with MPs, because if he refuses to sign the bill, parliament can still force it through with a two-thirds vote.”
Related articles
