uhspauganda

Hon: DAVID Bahati, the MP who tabled the anti homosexuality Bill Bahati bill a curse to press freedom, prison services By Kikonyogo Ngatya Kivumbi A KEY prosecution witness in a rape case against Forum for Democratic Change ( FDC) leader rtd Col. Dr. Kiiza Besigye, told a high court judge in Kampala prior to the 2006 presidential elections during cross-examination, that the accused would “invite her to his home in Bombo every weekend and raped her.” It was a suspicious case from the start, with the accused citing sabotage, political intrigue to stop him from standing, and he was later acquitted. But the witness statement changed the entire course of the trial in public’s eye when it was reported in the media. The media was able to report it without fear or favour, because court proceedings, like parliamentary debates are privileged- meaning they can be reported exactly as they are spoken out. And this is the most crucial aspect of press freedom in judicial proceedings that the ...

U.S. President Barack Obama has sharply criticized an anti-gay bill in Uganda that would impose the death penalty in some cases. Speaking Thursday, President Obama described the measure as "odious." He said that while people may disagree about gay marriage, it is "unconscionable" to target gays and lesbians in a dehumanizing way. Mr. Obama made the remarks during a prayer breakfast in Washington hosted by an evangelical group known as "The Family." Ugandan politician David Bahati, who activists say is a member of The Family, proposed the controversial legislation. Earlier this week, a group of 200 U.S. lawmakers introduced a resolution condemning the proposal in Uganda, saying it would set a troubling precedent. Supporters of the measure in Uganda have dismissed the outside criticism as a new form of colonialism. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni recently said the bill has become a "foreign policy" issue. He has urged lawmakers to craft a meas...