A graphic claiming that Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni has “signed the anti-gay bill into law” is doing the rounds on Facebook.
The graphic is dated 26 February 2023 and has a photo of Museveni and the logo of the Meru Daily News, designed in a similar style to “news updates” published on the news site’s social media channels. Meru is a Kenyan town in the county of the same name.
It reads: “Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has signed the anti-gay bill into law. Anyone caught practicing homosexuality in Uganda will face LIFE IMPRISONMENT. According to the United Nations, Uganda is among 77 countries that criminalize GAY and LESBIAN practices.”
The Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2014 was passed by the Ugandan parliament in December 2013, but a court later invalidated it on the grounds that the necessary quorum of lawmakers was not present to vote it into law.
In 2021, the parliament passed the divisive Sexual Offences Bill, which makes same-sex relationships illegal.
