Champions of Uganda’s anti-gay law blame ‘homosexuals’ for corruption scandal

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Anita Among, one of Uganda's top politicians and a key architect of the country's devastating anti-gay law, has claimed that "homosexuals" are behind allegations that she directed staff members to withdraw huge amounts of public money through private accounts.

In a parliamentary session on Friday, Among – the Speaker of the Ugandan Parliament – used a homophobic slur while responding for the first time to the allegations against her: "I will never give you an answer on hearsay, or rumour-mongering. Me to answer you on hearsay, on things you have cooked up on social media because I have said no to bum shafting?"

Among is among five to have been named in an alleged corruption exposé by a group of journalists and activists since February.

She and a number of her staff are accused of breaching parliamentary rules by using private bank accounts to withdraw enormous amounts of money between April 2023 and January 2024, supposedly for Among's official work including outreach, community projects and expenses. The journalists also allege that Among oversaw the distribution of more than 1.7 billion Uganda shillings in 2022 as "service awards" for parliamentary commissioners, who oversee spending and salaries in Parliament.

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The group cited documents from an internal Financial Intelligence Agency report leaked to them by "sources within Parliament", and their story has dominated the Ugandan press since late February.

Among did not respond to requests for comment by openDemocracy. But Chris Obore, the director of communications and public affairs for the Ugandan Parliament, told openDemocracy the documents and other evidence the journalists had shared were "concocted and distorted", although he did not provide any evidence when asked.

Obore also claimed during a 'Spaces' broadcast on X (formerly Twitter) last week: "We… know that this campaign is not an innocent campaign for accountability…

"We know that since Anita Among passed the homosexuality bill, the effort has been to bring her down."

Asked by openDemocracy to expand on these claims, he said: "There is no corruption in Parliament. It is known knowledge that the homosexuals and their promoters are desirous of damaging Speaker Anita Among but she only did what [the] majority [of] Ugandans told her to do – guide the debate on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in the House, and the law was passed unanimously.

"Let anybody provide evidence of corruption in the Speaker's Office other than the distorted and concocted documents being spread on social media. He who alleges must prove."

He also insinuated that the exposé had been sponsored by the US embassy in Kampala, which the journalists dismissed as "ridiculous".

Among was one of the champions of Uganda's 2023 anti-homosexuality law, passed by Parliament in May 2023, which attached a maximum term of life imprisonment to the 'offence' of gay sex.

The exposé has implicated other members of Parliament too, including the former leader of the opposition Mathias Mpuuga, who has acknowledgedthat he and three other commissioners handed themselves "service awards" worth 400 to 500 million Ugandan shillings. Mpuuga insists this was legal, but the National Executive Committee of his party, the National Unity Platform, has recalled him as a parliamentary commissioner as a result. The Uganda Law Society – the professional body that regulates lawyers – has issued a statement calling the cash awards "illegal".

Journalist Agather Atuhaire, who helped break the scandal, dismissed Obore's claims as "a way to discredit the information and character assassinate" the whistleblowers, while relying on the prejudices of a homophobic society.

Documents shared by Atuhaire implicate a number of Among's staff – including Obore himself, who according to the documents had more than 1.9 billion Ugandan shillings deposited in personal accounts between April 2023 and January 2024. The money was marked in the documents as being used for various outreach and community projects. Another document suggests that, in October 2023, more than 2.6 billion Ugandan shillings were deposited in another staff member's accounts for the same reasons. The transactions were just four days apart.

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Crucially, it is not clear whether the money was genuinely used for official work. Moving huge public funds through private accounts is outside of established public procurement processes, and goes against the 2015 Public Finance and Management Act.

Obore told openDemocracy: "In situations where monies are put on officers' bank accounts, it is for donations, and officers provide accountability for it." On X, he had previously defended the legitimacy of the work allegedly funded by the donations, saying the Speaker's Office frequently received requests for help, and insisting on the transfers to staff members: "You'll find that there is a reason why it has gone there."

Millions of Ugandans are currently struggling to meet their daily needs amid rising costs for household goods and services. The funds allegedly spent by the speaker's office – over 9.6 billion Uganda shillings – are huge, more than double the annual public health budget for Among's constituency, the Bukedea district.

Frank Mugisha, executive director of the LGBTQ+ umbrella organisation Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), said the claims by Among and Obore were a distraction technique. "It is the speaker who has been weaponizing LGBTQ+ persons to cover up for her shortcomings and divert the attention of Ugandans," he said.

Among's comments, following weeks of silence, about "bum shafting" have driven conversations on Ugandan social media over the weekend: some tongue in cheek, and some outraged.

Offline, ordinary Kampalans who spoke to openDemocracy have received Among's claims with doubt.

Dorcus Namara, who runs a small printing business in Kawempe, was one of many Ugandans who keenly followed the passing of the anti-homosexuality law last year.

"I believed them when they said homosexuals were promoting the vice," said Dorcus. "But now, it seems obvious that they are using [homosexuals] as an excuse to avoid accountability."

Augustine Nyakaana, a boda boda rider in Kampala, added: "Claiming that homosexuals are behind this does not answer whether or not they stole the money. That is all we want to know."

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