President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has signed six bills into law.
The six bills assented to by the President are; The Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023, the Museums & Monuments Bill 2022, The Public Health Amendment Bill 2022, The Markets Bill 2022, Microfinance Deposits Taking Institutions Amendment Bill 2022 and The Law Reform (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, 2023.
“His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Uganda, General Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, has executed his constitutional mandate as prescribed by Article 91 (3) (a) of the Constitution. He has assented to the Anti-Homosexuality Act,” the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, said in a tweet.
She added: “As the Parliament of Uganda, we have answered the cries of our people. We have legislated to protect the sanctity of family as per Article 31 of the Constitution of Uganda. We have stood strong to defend our culture and aspirations of our people as per objectives 19 & 24 of national objectives and directive principles of state policy.”
Prior to its assent, the president had earlier returned the bill to parliament for improvement.
This followed advice from the Attorney General to Museveni asking him not to assent to the bill in its current form.
Museum and Monuments Bill
The Museums and Monument Bill seeks to protect cultural and natural heritage resources and the environment, strengthen and provide institutional structure for effective management of the museums and monuments, prohibit illicit trafficking of protected objects, and promote local content of cultural and natural heritage.
Markets Bill
The bill will repeal the Markets Act Cap 94, with the objective of addressing defects in the current law by providing a comprehensive legal framework to strengthen the regulation, management and administration of markets.