Uganda revives anti-gay bill but drops death penalty

A Ugandan MP has revived a controversial anti-gay bill but dropped the provision for the death penalty for certain homosexual acts. A BBC correspondent says MPs laughed, clapped and cried out: "Our bill, our bill," when its architect David Bahati reintroduced the draft legislation on Tuesday. The Anti-Homosexuality Bill was shelved in 2011 after an international outcry. It still increases the punishment to life in prison for homosexual offences. Homosexual acts are already illegal in Uganda - a largely conservative society, where many condemn homosexuality. Anyone failing to report to the authorities a person they knew to be homosexual would also be liable to prosecution. The BBC's Joshua Mmali in Kampala says Mr Bahati, the primary backer of the bill, has confirmed the draft legislation has changed in one fundamental way. Those found guilty of "aggravated homosexuality" - defined as when one of the participants is a minor, HIV-positive, disabled or a "serial offender" - would no longer face the death penalty, as originally proposed. A parliamentary committee recommended the revision, after the original legislation was condemned by Western leaders, including Barack Obama who described it as "odious", and threatened to cut off aid to Uganda. Mr Bahati hopes his private member's bill will finally be debated during this parliamentary session, which opened on Tuesday. The bill was first introduced in 2009, but has never made it to a debate in the chamber. In recent years, some gay rights groups have been set up in Uganda. In January 2011, gay rights activist David Kato was killed in what some said was a hate crime - the police said it was linked to a robbery. At his funeral, the priest condemned gay people.