Uganda already has one of the world's strictest anti-gay laws. Now President Yoweri Museveni has signed a new law that provides for further increases in penalties. This could include 20 years in prison for openly "promoting homosexuality" or the death penalty for "repeated crime", as the text of the law says.
Why the president has chosen to go ahead with the law, despite the fact that the country already had a strict anti-gay law, is about a global trend, says Johan Ripås, SVT's Africa correspondent. At the same time, there is great popular support for the law in Uganda – and many other African countries.
"It's illegal in about 30 African countries, especially in those countries that don't have much democracy. You like to use these types of layers to smooth over other failures in your own leadership," says Johan Ripås.
"Step backwards for democracy"
For LGBTQI people in Uganda, the law risks having major consequences.
"There is a risk of persecution, of denunciation. There are many examples of people who have been lynched, have been murdered. They are fleeing the country, says Johan Ripås and adds:
"It's a step backwards for democracy.
Listen to SVT's Africa correspondent Johan Ripås talk more about the consequences of the law in the clip above.