The Ugandan Parliament has blamed the latest sanctions by the UK government on Speaker Anita Among on the passing of the Anti-Homosexuality bill .
“The iron sheets have been used as a ruse to conceal the real, unstated but clearly obvious reason for the sanctions which is the Rt. Hon Speaker’s stance on the recently enacted Anti-Homosexuality Act,” Chris Obore, the director of communication at Parliament, said in the statement.
The UK government on Tuesday slapped a travel ban and asset freez sanctions against Among together with former ministers, Mary Goretti Kitutu and Agnes Nandutu over their role in the Karamoja iron sheet saga.
The British government said the speaker of parliament is culpable for allegedly “benefiting from corruption at its worst and that has no place in society”.
However, in a statement responding to the sanctions, Parliament insisted that the UK government is using iron sheets as a scapegoat for Uganda passing the anti gay law.
Parliament insisted that it beats everyone’s understanding that Among who was never charged with the theft of the iron sheets in any courts of law can be sanctioned over the same.
“The truth is that the iron sheets were in fact distributed to public schools, and Mr Andrew Micthell who was vocal in condemning the Rt. Hon Speaker Among for enacting the Anti-Homosexuality Act did not, in his statement, indicate how exactly the Rt. Hon Speaker derived personal benefit from them,” Obore said.
“It is important that foreign partners, including the United Kingdom, respect the sovereignty of Uganda, and avoid the temptation to meddle into our local politics, including arm-twisting decision makers to align with their value system, especially on homosexuality.”
