A Ugandan newspaper has reported the president refused to approve a controversial bill that would imprison homosexuals for life, saying there are better ways to cure what he calls the "abnormality" that can be caused by "random breeding."
The Daily Monitor reported Yoweri Museveni wrote an eight-page letter to parliament admonishing the lawmakers for passing the bill last month.
According to the newspaper, the president said he disagreed with Western countries that labeled what he called the "disgusting behaviors" of homosexuality as an "alternative orientation."
The Monitor said President Museveni wrote "it could be that the Western societies, on account of random breeding have generated many abnormal people."
The Ugandan leader also said some people adopted the gay lifestyle because of "financial inducements." Museveni said that group, which includes many young people, could be "rescued."
On the topic of lesbianism, the president suggested unmarried women become lesbians due to "sexual starvation."
The report also said the president believed improving Uganda's economy, including the rapid industrialization of modernizing agriculture, was the best way to "rescue" young people from homosexuality.
Uganda's gay men and women face frequent harassment and threats of violence. Rights activists have also reported cases of lesbians being subjected to what are described as "corrective" rapes.
In a recent British documentary, a Ugandan lesbian talked about her "corrective" rape that left her pregnant and HIV-positive.
The Daily Monitor reported Yoweri Museveni wrote an eight-page letter to parliament admonishing the lawmakers for passing the bill last month.
According to the newspaper, the president said he disagreed with Western countries that labeled what he called the "disgusting behaviors" of homosexuality as an "alternative orientation."
The Monitor said President Museveni wrote "it could be that the Western societies, on account of random breeding have generated many abnormal people."
The Ugandan leader also said some people adopted the gay lifestyle because of "financial inducements." Museveni said that group, which includes many young people, could be "rescued."
On the topic of lesbianism, the president suggested unmarried women become lesbians due to "sexual starvation."
The report also said the president believed improving Uganda's economy, including the rapid industrialization of modernizing agriculture, was the best way to "rescue" young people from homosexuality.
Uganda's gay men and women face frequent harassment and threats of violence. Rights activists have also reported cases of lesbians being subjected to what are described as "corrective" rapes.
In a recent British documentary, a Ugandan lesbian talked about her "corrective" rape that left her pregnant and HIV-positive.
