Uganda passes anti-gay bill - Telegraph The bill, which US President Barack Obama has called "odious," must now receive final approval from Yoweri Museveni, the Ugandan president. As in many African countries, gay men and women in Uganda face harassment, violence and death threats. Frank Mugisha, one of Uganda's most prominent gay activists, told The Telegraph that there is "panic" within the country's gay and lesbian community. I'm outraged that members of parliament have passed this bill in a very uninformed way. It has been rushed. It has not been scrutinised," Mr Mugisha said. I am worried about my community. Homosexuality was already illegal in Uganda under a colonial-era law, but Mr Bahati argued that tougher penalties were needed to counter the influence of gay people from Western countries. This is a victory for Uganda. I am glad the parliament has voted against evil," Mr Bahati, a member of Uganda's ruling party, said. Because we are a God-fearing nation, we value life in a holistic way. It is because of those values that members of parliament passed this bill regardless of what the outside world thinks. Rebecca Kadaga, the parliamentary speaker, promised last year that the bill would be passed as a "Christmas gift" to Ugandans. The European Court of Justice ruled in November that fear of imprisonment for homosexuality in African countries, including Uganda, is grounds for asylum in EU countries. In 2011, prominent gay rights activist David Kato was bludgeoned to death at his home in Kampala after a newspaper published photos and names of gays in Uganda on the front page next to the headline "Hang Them." Uganda, a socially conservative country, on Thursday passed an anti-pornography bill banning miniskirts and sexually suggestive television content including music videos. The law outlaws anything that "shows sexual parts of a person such as breasts, thighs, buttocks," as well as "any erotic behaviour intended to cause sexual excitement or any indecent act or behaviour tending to corrupt morals," according to the Monitor daily.