The National Assembly of Gabon has voted to repeal the law that criminalised homosexual activities in the country.

The legislators in the lower house of the country’s parliament had just a year ago passed a ban on homosexual activities which gave six months jail term and a hefty fine to people engaging in same-sex acts.

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Forty-eight members of the 120-seater parliament approved the proposal initiated by the country’s government.

Twenty-four parliamentarians voted against the law with a further twenty-five abstaining from the vote.

The new law now awaits the Senate’s (upper house) consideration. If it garners majority vote from the 102-seater senate, it will pass to the president for his assent.

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The central African country criminalised homosexuality last July and made gay sex punishable with six months in prison and a large fine.

Gay activists revealed that the law pushed the LGBT community into further obscurity after fears police would use it to harass them.

One conservative parliamentarian decried the desecration of the country’s customs and traditions if the law comes into force.

A majority of countries in Africa have laws that prohibits homosexual activities. Thus gay rights on the continent remains highly restricted.

South Africa is the only African country to allow same-sex marriage while only a handful have repealed colonial laws that criminalised homosexual activities.

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It has since been decriminalised in Angola, Botswana, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, the Seychelles and South Africa.

SOURCE: AfricaCelebrities.com

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As the world grapples with coronavirus (COVID-19) which the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global pandemic, scientists are working studiously in their labs to find a vaccine or cure for the disease.

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Unfortunately, however, despite the work being done to control the spread of the virus and treat infected people, there have been confirmed deaths related to the virus across the globe.

While it appears that scientists have not fully understood how the virus spreads and its symptoms, the WHO has provided the public with what is known about COVID-19 so far in terms of its spread and symptoms that infected person show.

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These are indeed difficult times for the world. And in times like these, people take solace in messages of hope and assurance that humanity will overcome its challenges.

However the Health Minister of Israel sharing his opinion on the origin of the novel coronavirus claimed that it is God’s punishment on humanity for engaging in homosexuality.

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Indeed not many people agreed with the Minister. Because as has been reported, the novel coronavirus is a mutated virus which is believed was being carried by a bat that was eaten.

So if the Israel’s Health Minister’s words were anything to go by, then of course the punishment should be meted out to people who engage in homosexuality.

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Unfortunately for the Minister, he tested positive for COVID-19. This got people talking that if he believes the virus is divine punishment then he’s also guilty which is why he got infected.

Source: AfricaCelebrities.com

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Celebrated Nigerian actor, Pete Edochie, is one personality who has been making news following his comments on homosexuality.

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The veteran actor has hinted on how homosexuality might have been caused by reincarnation.

In a video captured by AfricaCelebrities.com, Pete Edochie lamented that when a child is born and looks sickly, he or she is suspected to be an ‘ogbanje’ and a mark is put on the child’s hand.

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Edochie says that the child eventually dies and then if the child comes back to the world, the spirit of a different gender might still be inside of him.

Just watch the video below:

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Source: AfricaCelebrities.Com

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While a fair share of Africans are unfamiliarized with the LGBT train and frown against same sex relationships, Nigerian actress cum singer, Ashionye Michelle Raccah, is advocating for the adoption of homosexuality.

Ashionye states that homosexuality is not a disease, thus Nigerians must endeavor to end discrimination against homosexuals.

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The actress said this to QedTV at the premiere of Funmi Iyanda’s movie, ‘Walking with Shadows’. Speaking at the premiere of the movie which is about a married man whose wife later found out he was gay, Ashionye said people need to realize that a person is not made to be gay but is born gay.

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In her own words, “It’s high time we began to accept every human being irrespective of their sexuality. I’m a human being whether I am straight or gay. It’s high time we began to realise that we are basically just one and we shouldn’t judge. I know we have this 14 year sentencing in Nigeria but then again you can’t change a person whoever he or she is.

Some people say being gay is made, you become gay. I don’t believe that. I believe someone who is gay is born that way, that’s who the person is, and it is not a disease. It is not something to be afraid of. It is not something to judge” 

Asked if she will accept her child if he or she grows up to be gay, Ashionye admitted;

“If you are born straight, that’s who you are. If I am born lesbian, that’s who I am. I did not become lesbian. Like I said, it’s not a disease. I have people close to me, family and close friends, who are actually homosexual men and queer women and I absolutely love them. To be honest, I have a lot of male friends who are actually homosexuals and they give the best advice. They love me for who I am and I absolutely love them for who they are”.

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When asked if she supports the reversal of the 14 year jail penalty for any homosexual caught in the act, she admitted;

”Yes! Why should we judge people for who they are. Why should we crucify people for who they are. Like I said, it’s not a disease. It is not a crime. If a man or woman is being judged for being queer or being gay, then why am I not being judged for being straight?“

Source: africacelebrities.com

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This is surely not a good time to a gay in Uganda. As the world is progressively embracing homosexuality and other sexual orientations, you dare not declare to be homosexual in Uganda.

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Why? Because Uganda has announced plans to bring back the ‘kill the gays’ bill that will ensure the death penalty for any individual who is found to be homosexual.

The legislation, known as the ‘Kill the Gays’ bill, was nullified in 2014 on a technicality, but the government now has plans to resurrect it within weeks. 

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‘Homosexuality is not natural to Ugandans, but there has been a massive recruitment by gay people in schools, and especially among the youth, where they are promoting the falsehood that people are born like that,’ Ethics and Integrity Minister Simon Lokodo said.

‘Our current penal law is limited. It only criminalizes the act. We want it made clear that anyone who is even involved in promotion and recruitment has to be criminalized. Those that do grave acts will be given the death sentence.’ 

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African countries like Uganda have some of the world’s most prohibitive laws governing homosexuality. Same-sex relationships are considered taboo and gay sex is a crime across most of the continent, with punishments ranging from imprisonment to death.

Lokodo said Uganda’s bill, which is supported by President Yoweri Museveni, will be reintroduced in parliament in the coming weeks, and it is expected to be voted on before the end of the year.

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He was optimistic it would pass with the necessary two-thirds of members present – a shortfall in numbers killed a similar bill in 2014 – as the government had lobbied legislators ahead of its re-introduction.

‘We have been talking to the MPs and we have mobilized them in big numbers,’ said Lokodo. ‘Many are supportive.’

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Even without the bill, under British colonial law, gay sex is punishable with up to life imprisonment and activists said the new bill risked unleashing attacks.

Uganda faced widespread international condemnation when the previous bill was signed off by Museveni in 2014 but it doesn’t look like the country cares about what the international community thinks anymore.

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