Bill to criminalize sexual offences re-tabled

The Sexual Offences Bill, 2024 that seeks to enhance punishment of sex offenders and protection of victims during trial has been re-introduced in Parliament.

The Bill was presented for First Reading by Soroti City Woman Member of Parliament, Hon. Anna Adeke Ebaju on Monday, October 14th  2024 at a sitting of the House chaired by Speaker Anita Among.

The Bill is being re-introduced after it was passed by the 10th Parliament but was returned by President Yoweri Museveni in 2021 and could not be processed following its lapse with the end of that parliament.

The Bill will also see the review and update the sexual offences contained in the Penal Code Act in order to remedy the new forms of sexual violence and exploitation which are currently prevalent.

Adeke in her justification said the Bill is premised on the scattered nature of legislation on sexual offences.

“Whereas sexual offences are mainly prescribed under the Penal Code Act, various laws such as the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act, , the Domestic Violence Act, and the Children Act, make provision for a number of sexual offences,” she said.

Adeke argued that there is need to ensure the legislation responds to the evolving and current trends in sexual offences, curbs sexual violence and adopts international best practices in the prevention of sexual violence.

The Bill also states that, “the scattered nature of sexual offences in different pieces of legislation denies the public a single piece of legislation on sexual offences to guide the prevention, protection and prosecution of these offences. A number of Commonwealth countries such as India, United Kingdom and Kenya have all consolidated sexual offences into a single legislation”.

The Bill introduces new offences and new penalties such as transfer of information of a sexual nature to a person without his/her consent. A person guilty of such an offense faces five years of imprisonment just like individuals who will be guilty of drawing images, taking pictures and videos of people in a state of nudity.

The Bill proposes a death sentence for aggravated rape, criminalises indecent gestures such as touching one’s sexual organs with a three year’s sentence and proposes that similar punishment for a person who exposes his sexual organs to anyone while in public.

If passed into law, a person who administers a substance with intent to commit a sexual act will be liable to conviction on imprisonment for a period not exceeding seven years.

Speaker Among observed that the Bill has a certificate of financial implications granted by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development with concerns she considered unclear.

“The certificate states that the proposed measures in the bill are already being implemented by government agencies and that proceeding with the bill will lead to wastage of resources. It indicates that the proposals have financial implications yet the Attorney General did not indicate the part of the law that will be duplicated; they did not tell us how much money is involved,” Among said.

Following the passing of the Bill In 2021, President Museveni returned it to Parliament noting the offences were already provided for in the Penal Code Act.

Museveni opined that the Uganda Law Reform Commission had carried out a broad review of all criminal related laws like the Penal Code Act, Magistrates Court Act, Trial on Indictment Act and the Evidence Act which made provisions of the Sexual Offences Bill, redundant.

He appealed to Parliament to allow the reviewing of all other criminal laws and propose comprehensive amendments of the relevant laws as opposed to piecemeal amendments.