Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko on Tuesday urged lawmakers to pass a draft law that would double prison sentences for same-sex relations, intensifying a broader crackdown on LGBT people in the West African country.
Speaking before the national assembly, Sonko said the proposed legislation would increase the maximum prison term for same-sex acts from five to 10 years and apply to all sexual relations between people of the same sex. The harshest penalty would be imposed in cases involving individuals under the age of 21.
Those convicted could also face fines ranging from 2 million to 10 million CFA francs ($3,590 to $17,953).
Sonko called on legislators across party lines to back the bill and accused Western countries of promoting LGBT rights in Senegal and exploiting the issue for political pressure.
“Those in the opposition who are stirring things up will go to their Western masters and say, ‘Look how bad they are. They are repressing homosexuals,’” Sonko said. “They don’t even believe what they are saying.”
The draft law has already been approved by Senegal’s council of ministers and now requires ratification by parliament. No date has yet been set for a vote.
Human Rights Watch researcher Larissa Kojoué said in an emailed statement that the proposal was deeply concerning and would further expose already stigmatized individuals to violence, fear and abuse.
Earlier this month, Senegal’s gendarmerie said it had charged 12 men with acts “against nature” and the deliberate transmission of HIV. Two of the accused were public figures, sparking intense media coverage and widespread speculation.
Sonko’s remarks came amid renewed enforcement of anti-homosexuality laws elsewhere in Africa, including Uganda, where police recently said they had arrested two women accused of engaging in same-sex acts after being seen kissing in public under one of the world’s harshest such laws.