RWANDAN MINISTER DENIES ANTI-GAY LAW

Rwanda’s Minister of Justice, Tharcisse Karugarama, has denied reports that his government is about to criminalise homosexuality in the African country.

“The government I serve and speak for on certain issues cannot and will not in any way criminalise homosexuality; sexual orientation is a private matter and each individual has his or her own orientation – this is not a State matter at all,” Karugarama told Rwanda’s New Times.

Last week the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) claimed that the lower house of the Rwandan Parliament would hold its final debate on a draft revision of the penal code that will, for the first time, make homosexuality a crime in Rwanda.

Karugarama accused the IGLHRC and other activist groups of “either acting in total ignorance or intentionally presenting wrong facts for their own political motives.”

He reiterated that “…the government has no intentions whatsoever to criminalise homosexuality.”