David Bahati (born 8 June 1973) is a

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

n accountant and politician. He is the Minister of State for Trade, Industry and Cooperatives in the

Cabinet of Uganda There are 32 Cabinet ministers and 50 Ministers of State in the Cabinet of Uganda (2021 to 2026). According to Section 111 of the 1995 Constitution of Uganda, as amended in 2005, "There shall be a Cabinet which shall consist of the President, t ...

. He was appointed to that position in a cabinet reshuffle on 9 June 2021. He was previously the Minister of State for Finance replacing

Matia Kasaija Matia Kasaija is a Ugandan politician. He is the current Minister of Finance in Uganda's Cabinet. He was appointed to that position on 1 March 2015, replacing Maria Kiwanuka, who was appointed to Senior Presidential Advisor for Finance. From 27 ...

. He is a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for the constituency of Ndorwa West,

Kabale District Kabale District is a district in the Western Region of Uganda. Kabale hosts the district headquarters. It was originally part of Kigezi District, before the districts of Rukungiri, Kanungu, Kisoro, Rubanda and Rukiga and were excised to form sepa ...

, in the

Parliament of Uganda The parliament of Uganda is the country's legislative body. Unicameral, the most significant of the Ugandan parliament's functions is to pass laws that will provide good governance in the country. The government ministers are bound to answer t ...

and is a member of the

National Resistance Movement The National Resistance Movement ( sw, Harakati za Upinzani za Kitaifa; abbr. NRM) has been the ruling party in Uganda since 1986. History The National Resistance Movement (NRM) was founded as a liberation movement that waged a guerrilla ...

, the ruling party. He is chief of the Scout Board of Uganda.

Education

Bahati received a

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanmar, ...

degree from

Makerere University Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of ni ...

, a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

degree from

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

, an executive certificate in strategic management from the

Wharton School The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in P ...

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, an executive certificate in campaign leadership from the

Leadership Institute The Leadership Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia that teaches "political technology." The institute was founded in 1979 by conservative activist Morton Blackwell. Its mission is to "increase the num ...

, and a diploma in business English from the

Manchester Business School Alliance Manchester Business School (Alliance MBS) is the business school of the University of Manchester in Manchester, England. One of the most prestigious business schools in the United Kingdom, it is also the second oldest in the UK, and pro ...

Carl Cooper Carl Norman Cooper (born 4 August 1960) is a Welsh former Anglican bishop who was the Bishop of St David's from 2002 to 2008. Early life Cooper was born on 4 August 1960 and grew up in Wigan in Lancashire. He first spent time in Wales as an un ...

, former bishop of St. Davids, said, "It was wonderful to discover that the local MP, Mr David Bahati, also had a Master's degree from the University of Wales and had spent time studying in Cardiff. Wales’ influence often stretches further than we realise." Before entering politics, Bahati was head of finance and administration at Uganda's Population Secretariat.

Introduction of Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill

Bahati came to international attention in October 2009 after introducing the

Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill The Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2014 was an act passed by the Parliament of Uganda on 20 December 2013, which prohibited sexual relations between persons of the same sex. The act was previously called the "Kill the Gays bill" in the western mainst ...

as a

Private Member's Bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...

on 13 October proposing that a new offence be created in Uganda named "aggravated

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

" which would be punishable as a

capital offence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

. The proposals included plans to introduce the death penalty for gay adults who had sex with those of the same sex under 18, with disabled people, or when the accused party is

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

-positive, or for those previously convicted of homosexuality-related offences. Journalist and gay rights activist Jeff Sharlet (winner of the

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission OutRight Action International (OutRight) is a LGBTIQ human rights non-governmental organization that addresses human rights violations and abuses against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people. OutRight Action International docum ...

's Outspoken Award) claims that in a private conversation Bahati expressed a desire to "kill every last gay person." Sharlet suggested that the bill came about as a result of Bahati's membership in the Christian group The Family. Transcript available at: He revealed that Bahati reportedly first floated the idea of the bill (which at that time included the death penalty for homosexual assaults on minors, disabled people, or by knowingly HIV positive men) during The Family's Uganda National Prayer Breakfast in 2008. Bob Hunter, a member of The Family, gave an interview to

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

in December 2009 in which he acknowledged Bahati's connection but argued that no American associates support the bill. After news of the gay execution law broke, Bahati was disinvited from the 2010

U.S. National Prayer Breakfast The National Prayer Breakfast is a yearly event held in Washington, D.C., usually on the first Thursday in February. The founder of this event was Abraham Vereide. The event—which is actually a series of meetings, luncheons, and dinners—has t ...

. Bahati was interviewed by

Rachel Maddow Rachel Anne Maddow (, ; born April 1, 1973) is an American television news program host and liberal political commentator. Maddow hosts ''The Rachel Maddow Show'', a weekly television show on MSNBC, and serves as the cable network's special eve ...

in December 2010. Bahati asserted that $15 million had been invested in Uganda to recruit children. When pressed by Maddow for "recruitment" tactics, he stated that "They go to a school, teach them, entice them with money, to lure them into this practice". Bahati asserted that videos are being circulated in Uganda that state that "a man sleeping with a man is okay," which were being used for "recruitment". Maddow challenged this assertion, stating that "recruitment of children by gays is a common myth in any and all countries that have debated laws like that proposed in Uganda." Bahati made clear in the interview that the law he is proposing will go through the democratic process of Uganda and be debated upon. In addition to this, Bahati believes that America should respect its sovereignty as well as the fact that Ugandan law will have jurisdiction on Ugandans only. On 20 December 2013, the

passed the

Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2014 The Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2014 was an act passed by the Parliament of Uganda on 20 December 2013, which prohibited sexual relations between persons of the same sex. The act was previously called the "Kill the Gays bill" in the western mainst ...

with the death penalty proposal dropped in favour of life in prison. The bill was signed into law by the

President of Uganda The president of the Republic of Uganda is the head of state and the head of government of Uganda. The president leads the executive branch of the government of Uganda and is the commander-in-chief of the Uganda People's Defence Force. The in ...

on 24 February 2014. On 1 August 2014, however, the

Constitutional Court of Uganda The Court of Appeal of Uganda (also constituted as the Constitutional Court of Uganda) is the second-highest court, judicial organ in Uganda. It derives its powers from Article 134 of the Constitution of Uganda, 1995 Constitution. It is an appel ...

ruled the Act invalid on procedural grounds.

References

External links

Information page for Bahati on Ugandan parliament website

Ugandan media, politicians campaign against homosexuality. Carolyn Dunn, CBC News, last updated 26 November 2010 (includes audio interview with David Bahati)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bahati, David 1973 births Living people Alumni of Cardiff University Alumni of the University of Manchester Makerere University alumni National Resistance Movement politicians People from Kabale District Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni Ugandan accountants People from Western Region, Uganda Members of the Parliament of Uganda 21st-century Ugandan politicians

Education

Introduction of Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill

See also

References

External links