After we passed a law against homosexuality, the West STOPPED the World Bank from giving us loans, but our economy grew by 6%.” ~ Yoweri Museveni (President of Uganda 🇺🇬). This statement refers to the events surrounding the 2014 passage of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, which imposed severe penalties on same-sex relationships and drew widespread condemnation from Western governments, NGOs, and international institutions. In retaliation, the World Bank suspended a $90 million loan aimed at improving Uganda’s health system, and several Western nations redirected or froze aid. Museveni, defending the law as aligned with Ugandan cultural values, condemned the Western response as a form of neo-colonial coercion, claiming that foreign powers were using aid as leverage to enforce alien values on African societies.
Despite this backlash, Uganda’s economy grew by around 6% that year, which Museveni and his government cited as proof that the country could thrive without compromising its cultural identity. The moment became symbolic of a broader push for African sovereignty, especially on moral and social issues. Although the law was struck down by Uganda’s Constitutional Court later in 2014 due to procedural irregularities—not external pressure—the political stance persisted.
Fast forward to 2025, Uganda continues to experience economic resilience, with steady growth driven by public infrastructure investment, oil sector development, regional trade, and a youthful workforce.
The Ugandan government maintains that economic progress is achievable without capitulating to Western moral expectations. Museveni and other officials still use the 2014 incident as a rallying point to emphasize self-reliance, cultural independence, and resistance to external moral dictates—a sentiment echoed in several African nations navigating similar pressures.
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