A recent wave of anti-gay laws has swept over some African countries with Burundi, Nigeria and Uganda passing laws that criminalize same sex relationships in recent years. Zimbabwe also plans to introduce a law that will ban homosexuals from the south African country that has been facing several sanctions from the west on property and human rights violations.

Homosexuality is illegal in at least 38 of the 54 countries in Africa eNCAnews says and has been termed as ‘un-African’. Gay bashing has become the in thing for a number of African leaders. This week, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda passed an anti-gay bill into law even after he had initially shown signs of not assenting to it.

Activists say that the issue has been turned into a political tool with leaders using it to remain popular with the voters. This, they say, is in total disregard to the human right violations that the laws they are passing inflict on the gay community in Africa.