In an attempt to win the support of Nigeria’s majority Muslim northern states, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan sanctioned a repressive law that makes homosexuality punishable in the country. While sodomy has been illegal in Nigeria since colonial times, the new law allows a 14-year prison sentence for anybody attempting to enter a same-sex union, as well as a 10-year sentence for anyone supporting any organization that operates as a gay club or society. The new law also criminalizes public displays of affection between members of the same sex.
Similar to the Nigerian bill, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed into law the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act on Feb. 24, 2014. The bill was based on “strengthening the nation’s capacity to deal with emerging internal and external threats to the traditional heterosexual family,” and “protecting the cherished culture of the people of Uganda, legal, religious, and traditional family values of the people of Uganda against the attempts of sexual rights activists seeking to impose their values of sexual promiscuity on the people of Uganda.” While the bill initially enforced the death penalty for instances of “aggravated homosexuality,” that clause was dropped due to Western pressure, substituting life imprisonment for gay people that “commit” multiple offenses.
Source: The New York Times
On May 13, 2014, the Ugandan Parliament passed the HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Act in an effort to combat the country’s HIV/AIDS epidemic. Several clauses in the bill point to clear directions for HIV prevention, while others criminalize HIV transmission. While some aspects of the law are viewed as beneficial — they will increase general awareness of HIV prevention and treatment — the aspects that criminalize transmission are thought to be a detriment to efforts, as they will further marginalize and stigmatize HIV-positive people.
Somalia has struggled to counteract terrorism within its borders with the persistent efforts of the terrorist group Al Shabaab. However, new anti-terrorism laws have helped to exacerbate the human food crisis by restricting the cash flow that is permitted within Somalia as foreign donors have seen their hands tied with regard to international aid. These laws have scared off many NGOs from operating within Somalia — they can now be prosecuted if resources, particularly cash transfers, are suspected of ending up in the hands of terrorists. As of mid-July 2014, just 28.7 percent of the $933 million required for humanitarian assistance in Somalia has been received, and aid organizations say the situation is getting worse.
Source: Financial Tracking Service
In 2014, South Africa passed further legislation to protect employees from discrimination, putting a greater onus on employers. The beneficiaries of affirmative action were explicitly defined as black people, women and those with disabilities who are citizens of South Africa. Employers now face a greater monetary risk for ignoring the new legislation.
The Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe recently struck down the law of criminal defamation from the country’s statutes, hopefully marking an end to the years of media suppression Zimbabwe has become known for. Law enforcement officials for years used the previous law to criminalize the publication or communication of statements that criticized the state, often detaining journalists for long periods in poor conditions. While some suspect another, similarly draconian, law will be ushered in shortly, Zimbabweans are celebrating for now the reprieve and embracing a new period of media freedom.
In April 2014, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta signed into law a controversial bill that authorized polygamy within the country, known as the Marriage Act 2014. While the law really just brings customary law into civil law — the practice has been commonplace in Kenya for decades — it angered many Kenyans, particularly women who consider it the opposite of gender equality. Female lawmakers walked out of the Kenyan parliament during debates over the Marriage Act in March due to the clause that allows men to marry additional women without consulting their first wives.
Rwanda has long been criticized for its gaping laws regarding matrimonial regimes and inheritances among family members, seen as one of the last vestiges of a wholly unequal system that discriminated against women. The new law would empower women to inherit from their parents and husbands, including those prior to 1999 – an important step to help female orphans who lost their rights to their parents’ properties following the Rwandan Genocide.
As Mozambique worked to reshape its penal code this year, the Parliament initially retained articles from the colonial era that included a “marriage effect” clause – one that allowed convicted rapists to receive suspended sentences if they marry their victims and remain wed for at least five years. The commission tasked with reworking the penal code eventually responded to national and international pressure — partially thanks to a campaign launched by Amnesty International — and removed the offending article, a throwback to the Portuguese Penal Code of 1886.
Angola has been known as a difficult and expensive place to do business, discouraging entrepreneurs and savvy investors from attempting to do so there. But in May 2014, the country’s National Assembly approved new legislation that cut the costs for a business to register by a significant percentage – it will now be fixed as Kz10,000 (US$102), down from Kz195,317 (US$2,000). The new law also eliminates costs to search notary records and other national databases, allowing new businesses to access these crucial resources free of charge.
