The World Bank announced Tuesday, August 8th, that it would suspend all financing for Uganda after the East African nation passed a law criminalising homosexual acts in May.
A relatively stable African nation under the leadership of long-time President Yoweri Museveni, Uganda incurred the wrath of Western NGOs earlier this year for its decision to introduce the death penalty for certain homosexual acts, with prison sentences of up to 20 years for those caught encouraging homosexuality.
President Museveni has defended the legislation in spite of direct criticism from the UN and President Biden, saying that it was essential to protecting the place of the family in Ugandan life as well as affirming his country’s cultural independence against the West.
In a statement to The European Conservative, World Bank officials confirmed that they had halted funding to Uganda following an on-the-ground review, saying that
no new public financing to Uganda will be presented to our Board of Executive Directors until the efficacy of the additional measures has been tested.
The World Bank also confirmed that further “corrective action” could be taken against Uganda and that the country would be placed under what it called “third-party monitoring” to examine the new LGBT laws.
Often accused of being a tool of Western imperialism to influence the Global South, the World Bank channels billions of dollars worth of funding into developing Africa annually and, prior to this week’s decision, had worked in conjunction with civil society groups to promote what it describes as ‘sustainable growth.’
Unlike neighbouring Kenya and Rwanda, Uganda has recently moved in a more anti-Western direction in conjunction with much of the Global South as various nations shift to alternative partners in the form of China and Russia to manage their national development.
A vocal supporter of the recent anti-LGBT laws, pastor Martin Ssempa said the World Bank’s boycott would only incentivise Uganda to rely more on BRICS instead.
President Museveni, who has ruled the country since 1986, has vociferously denounced recent EU efforts to extract more raw materials from Uganda in the form of copper and tungsten amid speculation that Uganda could move towards more favourable relations with Beijing or Moscow.
Uganda is heavily reliant on Ukrainian grain, with the country’s foreign minister meeting with Sergei Lavrov in Moscow about ensuring the flow of grain supplies as Western nations blame Russia for weaponising the control of grain into Africa for geopolitical purposes.
Despite polls suggesting thawing attitudes towards homosexuality in recent years, Uganda has moved towards harsher punishments for homosexuals since 2005 when it constitutionally banned same-sex marriage.
The recent anti-LGBT legislation is seen as part of a wider cultural and political turn away from the West and to placate Uganda’s religious community. Similar anti-LGBT legislation was passed in Kenya, backed by the politically influential Catholic clergy.
The boycott by the World Bank coincides with a decision by the Ugandan government not to renew an agreement with the UN last week, resulting in the closure of UN offices.
The targeting of Uganda by Western financial institutions comes amid a wider collapse of Western prestige and influence in Africa, culminating in recent pro-Russian coup plotters seizing power across West Africa.
A former Marxist revolutionary, President Museveni is known to have strong sympathy with Russia stemming back to Soviet support for the coup that brought him to power in 1986.
President Museveni met with Vladimir Putin during a recent summit in St. Petersburg, with the African leader making the symbolic decision not to recognise Kosovo on an official visit to Serbia last week as he confirmed significant Russian investment to facilitate the development of nuclear power in Uganda.
