In what seems to be a realization of an election campaign promise by the government of Senegal, led by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who took office in 2024, the country’s National Assembly overwhelmingly passed a bill by 135 votes to 0, doubling the maximum sentence for homosexual activity to 10 years with fines of up to 10 million CFA, and criminalizing any attempt to promote the act.
The bill seeks to double the penalty for Senegal’s “crime against nature law,” found in its penal code, which was last amended in 1966 and carried a 5-year sentence and fines of up to 1,500,000 CFA ($2700).
The bill establishes that acts against nature include homosexuality, bisexuality, transsexuality, zoophilia, and necrophilia. It continues to dictate that a judge may not grant a suspended sentence or use their discretion to reduce the penalty below the minimum.
Leader of And Samm Jikko Yi, a network of Islamic and civil society organizations, Imam Babacar Sylla has urged Faye to sign the bill into law as soon as possible. “The longer it takes, the more complicated it will be. And these people, whom I consider a public danger, will continue to escape,” he added.
Before the passage of the bill on Wednesday, supporters of the bill organized protests in Dakar, where participants chanted “No to homosexuality,” holding signs with rainbows crossed out.
Many men suspected of having engaged in “acts against nature” have also been arrested during this period. According to the International Federation of Human Rights, some 27 men were arrested in February.
Some neighboring African countries have also implemented similar laws, with Burkina Faso criminalizing homosexuality for the first time, imposing prison terms for up to 10 years, and Ghana planning to raise the maximum penalty for same-sex sexual acts.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah