Uganda's president has rejected Western attempts to link international aid with progress on gay rights, saying building infrastructure was more important

Yoweri Museveni said that homosexuals need electricity, roads and trains too. Barack Obama has ordered US government agencies to put gay rights at the heart of foreign policy. Homosexuality is illegal in many African countries, including Uganda, where homosexual acts are punishable with up to 14 years in prison. A bill which includes the death penalty for some homosexual acts was introduced to the Ugandan parliament in 2009. Uganda came under intense international pressure to shelve the bill, which was not debated in the last session of parliament. The controversial bill has been re-introduced in the new legislative session. It would also criminalize anyone failing to report to the authorities a person they knew to be homosexual - and make it illegal for people to speak out in favor of gay rights.