Arbishop of York speaks out on Bahati Boy’s Bill – but what took him so long?

At last, the Archbishop of York has now condemned the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda. What took John Sentamu so damned long?

The world was aghast at the sheer evil of the measure from Ugandan MP David “Bahati Boy” Bahati, which calls for the execution of gays in some circumstances, and the imprisonment of those who know of gay relationships but don’t tell the authorities.

It took the Archbishop of Canterbury a while to get around to criticising, and York’s office said he wouldn’t be commenting. But now, it seems, he has.

“I’m opposed to the death sentence,” said Sentamu on Radio 4’s Today programme today. That’s big of him. “I’m also not happy when you describe people in the kind of language you find in this Private Member’s Bill.”

He added it seemed not only victimising but also “a diminishment of the individuals concerned”.

But, says the BBC, Sentamu, himself Ugandan, also pointed out that the current law in Uganda already had provision for the same measures proposed in the new Bill. So does that make it easier for him to speak out – because similar measures already exist? Or would he like to see an end of all measures against gay people?