Uganda's president Yoweri Museveni has signed a controversial anti-gay bill today that allows life sentences to be handed out for homosexual offenses.
A government spokesman said President Yoweri Museveni wanted to assert Uganda's 'independence in the face of Western pressure'.
The bill is popular in Uganda, but rights groups have condemned it as draconian in a country where homosexuality is already illegal.
The law punishes first-time offenders with 14 years in jail. It also sets life imprisonment as the penalty for acts of 'aggravated homosexuality'.
That offence is defined to include repeated sex among consenting adults as well as sex acts involving minors or a partner infected with HIV.
The bill originally proposed the death penalty for some homosexual acts, but that was later removed amid international criticism.
U.S. President Barack Obama has urged Museveni not to sign the bill, saying doing so would 'complicate' the east African country's relationship with Washington.
President Museveni said in a statement released on Friday that countries 'should relate with each other on the basis of mutual respect and independence.'
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