A Muslim cleric in Uganda has vowed to fight anyone who stands in the way of a potential new anti-gay bill being passed.

Sheikh Nuhu Mazaata brought up the subject while addressing prayers at at mosque in Kampala, saying that anyone defending LGBTI people will face a ‘rough’ time.

He said: ‘We shall make those legislators who support homosexuality to do it in front of everyone to prove that what they are doing is right.

‘Those pro-homosexuality legislators need to be punished’.

Despite this, Mazaata also called on other religious leaders not to get involved in politics. Referring to the arrest of Uganda opposition leader Kizza Besigye, he said: ‘We were told not to interfere with political issues and indeed we should leave them to politicians.’

Uganda is notorious for its dangerous rhetoric against LGBTI people.

In 2014, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed the infamous Anti-Homosexuality Bill into law, which called for tough penalties for homosexual acts, and encouraged members of the public to report LGBTI people to the authorities.

However, the courts in Uganda were later able to invalidate the law on the grounds of a technicality.

Despite this, the situation for LGBTI Ugandans remains dire, with activists believing the situation will get worse in the near future.