Speaking to Reuters, Uganda's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Okello Oryem said "there's a coup at the State Department in the U.S. It is being taken over by people who are pushing the LGBT agenda in Africa."
"Why don't they impose the same sanctions on the Middle East countries which have the same or harsher laws against LGBT?" Oryem said, adding, "if they deny our MPs visas, they will (go) to Shanghai, Guangzhou. There are very many beautiful places to visit."
Oryem's sentiments were in response to new visa restrictions announced on Monday by the U.S. that target unidentified Ugandan officials that Washington deems responsible for undermining democracy and repressing marginalized groups in the East African nation, including the LGBTQ community.
President Yoweri Museveni's government enacted one of the world's harshest anti-gay laws in May, which calls for the death penalty for certain same-sex acts.
The Ugandan law's enactment has unleashed a torrent of abuse against LGBTQ people, mostly committed by private individuals, rights groups said in a report published in September.
The U.S. imposed a first round of visa restrictions on Ugandan officials in response to the law in June, and the World Bank halted new lending to the country in August.
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