By The Constitutional Court of Uganda has rejected a petition aimed at annulling an anti-gay law, which has drawn widespread condemnation globally for its severity.
While the court acknowledged that certain sections of the law infringed upon the right to health and were “inconsistent with rights to privacy and freedom of religion”, it did not suspend or overturn the law entirely.
“We decline to nullify the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 in its entirety, neither will we grant a permanent injunction against its enforcement,” Justice Richard Buteera, Uganda’s deputy chief justice and head of the court, said in the landmark ruling.
According to Ugandan television station NTV, the five-member court reached a unanimous decision to reject the petition against the law, which enjoys broad popular support in the country.
In a statement posted on X, the Uganda-based Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum warned that the decision could have serious implications for human rights in the country “unfortunately will fuel human rights violations” against the gay community in the country.
Steven Kabuye, a 25-year-old activist and executive director of the advocacy group Colored Voice Truth to LGBTQ, also cautioned about the risks associated with the court decision. In January, he was stabbed by unknown assailants after receiving death threats for his advocacy efforts.
“The court’s decision opens a ‘Pandora’s box’ that will push the lives of gay Ugandans further more into darkness,” he wrote on X.
“The Constitutional Court of Uganda has denied nullifying the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 in its entirety. The LGBTQI+ community has been pushed further in the darkness, as always, with claims of protecting public policy and moral values. We should remember that because of my opposition to the AHA23, I was almost assassinated on 3rd/January/2024 leaving me with wounds and trauma that will never heal. Until today, the price of freedom to an ordinary LGBTQI+ Ugandan is death.
The legislation was adopted in May, triggering outrage among the LGBTQ community, rights campaigners, the United Nations and Western nations.
The Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 imposes penalties of up to life in prison for consensual same-sex relations and contains provisions that make “aggravated homosexuality” an offence punishable by death.
President Yoweri Museveni’s government has struck a defiant tone with officials accusing the West of trying to pressure Africa into accepting homosexuality.
The Constitutional Court in Kampala began hearing the case in December.
The petition was brought by two law professors from Makerere University in Kampala, legislators from the ruling party and human rights activists.
They said the law violates fundamental rights guaranteed by Uganda’s Constitution, including freedom from discrimination and the right to privacy.
The petitioners also said it contravenes Uganda’s commitments under international human rights law, including the UN Convention against Torture.
