Uganda’s Constitutional Court is scheduled to make a decision on Wednesday regarding a petition to cancel a highly criticized anti-gay law.
The law was passed in May last year, leading to strong condemnation from the LGBTQ community, rights advocates, the United Nations, and Western nations.
Named the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023, it imposes penalties of up to life in prison for consensual same-sex relations and contains provisions that make “aggravated homosexuality” punishable by death.
Officials in President Yoweri Museveni’s government have expressed defiance, accusing the West of attempting to pressure Africa into accepting homosexuality.
The Constitutional Court in Kampala will announce its verdict at 10:00 am (0700 GMT) on Wednesday, as stated by deputy registrar Susanne Okeny Anyala on Tuesday.
The case began being heard 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 argue that the law violates fundamental rights guaranteed by Uganda’s constitution, including freedom from discrimination and the right to privacy.
The petitioners also claim it goes against Uganda’s obligations under international human rights law, including the United Nations Convention against Torture.
The court will also determine whether the law was passed after sufficient consultation with Ugandan citizens, as required by the constitution.
* West trying to ‘coerce us’ –
A 20-year-old man was the first Ugandan to be charged with “aggravated homosexuality” under the disputed law in August last year.
He was accused of “unlawful sexual intercourse with… (a) male adult aged 41”, an offense punishable by death.
Uganda, a conservative and predominantly Christian country in East Africa, is infamous for its lack of acceptance of homosexuality.
It has resisted pressure from rights organizations, the United Nations, and foreign governments to repeal the law.
The United States, which threatened to cut aid and investment to Kampala, imposed visa bans on unnamed officials in December for abusing human rights, including those of the LGBTQ community.
The World Bank announced in August it was suspending new loans to Uganda over the law, which “fundamentally contradicts” the values espoused by the international institution.
In December, Ugandan state minister for foreign affairs Henry Okello Oryem accused the West of seeking “to coerce us into accepting same-sex relationships using aid and loans”.
In 2014, international donors reduced aid to Uganda after Museveni approved a bill that sought to impose life imprisonment for homosexual relations, which was later overturned.
But the latest anti-gay law has enjoyed broad support in the conservative country, where lawmakers have defended the measures as a necessary bulwark against Western immorality.
Last month, a Ugandan court rejected an appeal by a gay rights group seeking government registration, ruling that it aimed to promote “unlawful” activities.
The Court of Appeal stated that any registration of the group Sexual Minorities Uganda was against the public interest and national policy.
AFP
