Ugandan Constitutional Court Deals a Further Blow to LGBTQ Rights

Uganda’s Constitutional Court has upheld the country’s draconian Anti-Homosexual Act that was passed last year. The decision to uphold the act was unanimous, although the five judges, in their ruling, stated that some sections of the law violated some rights guaranteed by the Ugandan constitution.

“We decline to nullify the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 in its entirety, neither will we grant a permanent injunction against its enforcement,” deputy chief justice and head of the court, Justice Richard Buteera, said in the landmark ruling, reading the judgment on behalf of all five judges. However, the court “nullified Sections 3(2)(c), 9, 11(2)(d) and 14 of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2023 for contravening the Constitution of Uganda, 1995,” a statement from the country’s judiciary body read.

The provisions of the law that were decriminalized by the ruling include: letting of premises for use for homosexual acts; failure to report acts of homosexuality to the authorities; and engaging in acts of homosexuality by anyone resulting in the other person(s) contracting a terminal illness. In its ruling to keep the law, the court said it took into account the sociocultural norms of the Ugandan people, stating that it was enthusiastically passed by elected parliament members.

“The constitutional court of Uganda has affirmed the sentiments of the homophobic Ugandan public albeit without any evidence on the record. Shame!” Nobel Peace Prize nominee and one of the petitioners, Frank Mugisha, wrote on X. In a separate post, he also asserted that the court only decriminalized sections of the law that they believe if left as is, may lead to a lack of donations coming into the country in the area of healthcare.

International response has vehemently rebuked the passing of the law, with the World Bank halting loans to the East African country, and the U.S. removing Uganda from the AGOA trade deal. President Yoweri Museveni has said he will “go to war” to ensure the act is enforced, and last August, a 20-year-old Ugandan was charged with aggravated homosexuality and could face the death sentence if found guilty.

Uganda, a deeply conservative country with a significant Christian population, has been a largely anti-queer society for years. Last year was the second time the government attempted to attach capital punishment to homosexuality, initially failing in 2014 after the constitutional court annulled the bill on procedural grounds. A decade later, the same court has now upheld the bill, which is now law, citing public acceptance. The constitutional validity of the law was petitioned by several activists and groups, and it is expected that this decision will be appealed to the Supreme Court.

“To base a decision on public sentiments, purported cultural values, and unfounded/unsubstantiated allegations of recruitment into homosexuality is strange, to say the least,” Nicholas Opiyo, an attorney for one of the petitioners, wrote in an X post shortly after the ruling was delivered. “You come to court expecting it to rise above public bigotry and sentiments. To that extent, it is a letdown, but we will see what next steps can be taken.”

Rights groups have stated that the law has worsened the danger queer people have to face in a country where they were already targeted before the criminalization of their very existence. In January, openly queer rights activist Steve Kabuye was seriously injured when he was stabbed by unknown people, after receiving several death threats due to his calls for the Anti-Homosexual Act to be repealed.

“The LGBTQI+ community has been pushed further in the darkness, as always, with claims of protecting public policy and moral values,” Kabuye wrote on X earlier today.