The Constitutional Court has dismissed a petition against a controversial anti-LGBT+ law on Wednesday, April 3rd. The law, passed in May 2023 in this East African country, has sparked outrage from the UN and human rights organizations, leading to US sanctions.
Dubbed the “2023 Anti-Homosexuality Law,” the legislation imposes severe penalties for individuals engaging in same-sex relationships and promoting homosexuality. Aggravated homosexuality is punishable by death, although such a sentence has not been enforced for years in Uganda.
“We refuse to nullify the anti-homosexuality law,” stated Justice Richard Buteera, addressing the petition. “After deliberation, […] we decline to nullify the anti-homosexuality law in its entirety and will not grant a permanent injunction against its execution.”
Two law professors from a university in Kampala, two members of the ruling NRM party, and human rights activists filed the petition. They argued that the law is unlawful, contending that it violates fundamental rights protected by the Constitution and was enacted without genuine consultation with the population, as required by Uganda’s Constitution. Many countries and international organizations have expressed outrage over the passage of this law.
President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1986, signed the law into effect in May 2023 and vowed not to yield to foreign pressure to repeal it, considering it one of the world’s most repressive laws against the LGBT+ community.