Ugandan Activists Appeal Supreme Court on Anti-Homosexuality Law

Ugandan human rights advocates have appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court's ruling upholding a severe anti-homosexuality law, which includes the death penalty for certain same-sex acts. Rights groups report over 1,000 cases of violations against sexual minorities since the law's implementation.

Ugandan human rights advocates on Thursday filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against a ruling by a lower court that upheld a draconian anti-homosexuality law, which includes the death penalty for certain same-sex acts. The country's constitutional court had previously declined to void the Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA), despite claims it violated fundamental rights. The court only nullified a few sections that were found inconsistent with rights to health, privacy, and freedom of religion.

Rights pressure groups state the law has triggered escalating violations against sexual minorities in the country, with over 1,000 cases recorded in the last nine months involving arrests, torture, and house evictions. Nicholas Opiyo, one of the petitioners' lawyers, expressed optimism for an expedited hearing from the Supreme Court on the X platform. The petitioners, including a lawmaker and prominent LGBTQ rights campaigner Frank Mugisha, argue the law violates human dignity and protection from inhumane treatment, according to court documents seen by Reuters.

The law prescribes life imprisonment for same-sex intercourse and a death sentence for what is termed aggravated homosexuality. It also bans the promotion of homosexuality, with offenders facing up to 20 years in jail. The law has been denounced by the West, with the United States imposing travel and trade sanctions on Ugandan officials viewed as anti-democratic, while the World Bank has halted new lending to Uganda.