Uganda’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday largely upheld a far-reaching anti-gay law that President Yoweri Museveni signed last year. In doing so, he is undermining efforts by activists and rights groups to abolish legislation that has drawn worldwide condemnation and strained the East African country’s relationship with the West.
The legislation, which was signed into law by Mr Museveni in May, calls for life imprisonment for anyone who engages in gay sex. Anyone who attempts same-sex relationships could face up to 10 years in prison.
Uganda has faced international fallout for the law’s passage, with the World Bank suspending all new financing and the United States imposing sanctions and visa restrictions on top Ugandan officials. But the law was popular in Uganda, a landlocked country of more than 48 million people where religious and political leaders often speak out against homosexuality.
The impact on Uganda will be closely watched in other African countries where anti-gay sentiment is rising and anti-gay legislation is being considered, including Kenya, Namibia, Tanzania and South Sudan. In February, Ghana’s parliament passed an anti-gay law, but the country’s president said he would not sign it until the Supreme Court ruled on its constitutionality.
In the Ugandan case, Frank Mugisha, a prominent human rights activist and one of the petitioners, said they would appeal the Constitutional Court’s decision to the Supreme Court.
Uganda’s law provides for the death penalty for anyone convicted of “aggravated homosexuality,” a broad term defined as acts of same-sex relations with minors or the disabled, carried out under threat or while a person is unconscious. Even a charge of what the law calls ‘attempted aggravated homosexuality’ carries a prison sentence of up to fourteen years.
The passage of the law – which also imposes heavy fines on organizations convicted of promoting homosexuality – alarmed human rights defenders, who said it would give new impetus to the introduction of similarly draconian laws in other African countries. Uganda is among African countries that already ban gay sex, but the new law creates additional violations and prescribes much harsher penalties.
The United Nations, along with local and international human rights groups, said the law violated Uganda’s constitution and was likely to be used to harass and intimidate LGBTQ people.
The law was first introduced in early March by a lawmaker who said homosexuality was becoming pervasive and threatening the sanctity of the Ugandan family. Some lawmakers also claimed that their constituents had informed them of alleged plans to promote and recruit schoolchildren for homosexuality — accusations that rights groups said were false.
Anti-gay sentiment is prevalent among Muslim and Christian lawmakers and religious leaders of both faiths. They say homosexuality is a Western import, and they held rallies to express support for the law before it was passed.
A few weeks after it was introduced in Parliament, the law was quickly passed, with only two lawmakers opposing it.
Activists, academics and human rights lawyers who challenged the law in court said it violated not only the Ugandan constitution, which guarantees the right to privacy and freedom from discrimination, but also international treaties, including the African Charter on Rights of man and peoples. They also argued that the law was passed by parliament too quickly and that there was not enough time for public participation.
Human rights groups say LGBTQ Ugandans have faced intense violence and intimidation since the law was introduced and passed.
Convening for Equality, a coalition of human rights organizations in Uganda, has documented hundreds of rights violations, including arrests and forced anal examinations. Gay and transgender Ugandans have also been evicted from their homes and beaten by relatives, forcing many to flee to neighboring countries such as Kenya. In early January, Steve Kabuye, a prominent gay rights advocate, was stabbed in an attack that activists say was fueled by homophobia related to the law. Mr Kabuye has since fled to Canada with the help of a non-governmental organisation.
The adoption of the law also had rapid consequences for Uganda. Health experts also worried that the law would hinder medical access for gay people, especially those seeking HIV testing, prevention and treatment.
The United States said it would restrict visas for current and former Ugandan officials responsible for implementing anti-gay policies. The Biden administration also issued a business advisory for Uganda, removing the country from a special program that allows African products duty-free access to the United States.
The World Bank, citing the anti-gay law, also said in August that it would suspend all future financing to Uganda. Economic pressure continued to increase and foreign travelers and investors stayed away from Uganda.
Ahead of the ruling, Mr Museveni remained publicly defiant, but analysts and diplomats said he privately worried about his country being branded a pariah and the devastating economic fallout this would cause.