Having consensual same-sex relations in Uganda is punishable by life in prison and possible death in ‘aggravated homosexuality’ cases according to the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023.
“We decline to nullify the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 in its entirety, neither will we grant a permanent injunction against its enforcement,” Justice Richard Buteera, Uganda’s deputy chief justice and head of the court, said in the landmark ruling on Wednesday bringing an end to a marathon hearing which begun in December last year.
The five-member court reached a unanimous decision to reject the petition against the law.
Last year, two law professors from Makerere University in Kampala, legislators from the ruling party and human rights activists petitioned the constitutional court arguing that the law violates fundamental rights guaranteed by Uganda’s Constitution, including freedom from discrimination and the right to privacy.
The petitioners also said it contravenes Uganda’s commitments under international human rights law, including the UN Convention against Torture.
However, court found on Wednesday that some sections of the law violated the right to health and it was “inconsistent with right to health, privacy and freedom of religion” but did not block or suspend the law.
The ruling is part of a growing anti-gay crackdown across Africa. Ghana passed stringent anti-gay legislation in February, intensifying a crackdown on the rights of LGBTQ people.
Homosexuality is criminalised in more than 30 of Africa’s 54 countries.
Some Africans see it as behaviour imported from abroad and not a sexual orientation.
In August, the World Bank announced that it was suspending new loans to Uganda over the law because it “fundamentally contradicts” the values espoused by the international institution.
The slide within the college-going fee since 2018 is the steepest on file, according to the U.S.