Harare — A challenge to an anti-LGBT statute that includes a 20-year jail sentence for "promoting" homosexuality and the death penalty for specific same-sex activities was brought before Uganda's Constitutional Court on Monday, December 18, 2023 Reuters reports.
Following a meeting, the five-judge panel heard written arguments from both sides and its chairperson Richard Buteera assured the petitioners they would be contacted, as soon as a decision was available. The petitioners contend that the legislation infringes upon rights granted by the constitution and that insufficient public consultation and engagement occurred throughout the Bill's legislative process.
President Yoweri Museveni signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) into law in May, 2023 amid an international outcry that led to sanctions from the World Bank and the United States.
Ugandan officials said the World Bank was hypocritical when it stopped fresh funding on August 8, 2023, saying that the organization was lending to nations in the Middle East and Asia that had similar or more restrictive legislation against LGBTQ+ individuals. A junior finance minister said at the time that the government would have to amend its budget to account for the possible financial impact of the sanctions and the suspension of Uganda from Agoa.
Additionally, the U.S. restricted some Ugandan government officials' access to visas, and President Joe Biden commanded a review of U.S. aid to Uganda In May, Biden vowed to slash funding and investment to Uganda unless the laws he deemed "a tragic violation of universal human rights" were immediately repealed.
However, President Yoweri Museveni remained defiant, and in the conservative, largely Christian nation, MPs defended the laws as a vital defence against perceived western immorality. Museveni accused the World Bank of using money to "coerce" the government into repealing the contentious legislation.
Rights groups said that a wave of abuse, primarily from private persons, is being directed towards LGBTQ+ people as a result of the Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA).
More than 30 other African countries criminalise homosexuality, and LGBTQI+ groups worry that Uganda's new law will inspire close neighbouring countries to enact more stringent laws.
