28th August, 2023
A 20-year-old Ugandan has become the first man to be charged with “aggravated homosexuality”, an offence punishable by death under the country’s recently enacted anti-gay law.
He was charged on Aug. 18 with aggravated homosexuality after he “performed unlawful sexual intercourse” with a 41-year-old man, according to a Reuters report.
The charge sheet did not specify why the act was considered aggravated.
“Since it is a capital offence triable by the High Court, the charge was read out and explained to him in the Magistrate’s Court on (the) 18th and he was remanded,” Jacqueline Okui, spokesperson for the office of the director of public prosecutions, told Reuters.
Okui did not provide additional details about the case. She said she was not aware of anyone else having been previously charged with aggravated homosexuality.
Justine Balya, an attorney for the defendant, said she believed the entire law was unconstitutional. The law has been challenged in court, but the judges have not yet taken up the case.
Balya said four other people have been charged under the law since its enactment and that her client was the first to be prosecuted for aggravated homosexuality. She declined to comment on the specifics of his case.
Defying pressure from Western governments and rights organisations, Uganda in May enacted one of the world’s harshest laws targeting the LGBT community.
It prescribes life in prison for same-sex intercourse. The death penalty can apply in cases deemed “aggravated”, which include repeat offences, gay sex that transmits terminal illness, or same-sex intercourse with a minor, an elderly person or a person with disabilities.