- The judgment delivered by a panel of five judges on Wednesday said Sections 3(2)(c), 9, 11(2)(d) and 14 of the said Act contravened the Constitution of Uganda, 1995.
- The decision was occasioned by the filing of four petitions challenging the Act which was passed, and assented to law on May 26, 2023, by President Yoweri Museveni.
Image: AFP/FILE
The Constitutional Court in Uganda has nullified four Sections of the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023.
The judgment delivered by a panel of five judges on Wednesday said Sections 3(2)(c), 9, 11(2)(d) and 14 of the said Act contravened the Constitution of Uganda, 1995.
The nullified Sections had criminalised the letting of premises for use for homosexual purposes, the failure by anyone to report acts of homosexuality to the police for appropriate action and the engagement in acts of homosexuality by anyone which results in other persons contracting a terminal illness.
The decision was occasioned by the filing of four petitions challenging the Act which was passed, and assented to law on May 26, 2023, by President Yoweri Museveni.
Some 22 private citizens and human rights activities moved to the Court challenging all 17 Sections of the Act, alleging that they contravened human rights and freedoms housed in the country's constitution and the international human rights instruments.
The petitions were however opposed by four entities including the Attorney General and the Family Life Network Limited.
The Court also received an amicus (an impartial adviser to a court of law in a particular case) brief filed by the Secretariat of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
During its determination, the panel of five considered the legislation and judicial decisions of other jurisdictions that have decriminalised consensual homosexuality between adults in private spaces.
It also considered the absence of consensus at the global level regarding non-discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics (SOGIESC).
"This is reflected in the fact that to date non-discrimination based on the SOGIESC variables has not explicitly found its way into international human rights treaties. Instead, it has been 'vetoed' by a bloc of resistant (UN) member states that has prevented the adoption of a binding declaration or similar instrument to strengthen protections for LGBTI human rights," the court said in a statement.
Further, the judges looked into the conflict in international human rights law between upholding a universal understanding of human rights and respecting the diversity and freedom of human cultures, with no one culture entirely diminishing the dignity of the other.
It also observed the uniqueness of Uganda's Constitution, which obliges the courts of law to take into account the country's socio-cultural norms, values and aspirations when resolving any disputes before them.
Its decision was also informed by the fact that the subject Act is, in general, a reflection of the socio-cultural realities of the Ugandan society, and was passed by an overwhelming majority of the democratically elected representatives of the Ugandan citizens.
In their verdict, Justices Richard Buteera, Geofrey Kiryabwire, Monica Mugenyi, Kibeedi Muzamiru and Christopher Gashirabake upheld the constitutionality of the Anti-Homosexuality Act save for the four provisions.