According to prosecutors and his attorney, a 20-year-old man has been charged for the first time in Uganda with “aggravated homosexuality,” a crime that carries a death sentence under the nation’s recently passed anti-gay law.
Uganda passed one of the worst anti-LGBTQ laws in the world in May, defying criticism from Western governments and human rights organizations.
Same-sex relationships are punishable by a life sentence in jail. When a crime is deemed “aggravated,” such as a repeat offense, gay sex that results in the transmission of a deadly illness, or same-sex contact with a youngster, an elderly person, or a person with a disability, the death penalty may be applied.
A charge sheet obtained by Reuters shows that the defendant was charged with aggravated homosexuality on August 18 after engaging in “illegal sexual intercourse” with a 41-year-old male. It was not made clear why the crime was deemed aggravated.
Jacqueline Okui, a spokeswoman for the office of the director of public prosecutions, told Reuters that because it is a capital offense that must be tried by the High Court, the charge was read to him and explained to him at the Magistrate’s Court on (the) 18th, and he was detained.
Okui didn’t go into further detail about the matter. She claimed that to her knowledge, no one else had ever faced aggravated homosexuality charges.
According to the defendant’s attorney Justine Balya, the entire law is unlawful. The legality of the statute has been contested, but the judges have not yet taken the matter up.
Since the law’s passage, four further individuals have allegedly faced charges under it, according to Balya, but her client was the first to face legal action for aggravated homosexuality. She chose not to comment on the particulars of his case.
President Yoweri Museveni promised to begin executions in 2018 to combat an uptick in crime despite the fact that Uganda has not carried out an execution in about 20 years.
Three months ago, the law was passed, prompting considerable criticism and penalty threats. In response to the bill, the World Bank earlier this month halted new public financing to Uganda.
Some Ugandan officials have also been subject to visa restrictions from the US, and President Joe Biden has directed a review of US aid to Uganda.