A Ugandan court has dropped the country’s first aggravated homosexuality case—a charge that carries the death penalty under Uganda’s 2023 anti-gay law. The accused, a man from Soroti in northeastern Uganda, spent nearly a year in pretrial detention before the magistrate dismissed the case on Monday.
His lawyer, Douglas Mawadri, told Reuters the court found the man “of unsound mind” after his long detention. The magistrate discontinued the proceedings based on this finding. Officials will issue a written judgment later, but the ruling was delivered orally in court.
The case began in August 2023 when authorities arrested the then 20-year-old and charged him with “aggravated homosexuality.” Prosecutors accused him of “unlawful sexual intercourse” with a 41-year-old man. Later, they changed the charge to “carnal knowledge against the order of nature”—a colonial-era offense under Uganda’s penal code that carries life imprisonment.
Uganda enacted its Anti-Homosexuality Act in 2023, one of the world’s harshest laws targeting LGBT people. It mandates life in prison for same-sex relations. It also imposes the death penalty for “aggravated” cases—such as repeat offenses, sex involving minors or elderly persons, or acts that allegedly transmit terminal illness.
The law triggered immediate global condemnation. Western governments spoke out strongly. The World Bank suspended new funding to Uganda for nearly two years. The U.S. also imposed visa restrictions on several Ugandan officials.
Despite international pressure, Ugandan leaders defended the law as reflecting national values. Yet this first major prosecution ended not in conviction—but in dismissal on mental health grounds after lengthy incarceration.
Mawadri said his client’s condition likely worsened during the long remand without trial. This outcome raises serious concerns about due process and the human toll of such laws.
In short, while the aggravated homosexuality case is closed, the broader legal threat remains. Uganda’s anti-LGBT law continues to fuel fear, stigma, and injustice across the country.
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