Activists and human rights groups in Uganda have gone to Court to challenge one of the world’s strictest anti-homosexuality laws in the High Court of Ugandan.
The new Ugandan Law has sparked international outcry, with the World Bank suspending fresh loans to Uganda and the United States restricting visas for senior officials.
Anyone convicted of homosexual conduct faces life in jail under the law, which was passed in May 2023.
Human rights groups have petitioned judges to overturn the statute, claiming that it violates the right to equality and dignity.
The administration is arguing before the Constitutional Court that the statute upholds traditional family values.
Known as the Anti-Homosexuality Act, the law imposes the death penalty for so-called “aggravated” cases, which include having gay sex with someone below the age of 18 or where someone is infected with a life-long illness such as HIV.
An overwhelming majority of lawmakers voted for it in parliament, and it came into effect after President Yoweri Museveni approved it.
In August, a 20-year-old was the first to be charged with “aggravated homosexuality” after being accused of unlawful sexual intercourse with a 41-year-old.
