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, According to prosecutors and his attorney.
Uganda passed one of the worst anti-LGBT 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. In circumstances deemed “aggravated,” such as those involving recurrent offenses, gay sex that results in the transmission of a terminal illness, or same-sex contact with a youngster, an elderly person, or a person with a disability, the death penalty may be imposed.
The defendant, who was accused on August 18 with aggravated homosexuality, allegedly “performed unlawful sexual intercourse” with a 41-year-old man, according to a charge sheet seen by Reuters. It did not state why the behavior was deemed aggravating.
“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.
Uganda has not executed anyone in around two decades, but capital punishment has not been abolished and President Yoweri Museveni threatened in 2018 to resume executions to stop a wave of crime.
The law’s enactment three months ago drew widespread condemnation and threats of sanctions. Earlier this month, the World Bank suspended new public financing to Uganda in response to the law.
The United States has also imposed visa restrictions on some Ugandan officials, and President Joe Biden ordered a review of U.S. aid to Uganda.