A Ugandan court has dismissed the first case brought under the country’s Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023, a lawyer told AFP on Tuesday, a decision hailed by rights campaigners.
The law, widely regarded as one of the harshest anti-LGBTQ measures in the world, imposes penalties of up to life imprisonment for consensual same-sex relations and allows for the death penalty in cases of so-called “aggravated homosexuality.”
The first prosecution under the law involved a 25-year-old man accused of “unlawful sexual intercourse with a male adult aged 41,” an offence punishable by death. He had spent 350 days in custody. In January 2024, the charges were amended to “unnatural offences of having carnal knowledge against the order of nature,” which carries a sentence of life imprisonment, according to his lawyer, Douglas Mawadri.
On Monday, the court dismissed the case, ruling that the accused was mentally unstable and could not comprehend the trial process. The defence argued that the prolonged detention had caused the man to develop psychosis and schizophrenia.
LGBTQ activist Richard Lusimbo described the ruling as a “major breakthrough,” adding, “Detaining someone for over a year without trial is injustice at its worst.”
Uganda, a conservative and predominantly Christian country in East Africa, has long been known for its intolerance of same-sex relations. The anti-gay law sparked international condemnation, including from the United Nations and Western countries, and led the World Bank to suspend funding, though it resumed in mid-2025.
