Uganda’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday rejected a bid to overturn a controversial anti-gay law that is considered one of the toughest in the world.
“We decline to nullify the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 in its entirety, neither will we grant a permanent injunction against its enforcement,” Justice Richard Buteera, Uganda’s deputy chief justice and head of the court, said in the landmark ruling.
The legislation was adopted in May last year, triggering outrage among the LGBTQ community, rights campaigners, the United Nations and Western nations.
The Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 imposes penalties of up to life in prison for consensual same-sex relations and contains provisions that make “aggravated homosexuality” an offence punishable by death.
