Two Ugandan males have grow to be the primary individuals who could face the loss of life penalty beneath Uganda’s new anti-homosexuality legislation.
Prosecutors accuse Julius Byaruhanga within the japanese district of Jinja of performing a sexual act with a boy aged 12.
One other man, 20-year-old Michael Opolot allegedly carried out an illegal act of sexual activity with a 41-year-old male within the japanese metropolis of Soroti.
Justine Balya, a lawyer from the group Human Rights Consciousness and Promotion Discussion board, is defending Opolot. She mentioned her consumer was reportedly seen partaking in a sexual act in a public house with an individual who has a incapacity.
Opolot now faces a potential loss of life sentence if convicted beneath the anti-homosexuality legislation that took impact in June.
“Having the loss of life penalty on the books, that modifications considerably the protections that one is entitled to whereas they’re ready for trial,” Bayla mentioned. “And it definitely makes trial remand a punishment in and of itself.”
As a result of the case entails a capital offense, Opolot will most likely have to attend between three and 4 years for his case to be heard.
Balya mentioned a number of different instances involving alleged homosexuality are ready to go to trial in Ugandan courts.
“We even have a case of a woman who has been charged with promotion of homosexuality and homosexuality due to what they allege individuals had been doing at a therapeutic massage parlor that she owns. And naturally, there’s a number of different instances that aren’t in court docket however the place individuals have been charged formally with homosexuality, promotion of homosexuality, even youngster grooming in a single case.”
Frank Mugisha, a lawyer and activist, mentioned these instances are textbook examples of a witch hunt for lesbian, homosexual and transgender individuals.
“These individuals haven’t recognized themselves as LGBTQ,” Mugisha mentioned. “However the truth that there’s an assumption that they had been partaking in same-sex acts. After which they’re saying one particular person resides with incapacity. Which robotically the prosecution must choose the loss of life penalty beneath aggravated homosexuality. It’s precisely as activists what we’ve been saying that this legislation will be wrongly interpreted.”
Uganda final hanged a convict in 1999 and in 2005 formally scrapped the loss of life penalty.
However the anti-homosexuality legislation reintroduced the loss of life penalty for the offense of aggravated homosexuality, a transfer that homosexual rights activists have strongly criticized and are difficult within the courts.
In the course of the passing of the legislation, authorities authorities argued that they had been defending the ethical values and rules of the Ugandan society in opposition to what they termed corrupt Western values.
In the meantime, journalists and media homes in Uganda say they worry heavy fines or the lack of their registration if they’re by some means discovered responsible of “selling homosexuality,” a time period critics say has been vaguely defined within the legislation.