Gay Travel Advisory

Uganda

Anti-Homosexuality Act (2023)

Sources
  1. Signed into law by President Yoweri Museveni, 26 May 2023. Supersedes the Penal Code (1950) and the 2014 Anti-Homosexuality Act (the latter voided in 2014 on procedural grounds).

Legal Code Text

Sec. 2: life imprisonment for a 'sexual act' between persons of the same sex (10 years for attempt). Sec. 3: death penalty for 'aggravated homosexuality' (incl. offences against minors, persons with disabilities, repeat offenders, or where the offender is HIV-positive/'terminally ill'). Sec. 9: up to 7 years for landlords permitting premises to be used for 'homosexuality' (nullified by Constitutional Court, 2024). Sec. 10: up to 20 years for 'promotion of homosexuality.' Sec. 14: mandatory duty to report known or suspected homosexual acts to police (partly nullified 2024). Sec. 16: courts may order 'rehabilitative' social services for convicted persons.

ILGA Analysis & Notes

Constitutional Court of Uganda (Case: petitions against the AHA 2023) upheld the Act's core provisions on 3 April 2024, voiding only Sections 3(2)(c), 9, 11(2)(d) and 14 as applied to certain conduct. Petitioners announced an appeal to the Supreme Court. This entry replaces the previously catalogued 2014 Anti-Homosexuality Act text, which was struck down in Francis Tumwesige Ateenyi v. Attorney General (2022).

The 2014-era law in this database has been superseded by the Anti-Homosexuality Act (2023), signed into law 26 May 2023. It imposes life imprisonment for consensual same-sex acts (Sec. 2), the death penalty for 'aggravated homosexuality' (Sec. 3, defined to include e.g. 'serial offenders' and HIV-positive persons), a duty to report (Sec. 14), and 20-year penalties for 'promotion' (Sec. 10). Ugandan Constitutional Court upheld most of the Act on 3 April 2024, striking only a handful of subsections (premises-owner liability and duty-to-report as applied to certain parties); an appeal to the Supreme Court was pending as of report cutoff.

SCRUFF Travel Notes

Criminalization law has possibly been repealed. See Equaldex

Carnal knowledge = Life Gross indecency = 7 years Homosexual act = Life Same sex marriage = Life / 7 years for officiator Promotion of homosexuality (propaganda law): 7 years & 5,000 currency points