"In August 2023, a then 20-year-old man from Soroti in northeastern Uganda spent almost a year in custody after being charged with aggravated homosexuality, his lawyer Douglas Mawadri told Reuters, on Tuesday (3 February). The man was accused of "unlawful sexual intercourse" with a 41-year-old man. Mawadri said that during proceedings that lasted more than two years, prosectors amended the indictment and charged the man with having "carnal knowledge against the order of nature", which carried life imprisonment under Uganda's penal code."
"However, on Monday (2 February), Mawadri said that "the magistrate discontinued the case upon finding that the accused is of unsound mind after a long detention on remand". The ruling, which was delivered orally in court, will be available to read in written form at a later date. A 2023 report from a committee of the Convening for Equality (CFE) coalition found that the enactment of the Anti-Homsexuality Act was, as predicted, putting LGBTQ+ people in danger - but that danger was mostly coming"
A Ugandan court discontinued prosecution of the first person charged with aggravated homosexuality under the 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act after finding the accused of unsound mind following prolonged pretrial detention. The law, signed in May 2023 by President Yoweri Museveni, criminalises gay sex and introduced the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality defined to include sex with a minor, sex while HIV positive, or incest. Prosecutors amended an initial charge to "carnal knowledge against the order of nature", which carries life imprisonment. A Convening for Equality committee recorded 306 rights violations from January to August 2023, noting most threats came from private individuals.
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