"The accused, a man who was 20 when he was arrested in August 2023 just three months after the law came into force spent nearly a year in detention before being released on bail as the case progressed over an extended period. He had initially been accused of "unlawful sexual intercourse" with a 41-year-old man and charged with aggravated homosexuality, an offense punishable by death. On Tuesday, the court dropped the case, saying the accused was "mentally unstable and does not understand the trial process.""
""This was one of the very first cases after the law was passed," said Juliet Kanyange, the lawyer who represented the accused. "There was a lot of confusion, even among prosecutors. The legal and political environment at the time made it very difficult." "There was backlash the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) was facing because of how harsh the law was," Kanyange said. "So, a directive was issued that all prosecutions under the Act had to be reviewed and approved by the DPP.""
A Ugandan court dismissed the first criminal prosecution under the Anti-Homosexuality Act, finding the accused mentally unstable and unable to understand the trial process. The accused was 20 at arrest in August 2023, three months after the law took effect, and spent nearly a year in detention before being released on bail. Initial accusations included "unlawful sexual intercourse" and aggravated homosexuality, an offense carrying the death penalty; prosecutors later amended charges in January 2024 to "unnatural offenses of having carnal knowledge against the order of nature," which carries a life sentence. The defense attributed psychosis and schizophrenia to the period of detention, and prosecutions under the Act required DPP review.
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