LGBT Ugandans seek bail as prosecutors prepare trial

Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern…

Associated Press reports on today’s court hearing that this blog previewed on May 5:

A Ugandan court began hearing the case against two men [Editor’s note: actually, a gay man and a transgender woman] accused of engaging in gay sex – the first trial of homosexuals in the country since a severe law was passed in February.
The detained Ugandan couple, Kim Mukisa, 24, and Jackson Mukasa, 19, appeared before a magistrate’s court in the capital, Kampala, on Wednesday to apply for bail after prosecutors said they had enough evidence to proceed with the case.
[Editor’s note: See also “No bail for 2 Ugandans facing trial on gay-sex charges” from April 23.]
Police arrested the couple in January as they fled an angry mob, according to the Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum, a local watchdog group.
Prosecutors have lined up several witnesses to testify against the two, who have been charged with engaging in sex acts “against the order of nature,” said their lawyer, Ladislaus Rwakafuuzi.
For more information, read the full article in The Guardian (but don’t believe the headline there, which incorrectly suggests that the defendants were charged under Uganda’s harsh new Anti-Homosexuality Act.)