First Ugandan who faced death penalty for gay sex is out on bail
Upcoming trial will be on a lesser charge; activists seek repeal of the Anti-Homosexuality Act
The first man arrested under Uganda’s new Anti-Homosexuality Act is out on bail awaiting trial.
Micheal (also known as Michael) Opolot was held for 350 days of pretrial detention until the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Soroti granted him release on cash bail on July 30 on a charge of “unnatural offense”. That charge was a different from the charge he faced when he was arrested last year.
Opolot, 21, was arrested on Aug. 15, 2023, in the town of Soroti in northeastern Uganda, where he gathered with others to witness a visit by the Ugandan president’s son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
He was arrested after he was reportedly seen engaging in a sexual act in a public space with a 41-year-old man who allegedly has a disability. The charge against him was “aggravated homosexuality”, which is a category established by the Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023 for people accused of same-sex intercourse with a minor or a disabled person or for repeat offenders. The 2023 law provides for the death penalty, a punishment that has not yet been imposed.
“There is actually no proof that the victim is of unsound mind,” according to Patience Muwanga, a human rights lawyer on Opolot’s defense team who works for the Ugandan LGBTQ rights organization Chapter Four, as reported by the newspaper El País.
The new charge against Opolot — “unnatural offense” — carries a potential punishment of life imprisonment. It is based on a Ugandan law that has been on the books since colonial times.
The incident allegedly happened in the wee hours of Aug. 15 when a police officer found the two men having sexual intercourse. The two were immediately arrested and taken to Soroti Central Police Station where the charge of aggravated homosexuality was filed against Opolot.
He was sent to remand by a local court where the Chief Magistrate kept denying him bail for close to a year.
Following his release on cash bail of 1,000,000 Ugandan shillings (about US $271), human rights lawyers and activists said they welcomed the development but also used the opportunity to renew their calls for the repeal of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, saying that it violates international human rights standards as well as Uganda’s constitution. A constitutional challenge is currently awaiting action by the Ugandan Supreme Court.
Activists say the law infringes upon the rights of LGBTQI+ communities to freedom of expression, association, and non-discrimination, as guaranteed by the Ugandan Constitution and international human rights standards, as well as leading to an increase in violent attacks and other hate crimes against community members and the possibility of very harsh sentences.
In a statement issued in August, Convening for Equality (CFE), a coalition of LGBTQ rights groups, stated that Opolot was subjected to forced anal examinations during his detention, in addition to other degrading treatment.
Article 19, a London-based organization that advocates globally for freedom of expression, stated:
“We call on the government of Uganda to honour the commitments made upon the country’s ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which protect all individuals from discrimination, including based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
We specifically urge the government to drop all charges against Michael Opolot, and any other individual/group prosecuted for their real or perceived sexual orientation and/or gender identities. We also reiterate our call to the government of Uganda to:
- Annul all laws criminalizing sexual orientation, gender identity, and consensual sexual conduct.
- Stop harassing and restricting the activities of LGBTQI+ rights groups, and
- End its crackdown on LGBTQI+ individuals and explicitly condemn violence against all minorities, including LGBTQI+ individuals.
