Uganda Constitutional Court sets date for Anti-Homosexuality Act hearing
Court will hear three petitions challenging Uganda’s latest anti-LGBT law
By Joto La Jiwe
The Uganda Constitutional Court has set October 2 as the date for the conference hearing for three petitions challenging the Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) 2023.
The conferencing notes include guidelines that will be followed in the run up to the hearing of the case.
The Attorney General, who is the sole respondent in the petitions, and the petitioners are required to produce a joint scheduling memorandum in which brief facts of the petition, issues to be resolved, and lists of authorities from each side will be highlighted. The parties are also supposed to file legal arguments on points of law by September 19, and any rejoinders by September 26. The outcome of the conference hearing will be forwarded to the head of the court for guidance on the petition hearing.
The development has been welcomed by human rights advocates, who they can’t wait for the real hearing.
The hearing will focus on petitions from:
- Eight human rights activists and the legal aid organization Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF).
- Members of parliament Fox Odoi Oywelowo and Paul Buchyana Kwizera, journalist Andrew Mwenda and six human rights activists.
- Attorney Robert Rutaro. who argues that provisions of the law are unconstitutional.
“We welcome this opportunity to present our case to the Court,” stated Chapter Four Uganda, an advocacy organisation proving strategic legal responses in defense of civil liberties.
“One step forward. These small victories give us the courage to stay on course, and litigation is our only course,” says Dorothy Awori, a human rights activist.
In early June 2023, in response to President Museveni giving assent to the AHA, human rights advocates filed two petitions challenging the constitutionality of the law on procedural and substantive grounds. They asked the Court to declare the law null and void on the basis that it contravenes Uganda’s Constitution and Uganda’s international and regional human rights obligations.
The petitioners contend that the enactment of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2023 on May 2, 2023 was without meaningful and adequate public participation. They argue that the six days in which the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee scrutinised the bill, less than the 45 days provided for in the Rules of Procedure of Parliament, was too short a time to facilitate public participation and contribution in any meaningful, exhaustive, or representative manner.
The petitioners further contend that the law is in violation of a spectrum of constitutional rights and freedoms including the right to equality and non-discrimination, the right to dignity, the right to liberty, the right to privacy, the right to health, the principle of legality under the right to a fair hearing, the right to property and privacy of property, the right to carry on any lawful occupation, trade or business, freedom of expression and association, and the obligation to respect, uphold and promote human rights from infringement.
Legislator Fox Odoi-Oywelowo further challenged the law on a number of other grounds, including:
1. That the Parliament passed the law with provisions that fundamentally, substantially and/or wholly vary decisions and/or judgments in at least four court cases in contravention of Article 92 of the Constitution.
2. That the Parliament passed the law with provisions that impose a charge on the consolidated fund and other public funds of Uganda in a manner that contravenes Article 93(a)(ii) of the Constitution.
3. That the Certificate of Financial Implications issued by the Minister for the bill did not conform to the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act, 2015.
They further argued that the conduct of the Speaker of Parliament during the second and third readings of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023 amounted to bias and is therefore inconsistent with and in contravention of Article 89(1) and (2) of the Constitution.
The petitioners and the legal teams are a diverse and stellar collective of Uganda’s leading independent-minded politicians, activists, journalists and academics.
Joto La Jiwe, the author of this article, is a Ugandan correspondent for the African Human Rights Media Network. He writes under a pseudonym. Contact him at info@76crimes.com.
