Ugandan activists challenge anti-gay law in court

Ugandan gay rights activists and politicians filed a challenge in court Tuesday to a tough new anti-gay law that has sparked international outrage and drawn foreign aid cuts. “I believe it (the law) to be harmful, redundant, unnecessary, and inconsistent with the constitution,” said Fox Odoi, an MP and one of the nine petitioners who submitted their appeal at Uganda’s constitutional court. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni last month signed a bill which holds that “repeat homosexuals” should be jailed for life, outlaws any promotion of homosexuality and requires people to report on homosexuals. The passing of the bill was largely a popular move in conservative Uganda, where Museveni – a devout Christian who has been in power for 28 years – looks set to be re-elected in 2016. But the petitioners argue the law violates the constitutional right to privacy and dignity, as well as the right to be free from discrimination, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.


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