A 20-year-old Ugandan man has been charged with aggravated homosexuality, a capital offense under a controversial law that was passed in May. This is the first time that such a charge has been reported, and it is not clear if there have been any previous prosecutions.<\/p>\n
The man, who has not been named, was charged by a court in eastern Uganda on August 18, following allegations that he engaged in sexual relations with a 41-year-old man. It is not clear why this was considered to fall under the category of “aggravated homosexuality.”<\/p>\n
According to the law, the “aggravated” category includes having gay sex with someone below the age of 18 or where someone is infected with a life-long illness including HIV.<\/p>\n
Justine Balya, the defendant’s lawyer, told Reuters that Uganda has charged four other people under the anti-homosexuality law, but her client is the first to be prosecuted under this punitive category.<\/p>\n
The World Bank said earlier this month that it was halting new loans to Uganda because the anti-homosexuality law contradicts its core values.<\/p>\n
The law has been widely condemned by human rights groups, who say it is discriminatory and could lead to violence against LGBTQ people.<\/p>\n
The Ugandan government has defended the law, saying it is necessary to protect the country’s “traditional values.”<\/p>\n
The case against the 20-year-old man is still ongoing, and it is not clear what the outcome will be. However, the charge against him is a reminder of the challenges that LGBTQ people face in Uganda.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A 20-year-old Ugandan man has been charged with aggravated homosexuality, a capital offense under a controversial law that was passed in May. This is the first time that such a charge has been reported, and it is not clear if there have been any previous prosecutions. The man, who has not been named, was charged […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6069,"featured_media":185350,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[310],"tags":[138122],"class_list":["post-194560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-lgbtq-news"],"yoast_head":"\n