TWO MEN FACE LIFE IN PRISON ON GAY CHARGES

Two men in Uganda are set to be the first to be tried on homosexuality charges since the country’s recent anti-homosexuality law was signed by President Museveni.

Kim Mukisa, 24, and Jackson Mukasa, 19, face life imprisonment should they be found guilty of having had gay sex.

The men were arrested in December last year after they were accused of “living as husband and wife.”

Mukisa is described as a businessman in St Balikuddembe Market and Mukasa as his long-time companion.

They denied the homosexuality charges when they appeared in court in February.

They were unable to provide bail sureties and have since remained in Kampala’s Luziro prison.

Prosecutors have now said that they have sufficient evidence to proceed with a trial next month.

According to The Guardian, this will be the first homosexuality trial to take place since the draconian new law came into effect.

It appears, however, that they have been charged under the previously existing Colonial-era 1950 anti-gay law that bans “sexual knowledge of a person against the order of nature.”

The Guardian also reported that the men will defend themselves in court. The trial is scheduled to start on 7 May.

Earlier this month, two other men were arrested for allegedly having gay sex in the Ugandan town of Oyam. It is unclear if and when their trial will proceed.

The new Anti-Homosexuality Act extends the ban on gay sex and also punishes repeat “offenders” and attempts by same-sex couples to marry with life imprisonment.

In addition, anyone who “aids, abets [or] counsels” a gay person and anyone who rents a home or room to a gay person could also be sentenced to seven years in jail. The bill further includes criminal penalties of five to seven years in prison for anyone who “promotes” homosexuality.