UGANDAN COURT CONSIDERS ANTI-GAY EQUAL OPPORTUNITY LAW

Uganda’s Constitutional Court is considering a petition to declare unconstitutional a section of the country’s Equal Opportunities Act that discriminates against gays and lesbians, reports Behind The Mask.

The act was passed in 2007 in order to “eliminate discrimination and inequalities against any individual or group of persons”.

However, in Section 15(6) d of the act, it states that the Commission shall not investigate any matter “involving behaviour which is considered to be immoral and socially harmful, or unacceptable by the majority of the cultural and social communities in Uganda”.

The law has been specifically cited by politicians as a means to exclude LGBT people from equal opportunities.

The petition to nullify the section of act was filed by Adrian Jjuuko, the Executive Director of the Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF).

According to Behind The Mask, Jjuuko said that the clause was not good for human rights in Uganda, and called on activists to stand and defend the rights of minority groups.

The first Constitutional Court hearing took place on Monday. The date for the next hearing is yet to be set.

Uganda is considered to be rife with anti-gay sentiment. Tabloids have outed gay people and called for their murder and the country’s parliament recently considered the widely-condemned Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

In January, David Kato, a Ugandan LGBTI activist, was bludgeoned to death with a hammer in his home. Earlier this month, another LGBT activist’s house was burnt down.