Kim Mukisa
and Jackson Mukasa face life imprisonment if found guilty in first such case
since introduction of new anti-gay law
 |
| Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni, who signed a new anti-gay law in February 2014. Photograph: Carl Court/PA |
Two Ugandan
men will go on trial next month accused of homosexuality, the first people to
be charged since a controversial new anti-gay law was passed.
Prosecutors
said on Wednesday that they had sufficient evidence against Kim Mukisa and
Jackson Mukasa, who denied the charges when they first appeared in court
earlier this year. They have been held in Luziro prison in Kampala since
December.
Mukisa, 24,
a businessman, was charged with "having sexual knowledge of a person
against the order of nature" and Mukasa, 19, with permitting a person to
have sexual knowledge of him against the order of nature.
They are
the first Ugandans to face trial on homosexuality charges, with an earlier case
collapsing before it reached court and the majority of those arrested paying
stiff fines to avoid prison.
Uganda's
president Yoweri Museveni signed the anti-gay law in February. It punishes
first-time offenders with 14 years in jail and allows life imprisonment as the
penalty for acts of "aggravated homosexuality".
Since the
law was passed several donors have cut aid to Uganda, while others have
diverted development support to projects that promote human rights.
Mukisa and
Mukasa, however, have been charged under the 1950 Penal Code Act, which also
prescribes life imprisonment if a person is found guilty of homosexual acts.
They are
expected to defend themselves during the trial, which is scheduled to start on
7 May.
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