Uganda Court Terms Anti-Gay Law "Unconstitutional"

A Constitutional Court in Kampala, Uganda, Friday ruled the tough Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) as unconstitutional.

The panel of five judges unanimously overturned the anti-gay law, which was termed as "draconian" and "abominable" by rights groups, saying that it had been wrongly passed by parliament.

However, the Huffington Post reports that the ruling was based on the manner of the passing of the legislation and not on the merits of the law.

Presiding judge Steven Kavuma told the court that the law was "null and void" as it had been passed in parliament in December despite the absence of the required quorum of lawmakers.

Gay rights activists welcomed the ruling, but supporters of AHA said they would appeal to the Supreme Court, AFP reports.

"Justice prevailed, we won," said lawyer Nicholas Opiyo, who led the fight in the constitutional court.

"The retrogressive anti-homosexuality act of Uganda has been struck down by the constitutional court - it's now dead as a door nail," said Andrew Mwenda, one of 10 petitioners.

The law was signed by Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni in February. It states that homosexuals should be jailed for life; forbade the promotion of homosexuality and compelled Ugandans to denounce gays to the authorities.

The ruling, however, did not to pronounce anything on the constitutionality of the AHA. The criminalization of homosexuality is still difficult in Uganda, through the Draconian Penal Code that continues to prohibit homosexuality.

Uganda's Ethics and Integrity Minister Simon Lokodo in the past had said that aid should not be tied to Uganda's stand on homosexuality, Reuters reports. The World Bank along with Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands suspended aid or loans of more than $118 million to Uganda. Sweden resumed providing financial support to Uganda this week.

Uganda depends on aid to fund about 20 percent of its budget.

Post the passing of the anti-gay law, which President Museveni had a strong opinion on, it was subjected to criticisms from various corners of the world. It is a high possibility that fear of losing a major chunk of aid could be forcing Uganda to rethink its "abominable" law.