Police in northwest Uganda confirmed to AFP on Tuesday that two ladies had been arrested for public kissing.
Human rights organizations are furious about the arrest, which was made in accordance with Uganda’s 2023 Anti-Homos*xuality Act. Consensual same-sex relationships carry penalties of up to life in jail, while “aggravated homos*xuality” carries a death sentence.
“Neighbours contacted police complaining the two were practicing homosexuality and were seen kissing each other in public,” local police spokesperson Josephine Angucia told AFP, adding that the neighbours also took photos as evidence.
“They had seen many women going onto their one-roomed rented residence and spending nights there in what they suspected was same-sex orgies,” Angucia added.
Angucia said the case had been forwarded to the state prosecutor for “guidance and possible appearance in court”.
“This underscores the grim reality we are facing on the ground under the Anti-Homosexuality Act. We have seen a surge in a targeted crackdown that goes beyond just arrests; it has fueled a dangerous cycle of blackmail and extortion. Even criminals are now using this law as a weapon to prey on the LGBTQ+ community, knowing their victims are too terrified to seek protection”, he wrote on X.
Uganda’s anti-gay law has drawn criticism from the international community, and the World Bank has suspended funding for it; however, it has since restarted in mid-2025.
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