- State prosecutors in Uganda have formally withdrawn a highly publicized case against two young women who were arrested for kissing in public.
- The case was originally filed under Uganda’s controversial 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act, which prescribes life imprisonment for consensual same-sex acts and the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.”
- While human rights advocates have welcomed the decision to drop the charges, they maintain that the prosecution of the women was an unjust abuse of power that highlights the dangerous overreach of the anti-gay law.
Ugandan state prosecutors on Friday officially withdrew all charges against two young women who had been arrested for kissing in public.
Eko Hot Blog reports that the case, which was filed under Uganda’s highly controversial anti-gay legislation, had drawn widespread condemnation from domestic and international human rights organizations.
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The two women, both in their 20s, were arrested by security forces in February following a formal complaint lodged by their neighbors in the northwestern city of Arua.
According to local police spokesperson Josephine Angucia, neighbors had taken surreptitious photographs of the women kissing and subsequently accused them of participating in “same-sex orgies.”
The legal case was handled by the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Irene Nakimbugwe, the deputy spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office, confirmed on Friday that the state had officially entered a nolle prosequi, bringing the court proceedings to an end and securing the immediate release of the women.
The arrests had been made under the authority of Uganda’s 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act.
Widely criticized as one of the harshest anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the world, the statute mandates penalties of up to life imprisonment for consensual same-sex relations, while individuals convicted of “aggravated homosexuality” can face the death penalty.
Prominent Ugandan human rights lawyer and activist Frank Mugisha welcomed the prosecution’s decision to throw out the case.
However, Mugisha strongly criticized the judicial system for allowing the matter to escalate to court, pointing out that the initial arrest was entirely groundless.
International human rights watchdogs have long warned that the vague wording of the Anti-Homosexuality Act leaves it highly vulnerable to exploitation.
Activists argue that the law is frequently utilized by neighbors, landlords, and corrupt actors to carry out personal vendettas, blackmail, and financial extortion against vulnerable individuals in the conservative, predominantly Christian East African nation.
The enactment of the law in 2023 triggered severe diplomatic backlash, drawing strong condemnation from the United Nations and several Western governments.
In response to the legislation, the World Bank suspended all new funding to Uganda, although disbursements were gradually resumed in mid-2025 following rounds of negotiations.
Despite the withdrawal of this specific case, human rights organizations continue to lobby the Ugandan government to repeal the anti-gay law entirely, arguing that it remains a fundamental threat to basic human rights and individual safety.
