Victory for LGBTs in Uganda court case
Two prominent LGBTs in Uganda, Victor Juliet Mukasa and Yvonne Oyoo, have won the Ugandan LGBTI Human Rights Court Case. In a landmark victory, the High Court of Uganda declared that Ugandan constitutional rights apply to lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders, regardless of their sexual orientation. This court ruling is an important step forward for LGBTs in Uganda, a country known for its anti-homosexual sentiments.
On Wednesday 22 December 2008 the High Court of Uganda ruled that the government violated the rights of Victor Juliet Mukasa and Yvonne Oyoo. The government will be required to pay damages to both Mukasa and Oyoo for violating their rights, torturing them, and seizing documents.
Victor Juliet Mukasa brought this case against the Attorney General of Uganda after government officials illegally raided Mukasa’s home without a search warrant, seizing documents related to Mukasa’s work as a Human Rights Defender for people who are transgender, lesbian, gay and bisexual. The officials illegally arrested a guest at Mukasa’s home, Yvonne Oyoo, and treated both in an inhuman and degrading manner amounting to sexual harassment and indecent assault.
The case - Yvonne Oyoo and Juliet Mukasa versus the Attorney General - was a civil case filed as an application under Article 50 of the Constitution of Uganda for the enforcement of fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed in Articles 20 – 45 of the Constitution. The purpose of the case was to establish precedent in the enforcement of Ugandan constitutional rights as applying to lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender s regardless of whether they are thought to be homosexual or transgender.
The final judgement on the case was issued to a court full of Ugandan lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders. Counsel Rwakafuzi recounted the historic moment that occurred on Wednesday when Justice Arach declared: 'Human rights must be respected. It has been found that the actions of the officials that molested Victor Mukasa and Oyoo were unconstitutional, inhuman, and should be condemned.’ Justice Arach called upon the international conventions and emphasised that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights enjoins us to respect human rights and protect them in a spirit of brotherhood, which includes sisterhood.
The judgement upheld the following articles of the Constitution of Uganda as applying to all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity and/or expression:
- Article 23 states that: 'No person shall be deprived of personal liberty.'
- Article 24 on respect for human dignity and protection from inhuman treatment, states that: 'No person shall be subjected to any form of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.'
- Article 27 concerning right to privacy of person, home and other property states that: 'No person shall be subjected to: (a) unlawful search of the person, home or other property of that person; or (b) unlawful entry by others of the premises of that person or property. No person shall be subjected to interference with the privacy of that person's home, correspondence, communication or other property.'
Victor Juliet Mukasa is the former director of the Hivos-partner Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG).
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