–– Evan Cantrell
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Uganda’s Constitutional Court Upholds Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023
“What is liberty without wisdom and without virtue? It is the greatest of all possible evils; for it is folly, vice, and madness, without tuition or restraint.” – Edmond Burke.
This June, our continent will see its first-ever “Africa Pride” event, a virtual event celebrating homosexuality across Africa. The event is organised by “Reverend” Troy Perry, an American activist, in protest against the criminalisation of homosexual behaviour in Africa. This announcement comes as a bill has been introduced in Botswana’s parliament which would amend the constitution to incorporate specific protection for “intersex persons”, a move which has been widely condemned by Christians in the southern African nation.
However, not every African state has surrendered to Sodom’s spreading sovereignty. Homosexuality remains illegal in more than 30 of Africa’s 54 nations. One such nation is Uganda. Under British colonial rule, Ugandan law prohibited sexual activities “against the order of nature”. The constitution of Uganda contains an express provision which confines marriage to one man and one woman. In 2023, Uganda passed the Anti-Homosexuality Act (previously reported on by TARIF), which imposes life imprisonment for homosexual behaviour and allows the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”. Aggravated homosexuality includes homosexual acts with a minor or other vulnerable person, as well as the deliberate transmission of HIV.
The Anti-Homosexuality Act enjoys broad popular support in Uganda, where the population is 84% professing Christian and 14% Muslim. However, it has come under heavy fire from international organisations such as the World Bank, which has refused new funding to Uganda due to the Act, and from domestic activists. On April 3rd, 2024, Uganda’s Constitutional Court delivered a judgment rejecting a challenge to the Act brought by various activists and NGOs alleging that it violates various human rights, one of which is the right to dignity.
The Judgement:
In considering challenges to Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act based on the right to dignity, the Constitutional Court held that dignity was not a right to be considered in the abstract. Instead, the Constitution must be read as a logical whole. The Ugandan Constitution has a clear emphasis on preserving the natural family and protecting children. The dignity of an individual must be lived out and understood in that context. Furthermore, the Court found no evidence that homosexuality was an innate and unchangeable individual attribute or that so-called conversion therapy would amount to cruel or degrading treatment.
The Court’s conclusion
The Constitutional Court upheld the Anti-Homosexuality Act, with the exception of a provision which imposed the death penalty for the unintentional transmission of HIV and those provisions which would have required family members to report on members of their family, and required owners of buildings to investigate whether they were being used for homosexuality.
A Biblical Response:
Biblically, we understand that the source of our dignity is our creation in God’s image. Genesis 1:26-27 tells us that we are made in the image of God, and Psalm 8 tells us that God has crowned man with glory and majesty. On the other hand, Romans 1:26-27 tells us that homosexuality is an “unnatural” and “degrading passion”. Therefore, as believers, we understand that the prohibition of homosexuality does not undermine human dignity. On the contrary, it protects the dignity of God’s image from being degraded.
The activists in Uganda argued that freedom and equality mean allowing them to engage in any sexual practices they choose and encouraging children to follow the same lifestyle. However, Matthew 18:6 says, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” Furthermore, 1 Peter 2:14 tells us that the purpose of the law is to “punish evildoers and praise those who do right”. Uganda’s law is to be commended by believers for protecting the most vulnerable members of its society.In a Romans 1 world, where men “not only do the [deeds which are worthy of death], but also give hearty approval to those who practice them”, and have “their foolish hearts darkened”, Uganda stands as a bright light.