PERSONS IN UGANDA

violations of their rights to apply to a competent court for redress, which may include
compensation. What amounts to a competent court for purposes of Article 50 has
been addressed in a number of cases including Attorney General vs. Maj. Gen. David
Tinyefuza where Kanyeihamba JSC referred to ‘any courts of land and tribunals with
the necessary jurisdiction.’ 30
While initially there was confusion on whether the Constitutional Court can enforce
human rights and award compensation, this too was settled in the Tinyefuza case
where Justice Kanyeihamba further stated that the jurisdiction of the Constitutional
Court as derived from Article 137(3) is concurrent with the jurisdiction of those other
courts which may apply and enforce the articles except that for the Constitutional
Court to claim and exercise that concurrent jurisdiction the claim must be based on
a petition seeking interpretation of a provision of the Constitution. Other than courts
of law, there are specialised tribunals with the mandate and jurisdiction to hear and
determine complaints involving human rights violation.
There is nothing under Articles 137 and 50 that stops LGBTI persons from availing
themselves with the remedies available under both channels of enforcement of
human rights, and indeed both channels have been used before as already discussed
above.
1.2.4 The Uganda Human Rights Commission and the rights of LGBTI persons
The Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) is a constitutional body created
by Article 51 and empowered to investigate complaints of human rights violations,
promote human rights education and research and make recommendations to
parliament. Besides courts, the Commission is the primary national human rights
watchdog whose interpretation and application of the law and human rights
standards is of great significance. Members of the Commission sit as a tribunal to
adjudicate complaints presented to it. Complaints to the Commission are filed by
way of an ordinary complaint form. It is important to note that the Commission’s
position on LGBTI laws has been progressive famously coming out to condemn the
Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2009. 31
1.3 Legislations affecting LGBTI persons’ enjoyment of human
rights in Uganda
There are a number of legislations that affect the day to day lives of LGBTI persons
in Uganda. These flow from the Constitution and they ought to be in line with the
Constitution, otherwise they would be declared unconstitutional. These legislations
can be classified into the following categories:
1.3.1 Criminal statutes
The main criminal statute in Uganda is the Penal Code Act, Cap 120 and it has a number
of provisions on same sex conduct:
30 Attorney General vs. Maj. Gen. David Tinyefuza, Constitutional Appeal No. 1 of 1997.
31 Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law (CSCHRCL) Living up to our Human Rights
Commitments: A compilation of recent statements by the Uganda Human Rights Commission on sexual orientation,
gender identity and the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2009 available at http://www.ugandans4rights.org/
attachments/article/396/Living_up_to_our_human_rights_commitments_Coalition_Booklet_30_07_12.
pdf . Accessed 5 August 2015.
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