Uganda 'gay' trial dismissed due to lack of evidence[Video]
Kampala (AFP) - A Ugandan judge dismissed the case Wednesday of two men
accused of having homosexual sex, the first since tough laws were
repealed, their lawyer said.
Kim Mukisa and Jackson Mukasa, who have rejected all the accusations
since their arrest in January, celebrated as they left court, an AFP
reporter said.
"The case has been dismissed in favour of my clients... the prosecution
has not been able to produce the witnesses," lawyer Fridah Mutesi told
AFP.
Court officials confirmed the judges had dismissed the case due to a lack of evidence.
The two men were arrested just weeks before President Yoweri Museveni
passed a law further criminalising homosexuality in the socially
conservative east African nation, and accused of living "as husband and
wife".
Museveni's signing of new anti-gay laws drew international condemnation,
with US Secretary of State John Kerry likening it to anti-Semitic
legislation in Nazi Germany.
The anti-gay law signed by Museveni has since been revoked on a
technicality, but the pair were charged under a 1950s penal code which
remains in force and prescribes jail for those found guilty of
homosexual acts.
Critics said Museveni signed the law to win domestic support ahead of a
presidential election scheduled for 2016, which will be his 30th year in
power.