Andrew Mwenda, a veteran journalist, has said that he is going to appeal to the Supreme Court over the Constitutional Court’s ruling that declined to nullify the Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) 2023.

According to Mwenda, the constitutional court struck down a few provisions of the AHA but left most of the law intact.

“The constitutional court, where we secured a small partial victory but a victory nonetheless, struck down a few provisions of the AHA but left most of the law intact. This is disappointing, and we are going to appeal to the Supreme Court,” Mwenda said.

Mwenda made these remarks outside the commercial court building in Kampala after its ruling on the AHA on April 3, 2024.

He went ahead to say that he was disappointed by the judges failure to stand above Uganda’s cultural prejudice and bigotry and make history for Africa and for humanity, saying that, like the politicians, they relied on public sentiments and rumors instead of the constitution and their judgement.

“The judges claimed that the AHA was made to stop the recruitment of kids into homosexuality; the defense did not present any evidence of recruitment. The government has the Internal Security Organization (ISO), the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI), Crime intelligence, Criminal intelligence and Investigations Directorate (CIID), but not even one person has ever been arrested by these agencies for recruitment,” Mwenda said.

Mwenda further called upon the western world to keep out of this debate, adding that their involvement with sanctions and travel bans distorts the whole issue because it comes off like the western world wants to impose their values on Uganda.

Earlier in the day, the constitutional court of Uganda, with a panel of five judges, rejected the attempt by some of the human rights defenders of homosexuality to have the AHA bill invalidated in favor of the gay communities.

The bill was assented to in May 2023 by the President of the Republic of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.