By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Police in Uganda have taken into custody two women, believed to be in their 20s, after neighbours lodged an official complain that they saw the duo kissing outside, an act criminalised under the country’s Anti-Homosexuality Act.
The police in a statement on Tuesday, said the suspects were taken into custody on Wednesday 18 February in Arua, a city in north-western Uganda.
Authorities said neighbours had photographed them before alerting police. According to AFP news agency, the women have been in custody without access to legal representation.
The country’s law imposes severe penalties, including life imprisonment, for same-sex relations and the death sentence for what are described as “aggravated” cases.
The neighbours who alerted the police accused the women of engaging in same-sex behaviour, AFP reports.
“Neighbours contacted police complaining the two were practising homosexuality and were seen kissing each other in public,” local police spokesperson Josephine Angucia told AFP, adding that the neighbours supplied photos they claimed showed the two kissing openly.
Angucia added that residents also reported seeing groups of women visiting the pair’s one-bedroom home and staying overnight, which they believed pointed to same-sex gatherings. She said the case has been passed on to prosecutors for review and possible court proceedings.
The police accuse the duo, a 22-year-old entertainer and a 21-year-old unemployed woman of engaging in conduct they characterise as sexual in nature and say they have lived together since last year.
Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act is among the strictest such laws in the world.
Under the law, people found guilty face life imprisonment for consensual same-sex relations, while those convicted of “aggravated” cases, including repeat offences or acts involving minors or vulnerable people face the death penalty.
The legislation has attracted condemnation from Western governments and human rights groups in the East African country largely conservative and predominantly Christians.
