An unlawful raid becomes a turning point
In 2005, officials stormed an activist's home in Kampala without a search warrant. The case made legal history.
On 20 July 2005, the home of Victor Mukasa, founder and first chair of the organisation Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), was raided in a suburb of Kampala. Security officers entered the house without a search warrant, searched it and seized documents relating to the organisation's work. A visiting activist, Yvonne Oyo, was arrested. According to international human rights organisations, both were subjected to degrading treatment that was classified as sexual harassment.
Instead of letting himself be intimidated, Mukasa took legal action against Uganda's Attorney General in 2006. The case Mukasa and Another v. Attorney-General was based on the constitution and argued that the raid had violated the right to privacy and dignity. The trial dragged on for more than two years, while Mukasa himself came under increasing pressure and at times had to take refuge in South Africa.
On 22 December 2008, the High Court of Uganda delivered a landmark ruling: the constitution protected all Ugandan citizens, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. The government was ordered to pay damages. It was the first time an East African court had explicitly recognised that fundamental constitutional rights also apply to lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people.
The ruling remains a legal reference point to this day, even though in 2023 Uganda passed the Anti-Homosexuality Act, one of the harshest laws against queer people in the world. Mukasa himself continues his work in exile and founded the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project, which supports activists in the region.