Court extends indecent assault protection to men, bars magistrates from trying cases they investigate

What the report says

Uganda’s Constitutional Court has ruled that legal protections against indecent assault and acts insulting modesty must apply to men as well as women and girls, finding that the existing wording of the Penal Code Act was discriminatory. In a unanimous decision delivered in Kampala, the court ordered that references to “any woman or girl” in section 115 be read as “any person,” with the change taking effect immediately while Parliament amends the law. The justices also directed the Attorney General to bring a bill within 12 months to clarify the prohibited conduct.

The case was brought by lawyer Steven Kalali, Pader District chief magistrate Martins Kirya and lawyer Michael Aboneka, who challenged the law on equality grounds. They argued that protection against indecent assault should not be limited by gender. The Attorney General had defended the wording as a form of affirmative action aimed at protecting women, but the court said such measures should not create a new form of discrimination against others.

In a separate ruling within the same judgment, the court struck down parts of the Magistrates Courts Act that allowed a magistrate to take part in preliminary inquiry, frame charges and later preside over the same case. The court said that practice undermined impartiality and the right to a fair hearing. It preserved private prosecutions, however, by allowing a magistrate to screen a complaint for jurisdiction and a prima facie case, while requiring the charge to be prepared by the complainant or referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions. A source quoted by The Observer said the decision could affect an existing arrest warrant involving Uganda Law Society president Isaac Ssemakadde, though any impact would depend on further court action.