Lessons from the two unfortunate Arua ladies

What the report says

The Observer reported in a viewpoint article that Uganda’s Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions last week withdrew interest in a case against two young women in Arua who had been arrested and charged over an allegation that they kissed in public. The article said the women, aged 22 and 21, had been accused of an act treated as “same-sex activity” under the Anti-Homosexuality Act, which the author said can carry a life sentence.

The writer, identified by The Observer as a human rights advocate and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, argued that the women should not have been arrested, saying kissing is not a crime and that police acted on public suspicion rather than credible evidence. The author also chose not to publish their names, citing safety concerns, and said the withdrawal of the case does not erase the trauma or community risk the women may face.

The commentary placed the case in the wider context of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act and public hostility toward LGBTQ people. It alleged that suspected LGBTQ Ugandans have faced arrests, eviction, assault, blackmail and degrading treatment, and criticized law enforcement for responding to public pressure instead of protecting due process and individual dignity.

The article matters because it highlights continuing concerns over how Uganda’s justice system handles cases linked to alleged same-sex conduct. The author argued that selective or discriminatory enforcement weakens public trust, harms rights protections, and could affect Uganda’s business, tourism and investment climate, while calling for repeal of the Anti-Homosexuality Act.