The legal framework
The Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023 provides for life imprisonment for same-sex acts and a capital penalty for what it terms aggravated homosexuality, and it criminalises promotion. The Constitutional Court upheld most of the Act in 2024 while striking down a small number of provisions. Arrests, evictions and violence have followed, and organisations face registration and funding obstacles.
The Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023 is among the most severe laws of its kind anywhere: it creates an offence of aggravated homosexuality carrying the death penalty in defined circumstances, criminalises the promotion of homosexuality, and imposes duties to report. The Constitutional Court largely upheld it in April 2024, striking down only limited provisions, and an appeal to the Supreme Court followed. International funding responses followed the Act's passage.
Key points
| Criminal law | Life imprisonment, with a capital penalty for aggravated cases; promotion criminalised |
|---|---|
| Discrimination | No legal protection on grounds of sexual orientation |
| Marriage and unions | Not available |
| Organisations | Operate under legal and financial pressure, often through health programmes |
| Extortion | Common, usually arranged through dating applications |
| Health care | Testing and treatment remain accessible without disclosure |
| Travellers | The law applies to visitors and foreign residents |
In practice
- Do not keep messages, images or application profiles that could expose you.
- Treat meetings arranged online with strangers as high risk.
- Health and testing programmes continue and do not require any declaration.
- If arrested, ask for a lawyer and do not sign a statement you have not read.
Cost and coverage
Health services remain accessible at low cost; legal defence is expensive, though organisations sometimes fund it.
Where to go
- Non-governmental health and testing programmes.
- Human rights organisations, including regional ones.
- Lawyers experienced in these prosecutions.
Worth knowing
Extortion and eviction are far more frequent than prosecution. Both usually start from a phone or a landlord, which is where practical precautions matter most.
Frequently asked questions
What did the Constitutional Court decide?
In April 2024 it upheld the bulk of the Act, declining to annul it, while striking down a small number of provisions including some relating to the duty to report and to premises. An appeal to the Supreme Court was filed. The Act remains in force.
What practical precautions make sense?
Assume that anything written down can be read: dating profiles, messages, photographs, cloud backups. Meet new people in public, tell someone where you are going, and be cautious with anyone who moves quickly to demands for photographs or money — blackmail using images is the most common harm reported. Know which organisation you would contact before you need it, and keep the number somewhere other than your phone.
Official sources and links
- UN Human Rights Office — ratified treaties and country reviews
- ILO NATLEX — national legislation database