Pastor Martin Ssempa of the now defunct Makerere Community Church has been permitted to defend the Anti-Homosexuality law.
The Constitutional Court, chaired by Justice Richard Buteera, accepted Pastor Ssempa to join the Attorney General in defending the Anti-Homosexuality law that was passed earlier this year.
Pastor Ssempa is expected to file his defence by Friday ahead of the case’s hearing slated for Monday next week. He asked to join the respondents on moral grounds.
The attorney general first declined accepting pastor Ssempa to join the case as a defendant citing doubts about his rationale for joining the case.
Court also allowed UNAIDS to join the case as friends of court to file relevant information about the law, especially how it affects people living with HIV AIDS in Uganda.
Pastor Martin Ssempa is a renowned gay critic, and this may be attributed to his founding in Christianity. He has castigated acts of homosexuality over years and his request to defend the Anti-Homosexuality Bill comes not as a surprise.
Parliament passed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill earlier this year and the bill has, since its passing, come with several repercussions including sanctioning legislators and other government officials.
The Anti-Gay bill was first passed by parliament in 2013 and later annulled by court. The bill returned to parliament this year with several amendments to it.
Ugandans await Monday, December 18th, 2023 to see if history will repeat itself or if the Anti-Homosexuality law will stand the test of time.
