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Two women who are in their 20s have been detained by the Ugandan Police since February 18, 2026, for kissing in public.
A police spokesperson, Josephine Angucia, said the two women were arrested after neighbours in the northwestern city of Arua, about 450 kilometres (280 miles) north of the capital, Kampala, filed a complaint against them.
“Neighbours contacted police, complaining that the two were practising homosexuality and were seen kissing each other in public.
“They had seen many women going onto their one-roomed rented residence and spending nights there in what they suspected was same-sex orgies,” Angucia told AFP.
She added that neighbours took pictures of the two women as evidence and that the case has been forwarded to the state prosecutor for a possible court appearance.
A human rights advocate, Frank Mugashi, condemned the arrest of X on Monday. Mugashi described the arrest of the ladies as the grim reality faced by victims under the anti-gay law.
“It has fueled a dangerous cycle of blackmail and extortion,” Mugisha said.
“Criminals are now using this law as a weapon to prey on the LGBTQ+ community, knowing their victims are too terrified to seek protection,” his post read.
The two women, if charged in court, could face penalties of up to life imprisonment for consensual same-sex relations as stipulated by Uganda’s 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act. The Act also imposes a death penalty on “aggravated homosexuality”.
The anti-gay law in Uganda, a predominantly Christian and conservative African country, has been regarded as the harshest in the world.
