Ugandan businesswoman arrested for lesbian sex

A Ugandan woman, described as a “top businesswoman”, has been arrested for allegedly having sex with a younger female partner.

According to local media, she was taken into custody by police in the Bukomansimbi District in central Uganda on 20 January.

The woman, who we have chosen not to name, has been charged with “unnatural offences”.

Her younger partner, the daughter of a local Muslim religious leader, has not been arrested.

It appears that a neighbour reported the affair to the father, who then intervened when the woman went to visit his daughter in her room at his house.

Police reportedly arrived before an angry crowd was able to lynch the older woman because they claimed she’d brought an anti-religious “culture” to the community.

Reports say that she was arrested “for forcing a young girl into inhuman sexual acts” but the age of the alleged “victim” has not been revealed. 

Uganda’s colonial-era 19th century ban on gay sex was enshrined in the Penal Code Act 1950 by the British. It remains in force and criminalises “carnal knowledge against the order of nature”.

In 2000, the law was extended to also criminalise sex between women.