Sexual Minorities Uganda Seeks Supreme Court Intervention on Company Registration

Leaders of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) have appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn a decision by the Court of Appeal that bars them from registering with the Uganda Registrations Services Bureau (URSB) as a company under that name.

Over 12 years ago, SMUG leaders, headed by Dr. Frank Mugisha, attempted to register the company limited by guarantee with URSB. However, they were turned away because the name and objectives of the company were regarded as criminal under Section 145 of the Constitution of Uganda. This section states: “Any person who has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature” and “any person who permits a male person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature…commits a crime and is liable to imprisonment for life.”

Dr. Frank Mugisha, head of SMUG and a human rights activist, stated that their objective is to fight for the rights of the LGBTQI+ community and other minorities. He expressed hope that the Supreme Court would follow the law rather than conservative ideologies prevalent in public discourse.

Hon. Fox Odoi, the lead lawyer for SMUG, argued that the High Court had no right to dictate what name the petitioners should use for their company. He emphasized that members of the LGBTQI+ community have the right to association and other rights enjoyed by all Ugandans. According to Hon. Odoi, SMUG applied for a name reservation at URSB in 2012, but the registrar declined due to the objectives of SMUG.

“We are in the Supreme Court now; this matter has gone through different processes from the High Court to the Court of Appeal, and here we are now. We believe this is a fundamental error, both in law and in fact. People belonging to the LGBTQ+ community are not simply sex objects. They are hardworking, law-abiding citizens of the Republic of Uganda, and all rights under Chapter 4 of the Constitution of Uganda accrue to them like to every other citizen,” said Odoi.