When Uganda’s Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday to scrap a provision in the Equal Opportunities Commission Act it deemed unconstitutional, it in effect granted the country’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI ) people the right to approach the commission... [The] Act...included a provision that sidelined the LGBTI community. The provision in question...stated that the commission would “not investigate any matter involving behaviour which is considered to be immoral and socially harmful, or unacceptable by the majority of the cultural and social communities in Uganda”...

Isaac Mugisha is the co-ordinator of the annual Pride Uganda, which this year saw crackdowns by the police force... [He] said: “This is a very strong sign of hope for the LGBTI community in Uganda. It assures us that the Constitutional Court is on our side.” The matter was brought before the court by Adrian Jjuuko, executive director of Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF)... LGBTI rights organisation Sexual Minorities Uganda (Smug) [reported, following]...the passing of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill – which the Constitutional Court subsequently declared invalid on procedural grounds –...a significant spike in the number of homophobia-related incidents, including mob violence, lynching, blackmail, job losses and suicides.