LGBT rights in Uganda

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Uganda face severe challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female forms of same-sex sexual activity are illegal in Uganda. Originally criminalised by British colonial laws introduced when Uganda became a British protectorate, these have been retained since the country gained its independence.

Although largely unenforced for decades, attempts to reinvigorate their application has been ongoing since the 1990s. In the decades since, anti-gay rhetoric and efforts to introduce harsher laws have gained momentum, culminating in the Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2023, which prescribes up to twenty years in prison for "promotion of homosexuality", life imprisonment for "homosexual acts", and the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality". It came into force in 2023, making Uganda the only Christian-majority country to punish some types of consensual same-sex acts with the death penalty. A similar law had been passed in 2014, but was later struck down as unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of Uganda due to legal technicalities.

LGBT people continue to face severe discrimination in Uganda, actively encouraged by religious and conservative political and community leaders. Violent attacks and harassment against LGBT people are common, often performed by state officials. Some organisations have rescinded funding to Uganda due to its extreme anti-LGBT legislation. Same-sex marriage has been constitutionally banned since 2005.

Male same-sex sexual activity was present and largely unremarkable in many contexts in precolonial Ugandan society.