Uganda
Uganda v. Matovu, (October 21, 2002)
High Court of Uganda at Kampala
Keywords: Discrimination-Gender/Sex
Brief Summary: Defendant Peter Matovu was indicted on charges of defilement. The Judge declined to apply the common law rule that where a victim alleges that the accused committed a sexual offense against her, the court must warn itself that it is dangerous to act upon the uncorroborated evidence of the victim and before so acting must satisfy itself that the victim is a truthful witness. He explained that the rule discriminated against women, who were the most frequent victims of sexual offenses.
CEDAW: The law was therefore inconsistent with Uganda's Constitution and international law obligations, particularly Article 1 of CEDAW. He noted that "under Article 21 of the Constitution that proclaims equality of all persons under the law, equal protection of the law, and prohibition against discrimination on the ground of sex, Uganda enacted the heart of the above international instruments in one stroke [and t]herefore Uganda has the obligation to give effect to the contents of those international instruments." The Judge held that the discriminatory rule was unconstitutional and therefore null and void.
Case brief from International Association of Women Judges