Africa
Abolition of Angola’s anti-gay laws may pave the way for regional reform
Angola has decriminalised consensual same-sex acts between adults in private. An erstwhile Portuguese colony, Angola inherited an ancient colonial statute – dating back to 1886 – that criminalised “indecent acts” and persons habitually engaging in “acts against nature”. These formulations have widely been interpreted as a ban on homosexual conduct. Punishment upon conviction included confinement… Read more »
Tanzania governor who created task force to hunt gay people banned from entering US
A high-ranking official in Tanzania who created a task force to hunt down gay people has been banned from entering the US. Paul Makonda is the governor of Tanzania’s most-populated city, Dar es Salaam, and he created the team to round up gay people in 2018. He said he aimed to make Dar es Salaam… Read more »
Mauritania Arrests 10 Gay Men After Purported Gay Wedding
Nouakchott, Mauritania — Authorities in Mauritania have arrested 10 men after a video appeared on social media of a gay couple appearing to take part in a traditional wedding ceremony, human rights groups said. Police later determined the gathering was a birthday party but the men remain in custody with no trial date set yet.… Read more »
Lesbian couple left ‘overwhelmed with anger’ as South Africa venue declines their wedding
(CNN) – A South African wedding venue is facing criticism after the Christian owners declined to host a lesbian couple’s wedding. Megan Watling, 25, and Sasha-Lee Heekes, 24, said they contacted the owners of Beloftebos, a popular event place in Cape Town, inquiring about potential dates for their wedding. However, they received an email response… Read more »
Gay refugees in Kenya report repeated attacks from locals
At Kenya’s sprawling Kakuma refugee camp, one of the world’s largest, LGBTQ refugees say they’re repeatedly beaten by locals and other refugees. For years, Ugandan refugee Mbazira Moses has been typing out emails to dozens of international humanitarian organizations and United Nations officials with a message: LGBTQ refugees at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya… Read more »
Zambia Wants U.S. Ambassador Out for Defending Gay Couple
Zambian President Edgar Lungu wants the U.S. ambassador to leave the country after the diplomat criticized the African state for sentencing a gay couple to 15 years behind bars for having a consensual relationship. “We have complained officially to the American government, and we are waiting for their response because we don’t want such people… Read more »
The central African country of Gabon just criminalised gay sex
An official has confirmed that the African country of Gabon has criminalised gay sex, making it the 70th country in the world where same-sex relations are illegal. Gabon, officially the Gabonese Republic, is on the west coast of central Africa. A government official, who wanted to remain anonymous, told Openly that the change was made… Read more »
First men go on trial under Nigeria’s anti-homosexuality laws
All 47 men deny offence of same-sex displays of affection, which carries 10-year jail term Forty-seven men went on trial in Nigeria on Wednesday for public displays of affection with members of the same sex, an offence that carries a 10-year jail term in the country. The men were among 57 arrested in a police… Read more »
Gay Couple In Zambia Gets 15-Year Prison Term; U.S. Ambassador Says He’s ‘Horrified’
A gay male couple has been sentenced to 15 years in prison under Zambia’s colonial-era law that prohibits gay sex. U.S. Ambassador Daniel Foote said in a statement that the was “horrified” by the sentence. “I was personally horrified to read yesterday about the sentencing of two men, who had a consensual relationship, which hurt… Read more »
Refile -Uganda charges 67 after raid on gay bar
Kampala (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A Ugandan court charged 67 people with causing a nuisance on Tuesday after they were arrested in a gay-friendly bar, in a move condemned by activists as the latest “homophobic” attack. The 67 – who were among 127 arrested at Ram Bar, in the capital, Kampala, on Sunday – could face… Read more »
Sacked, shunned and suicidal: the Cameroon sports stars battling anti-gay laws
Yaounde (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Cameroonian athlete Thierry Essamba still trains every day, even though he has little hope of reviving a career cut off when he was ousted from the national squad in a scandal over homosexuality. The 38-year-old hurdling champion was training for the 2014 Commonwealth Games when a senior sports official… Read more »
Uganda Denies Plan To Reintroduce ‘Kill The Gays’ Bill
Uganda’s government has denied there is a plan to reintroduce the death penalty for gay sex. The government “does not have any plans of reintroducing the anti-homosexuality bill on the floor of Parliament,” Esther Mbayo, minister in charge of the presidency, said in a statement, the AP reported. Simon Lokodo, minister for ethics and integrity,… Read more »
Bisi Alimi Organises LGBT Event In Lagos
Nigerian gay rights activist Bisi Alimi has organised a Gay Pride event in Nigeria. The event tagged “Night of Diversity 2019” was organised by his foundation The Bisi Alimi Foundation. It held last night in Lagos, Tuesday 29th October. Alimi expressed such an event could hold in Nigeria took to his Instagram story to say:… Read more »
Uganda arrested 16 LGBTQ activists. Here’s where else gay rights are a battleground in the world.
This week Ugandan police arrested 16 LGBTQ activists on charges of gay sex — which is punishable by life imprisonment. Police arrested them at the sexual health organization where they worked and lived and cited condoms, lubricants and anti-HIV medicines found there as evidence of a crime.“Uganda is resisting doing that, despite the fact that… Read more »
Attacks on LGBT+ Ugandans seen rising after minister proposes death for gay sex
Nairobi (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Uganda has seen a rise in attacks on LGBT+ people since a minister proposed bringing back the death penalty for gay sex, campaigners said on Tuesday, warning anti-gay rhetoric was fuelling homophobia. The Ugandan government has since denied it is planning to reintroduce an old law colloquially known as “Kill… Read more »
Uganda: Brutal Killing of Gay Activist
Amid Attacks, Officials Threaten Death Penalty for LGBT People Update: On October 12, a government spokesperson, Ofwono Opondo, tweeted that the government “does not intend to introduce any new law with regards to regulation of LGBT activities in Uganda because the current provisions in the penal code are sufficient.” Before President Museveni signed the Anti-Homosexuality… Read more »
Uganda: Brutal Killing of Gay Activist
Amid Attacks, Officials Threaten Death Penalty for LGBT People Update: On October 12, a government spokesperson, Ofwono Opondo, tweeted that the government “does not intend to introduce any new law with regards to regulation of LGBT activities in Uganda because the current provisions in the penal code are sufficient.” Before President Museveni signed the Anti-Homosexuality… Read more »
Gay man in Rwanda notes ‘intense pressure’ after coming out
Kigali, Rwanda — A Rwandan gospel singer who recently came out as gay says he has quit his day job as an accountant after “intense pressure” from colleagues. Albert Nabonibo says he felt alienated and no longer a part of the beverages company that employed him in the capital, Kigali. He says that after he… Read more »
Gay men seen dying from AIDS due to Africa’s homophobic laws
Nairobi (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Thousands of gay men in Africa are likely dying from HIV-related illnesses every year due to homophobic laws that stifle their chances of being tested and treated, said researchers behind a study published on Monday in The Lancet HIV journal. A study of the data of 45,000 gay men in… Read more »
Reclaiming South Africa’s Townships Through Queer Culture
The settlements can be dangerous places for queer people. The subjects of photographer Lee-Ann Olwage’s #BlackDragMagic want to change that. Shakira Mabika moved to Cape Town, South Africa, from her native Zimbabwe to escape homophobia—the country’s late president, Robert Mugabe, considered gay people “worse than dogs and pigs”—only to encounter similar prejudice, compounded by xenophobia,… Read more »
Rwandan gospel singer comes out as gay, to country’s shock
Kigali, Rwanda — Friends of Albert Nabonibo, a well-known gospel singer in Rwanda who recently came out as a gay man, do not want their names revealed. It is too shameful, one says. Another says he is anguished because his family knows he often used to socialize with Nabonibo. Nabonibo shocked many Rwandans in August… Read more »
Progress for gay rights in Africa still isn’t inevitable
Johannesburg (CNN) – It was Pride Month no less. On June 11, high court judges in Gaborone struck down colonial-era sodomy laws from the rule books. The judgment was comprehensive, and LGBTQ activists in Botswana were overjoyed. It was a significant win in a protracted fight for equality. For a moment, progress seemed inevitable, but… Read more »
Zambia president won’t budge on gay rights even for international aid
There will be no discussion on gay rights’ The president of Zambia said he would not impose ‘gay rights’ on his citizens in exchange for international aid. Edgar Lungu made the comments during a visit to the State House by the outgoing Swedish ambassador to Zambia, Henrik Cederin. During the visit, Lungu said he could… Read more »
Egypt releases trans teen activist after four months
Police conducted a forced anal examination and put Malak al-Kashif in a male prison when they arrested her in March Egypt released a 19-year-old transgender LGBTI rights activist on Tuesday (16 July), four months after police arrested her over an anti-government demonstration. Authorities previously subjected Malak al-Kashif to a forced anal examination. They also kept… Read more »
Eden Bleu Hotel review: An LGBTI-friendly Seychelles showstopper
Gay sex was legalized in 2016. But what’s life really like for Seychelles’ LGBTIs? As a top hotel reaches out to queer tourists, GSN visits to find out Location 4/5 Think Seychelles, think huts on stilts. At least that’s the image that used to spring to my mind: little flecks of loveliness among uncomplicated sea/sand… Read more »
Malawi police arrest two leading LGBTI activists
It comes a week after they lead protests against the Malawi Electoral Commission Police in the east African state of Malawi have arrested two of its most prominent LGBTI campaigners. Authorities arrested Gift Trapence on charges of fraud. Trapence heads the LGBTI organizaton, the Center for Development of People (CEDEP). They also arrested Anglican priest… Read more »
LGBTI refugees stoned and beaten after unlawful eviction
It has been described as one of the worst situations ever seen by refugee advocates A landlord evicted a group of 76 LGBTI refugees in Kenya with no notice. Locals beat and stoned one man who tried to leave. The refugees known collectively as Great Lakes were living in the Kangemi area informal settlement in… Read more »
Botswana celebrates historic decriminalisation of gay sex
Botswana’s High Court announced its decision this morning (June 11) to decriminalise gay sex, and people are rejoicing the “life-changing” decision. Scenes of celebration are flooding social media, after this historic victory for LGBT+ people in Botswana and worldwide. Anna Mmolai-Chalmers, CEO of Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana (LEGABIBO) said in a press release:… Read more »
Gay rights in Kenya: ‘Why our fight isn’t over’
Kenya’s High Court has ruled against campaigners seeking to overturn a law banning gay sex. But there is much to be proud of in the fight for equality despite this setback, writes Kevin Mwachiro. Thirteen years ago, I would never have thought that Kenya could get to this point – that our LGBTQ community would… Read more »
Kenya’s High Court Upholds a Ban on Gay Sex
Nairobi, Kenya — Kenya’s High Court on Friday upheld laws that criminalize gay sex, declining to join the handful of nations that have recently abolished a prohibition imposed by Britain during the colonial era. The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the court, announced in a courtroom packed with activists who wanted to see… Read more »
Kenya upholds law criminalising gay sex
Kenya’s High Court has ruled against campaigners seeking to overturn a law banning gay sex. The three judges rejected claims that the colonial-era law violated the new constitution, which guarantees equality, dignity and privacy. The penal code criminalises “carnal knowledge against the order of nature” – widely understood to refer to anal intercourse between men.… Read more »
Kenya: Court Upholds Archaic Anti-Homosexuality Laws
Activists Plan to Appeal (Nairobi) – Kenya’s High Court on May 24, 2019 upheld laws criminalizing homosexual acts between consenting adults, a step backward in the progress Kenya has made toward equality in recent years, Human Rights Watch said today. The court was addressing a petition filed in 2016 by three Kenyan organizations that work… Read more »
Binyavanga Wainaina: Kenyan author and LGBTI rights activist dies
He was named one of Time Magazine’s most influential people for his advocacy Kenyan LGBTI activist Kenneth Binyavanga Wainaina died yesterday (21 May) at the age of 48. Tom Maliti, the chairman of the Kwani Trust which Wainaina founded, told The Associated Press the journalist died Tuesday night in Nairobi after an illness. Born in… Read more »
Human Rights Watch call for the end of LGBTI persecution in Tunisia
Rights group calls for changes to mark the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia Human Rights Watch (HRW) have called on the Tunisian authorities to cease their discrimination of LGBTI people. HRW joined with the Civil Coalition for Individual Freedoms in Tunisia in issuing a statement advocating for LGBTI rights in the country. The… Read more »
In one week’s time, we will know whether Kenya is the next country to decriminalize gay sex.
The law has impacted LGBTI people living in the eastern African country for decades. Voices of Kenya, put together by All Out, gathers some of their experiences of discrimination and persecution. ‘The aim is to show that the question of legalisation is not a technical, purely legal, matter. Real people are getting hurt and suffer… Read more »
A Queer Film Festival in Tunisia — Where Being Gay Is Illegal
For four days in March, a sanctuary for queer and trans people sprung up in Tunisia — a country where being gay is illegal. Mawjoudin Queer Film Festival, in its second year, differs significantly from other film festivals: some participants wear badges that read “No Photos;” attendees were invited through a private Facebook page and… Read more »
Almost 90% of people in Ghana don’t want LGBTI people meeting
Most Ghanians think LGBTI should be excluded from work or school LGBTI groups have come together in Ghana. They want to create a plan of how to overcome violence and discrimination in the African country. Sisters of the Heart in partnership with Alliance for Dynamics Initiative came together to discuss how to protect the rights… Read more »
Tunisia invokes sharia law in bid to shut down LGBT rights group
Judicial harassment and rise in arrests under anti-sodomy law add to climate of tension and fear One of the Arab world’s most visible advocacy groups defending the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people is facing closure following legal threats by the government. Association Shams has been officially operating in Tunisia since 2015,… Read more »
What’s it like to go on the run after your boyfriend is jailed for being gay?
This 21-year-old college student left everything behind when his country, Egypt, started a homophobic crackdown Karim was holding his breath in the trunk of a car, the stale pungent air heavy in his lungs, when the officers came. He was already hundreds of miles from his home in Egypt. In his possession, he only had… Read more »
Opinion: Nigeria is a cold-blooded country for gay men — I have the scars to prove it
Editor’s Note: Richard Akuson is a Nigerian lawyer and founder of A Nasty Boy magazine which seeks to challenge conventional norms about gender and masculinity. Akuson is now based in New York. The views expressed here are solely his. (CNN) – In 2017, I started A Nasty Boy magazine to validate and affirm the lives… Read more »
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