Uganda, Africa

To reduce sectarian violence, Ugandan political parties were restricted in their activities from 1986-2005. In the non-party "Movement" system instituted by Yoweri Museveni, political parties continued to exist, but they could only operate a headquarter office. They could not open branches, hold rallies or field candidates directly (although electoral candidates could belong to political parties). A constitutional referendum canceled this nineteen-year ban on multi-party politics in July 2005. Presidential elections were held in February 2006. Yoweri Museveni won against several candidates. As usual the result were challenged but the country is relatively stable except for rebel activity in the northeast. Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda and gay activists are regularly harassed and taken into custody then released. It is the first country in the world to have a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage (since 2004).

 

News & Reports:

 

Pope will fly to Uganda to worship martyrs who rejected gay sex

Catholic martyrs were canonized after an African king had them executed for not sleeping with him Pope Francis will be flying to Uganda in order to praise Uganda martyrs who rejected gay sex from the country’s former king. The head of the Catholic Church will visit Uganda in October, which has recently enacted one of… Read more »

UN Secretary-General demands revision or repeal of Uganda homosexuality law

Kampala, Uganda – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is demanding the revision or repeal of Uganda’s law imposing life sentences for homosexuality and same-sex marriage. The U.N. chief warned Tuesday that the law could fuel prejudice and encourage harassment against gays, U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said. Ban urged the Ugandan government to protect all people from violence and… Read more »

Ugandan newspaper prints list of ‘200 top’ gays

Kampala, Uganda — A Ugandan newspaper published a list Tuesday of what it called the country’s “200 top” gays, outing some Ugandans and raising fears of violence against those named just a day after the president enacted a severe anti-gay law. Many on the list “are scared and they need help,” said Pepe Julian Onziema,… Read more »

Uganda’s anti-gay bill refocuses attention on US evangelical influence

Uganda’s President Museveni signed into law Monday a bill that criminalizes homosexuality with life sentences and punishes efforts to raise or discuss gay issues. Nairobi, Kenya – A day after Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni signed into law a punitive bill that criminalizes homosexuality with life sentences and punishes efforts to raise or discuss gay issues, the… Read more »

Uganda politicians celebrate passing of anti-gay laws

President Museveni’s supporters revel in new anti-gay laws passed despite pressure from US, EU, western donors and rights groups Uganda’s president hassigned a controversial law allowing those convicted of homosexuality to be imprisoned for life, defying international disapproval from western donor nations. At a public ceremony in a packed room at the State House in… Read more »

Reaction to Uganda Antigay Law

As my colleague Alan Cowell reported, the president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, significantly strengthened Africa’s antigay movement, signing into law a bill imposing harsh sentences for homosexual acts, including life imprisonment in some cases. Rights groups and activists condemned the law, with some pointing to the promotion of antigay sentiment by Western Christian evangelical groups.… Read more »

Eight suicide attempts in Uganda in last two weeks over anti-gay law

While some have remained resolute and will continue to fight against homophobia, others have fled the country and have attempted suicide Eight people have attempted suicide in the last two weeks over the anti-gay law, gay rights activists have told GSN. President Yoweri Museveni has signed the anti-gay bill into law today (24 February), one… Read more »

Uganda: Anti-Homosexuality Law Will Come at a Serious Cost

US Should Temporarily Recall Ambassador for Consultations (Nairobi) – Uganda’s pending Anti-Homosexuality bill violates the country’s human rights obligations and is a barrier to advancing critical public health goals.Uganda’s international donor partners should clearly and publicly specify the consequences for relations with Uganda if the Anti-Homosexuality bill becomes law. Uganda’s parliament passed the bill on… Read more »

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh: Gays are ‘vermin’ and should be treated worse than mosquitoes

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has referred to gay people as “vermin”, saying they should be dealt with in the same way as mosquitoes which “cause” malaria. President Jammeh made the comments on Tuesday. He has in the past referred to gays as a threat to humanity, saying a year ago that gay rights were a… Read more »

African Anglican bishops warn Church of England to back off on gay issue

The leaders of the Anglican Church in Uganda and Kenya have warned the Church of England to back off on LGBTI issues after the Archbishop of Canterbury reminded them of their responsibility to support and care for gay people African bishops have reacted to Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby’s letter reminding them of their duty… Read more »

President of Uganda refuses to sign ‘jail the gays’ bill into law

Get the latest LGBT headlines in your inbox with our free daily newsletter! The President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni has refused to sign a controversial new bill into law that could have seen gay men and women jailed for life. Mr Museveni says that there are better ways to “rescue” people from homosexuality. According to… Read more »

Uganda’s Gay Porn Obsession: Why A Nation With Anti-Gay Laws Is Leading The Way

Uganda might have vehemently anti-gay legislation in place, but that hasn’t stopped the nation from becoming one of the world’s top consumers of gay pornography, according to reports. HuffPost Live host Ahmed Shihab-Eldin spoke with Roger Ross Williams, director of the award-winning documentary “God Loves Uganda,” to figure out why one of the world’s most… Read more »

Ugandans top Google results for searches on ‘gay porn’

African nations including Kenya and Ethiopia also rank highly for gay porn searches Uganda tops search report for ‘homosexuality’ A new report on the most popular search terms of 2013 has revealed Uganda to be a nation obsessed with homosexuality online. According to Google’s Zeitgeist report of 2013, which lists the most popular terms used… Read more »

Ugandan Government ministries split over gay HIV clinics

Uganda’s Health Minister plans to roll out a series of HIV clinics targeting the needs of LGBTIs and sex workers in the East African nation, but the country’s Minster for Ethics and Integrity is outraged by the plan 18 months after attacking activists for opening a HIV clinic for LGBTIs in Kampala, Uganda’s Health Ministry… Read more »

Gay activists protest arrests

Anger is brewing in the gay community at home and abroad, as a criminal case against the chairman of a sexual minorities group starts today at the Nabweru Magistrate’s court in Wakiso district. Samuel Ganafa, executive director of Spectrum Uganda and chairman of Sexual Minorities Uganda, was arrested last week and paraded before the media… Read more »

Ugandan President takes HIV test as part of prevention campaign

The President of Uganda.Yoweri Museveni, has taken an HIV test in public, saying he wants all Ugandans to know their HIV status if the country is to reduce new infections. President Museveni conducted the test at the Kiswa Health Centre in Kampala, in front of government officials and reporters on Friday. Politicians in Uganda rarely… Read more »

Global court to consider arresting author of Uganda’s ‘Kill the Gays’ bill

The International Criminal Court may arrest a Uganda MP who put forward the bill, a tabloid newspaper who called on the public to ‘hang’ gay people, and a pastor who shows gay porn to stir up hatrd The International Criminal Court is considering arresting the author of Uganda’s ‘Kill the Gays’ bill. Magembe Norman, a… Read more »

Why Gay Pride Celebrations In Uganda Were Discreet

Gay pride celebrations are held loudly each summer in New York, Paris and Berlin. But when Uganda held its version of the event this weekend, it was done very privately. It came as the Ugandan parliament considers a piece of extremely anti-gay legislation, and as discrimination against gays is widespread by Gregory Warner, NPR Source… Read more »

100 People Attend Uganda Gay Pride Parade

Over 100 people attended Uganda’s second annual Gay Pride Parade held on a beach in the southern city of Entebbe on Saturday. According to Voice of America, police broke up last year’s parade. But activists said they viewed the overall event as a success. “The success gave us confidence that we can do it,” gay… Read more »

Q&A: Ugandan LGBT activist Frank Mugisha

Ottawa — Frank Mugisha is an LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans) activist from Uganda who was in Ottawa this week warning about the dangers of a new bill before his country’s parliament that has drawn international scorn. If passed, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill could, among other things, sentence gays and lesbians to death and jail those… Read more »

Where Being Gay Is a Life-and-Death Struggle

Fighting Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill in ‘Call Me Kuchu’ As you listen to Ugandan politicians and preachers rant against homosexuality in the documentary “Call Me Kuchu,” a chilling sense of reliving the past sets in. “Kuchu” is a synonym for “queer” in Uganda. It is commonplace in many African countries nowadays for homosexuality to be denounced… Read more »

Uganda LGBT Activists Warn Against False Fund Raising

The Ugandan LGBT community is expressing concerns about rogue organizations and individuals soliciting funds from the West through false or exaggerated stories presented on social media. What follows is a plea and announcement by LGBT human rights defender Kasha Jaqueline Nabagesera, Founder & Executive Director of the Ugandan organization Freedom and Roam Uganda (FARUG,) for… Read more »

Uganda’s Donors Ride Sexy New Bandwagon – Gay Activist

Opinion Why have gay rights become booming business in Uganda? According to our blogger, foreign donors are desperate to be associated with the world’s coolest cause and some Ugandan activists can’t help but exploit all the cash coming in. You know the age-old adage. Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day;… Read more »

Loving Uganda to Death: The Global Reach of Far-Right Christian Hatred

While conservative evangelical and Catholic leaders complain loudly about the “persecution” they suffer in the United States, the culture wars they are igniting and supporting around the world subject LGBT people and their allies to very real persecution. The role that American religious right leaders have played in fomenting anti-gay bigotry in Uganda has been… Read more »

First Lady Museveni: Anti Gay Bill Not Meant To Persecute Gays

First lady, Janet Museveni is reported to have said that the Anti Homosexuality Bill is not meant to persecute gay people, noting that Ugandans do not necessarily kill them although adding that they are not admired either. FIRST LADY, Janet Museveni is reported to have said that the Anti Homosexuality Bill is not meant to… Read more »

No killing, marginalisation of sexual minorities in Uganda; Museveni

President Yoweri Museveni has said there is no discrimination, no killings, no marginalization and no luring of young people using money into homosexual acts in Uganda. Issues relating to sexual minority groups, Mr Museveni also said, have been “distorted” leading to wrong public debate. “In our society, there were a few homosexuals. There was no… Read more »

Married Ugandan gay couple win case to stay in Sweden

A gay couple who fled from Uganda’s homophobic laws married in Sweden, and are now allowed to stay after worldwide support A married Ugandan gay couple have won their case to stay in Sweden. Lawrence Kaala obtained a residency permit in Sweden yesterday (28 February), after fears he would be deported back to native Uganda… Read more »

Uganda activists still busy, though fearful

Human rights and anti-AIDS activists in Uganda are busy doing good work, even though the Ugandan parliament seems poised to pass a bill that would put them in even greater danger because they defend the rights and health of sexual minorities. “The LGBTI community is already experiencing the adverse effects of this bill, even before… Read more »

LGBT Uganda Fights Back: The Case Against Scott Lively

LGBT Uganda Fights Back:The Case Against Scott Lively On March 14, 2012, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) filed a federal lawsuit against Abiding Truth Ministries President Scott Lively on behalf of Sexual Minorities Uganda, a non-profit umbrella organization for LGBT advocacy groups in Uganda. The Filing (PDF) The Factsheet (PDF) The suit alleges that… Read more »

Some clergy in Uganda join forces to protect LGBTI people

Clergy and lay people seeking safety and protection for LGBTI people in Uganda will gather tomorrow, Feb. 14, for the third annual Standing on the Side of Love conference in Kampala. The focus of this year’s conference will be: Safety and protection of LGBTI human rights defenders in Uganda. Formation of a national pro-LGBTI religious… Read more »

Sweden: Gay couple married in Sweden say their families back home are being harassed

The families of two Ugandan men living in Sweden, who claim they are the first gay couple from their country to get married, have been harassed over the couple’s marriage. Lawrence Kaala and Jimmy Sserwadda were married in January at a church in Järfälla, a suburb north of the Swedish capital, Stockholm. Mr Sserwadda’s elderly… Read more »

Blind Alleys

The Unseen Struggles of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Urban Refugees in Mexico, Uganda and South Africa PART I Guidance for NGOs, Governments, UNHCR & Program Funders Read PDF Source – Oram International

First Ugandan gay couple to marry in Sweden

Stockholm – Two Ugandan men who married in a Swedish church claim to be the first Ugandan gays to be legally married. One of the newly wed husbands faces possible deportation to Uganda where homosexuality is illegal and can carry a lifelong prison sentence. The Local reported Lawrence Kaala and Jimmy Sserwadda married just over… Read more »

Ugandan Gay-Rights Group Sues U.S. Pastor

A gay-rights group from the African country alleges an American church leader set the stage for their persecution at home. Nina Strochlic talks to the pastor and Ugandan activists about the landmark case. Last week, at the premiere of the documentary God Loves Uganda, attendees at the Sundance Film Festival glimpsed the impact American evangelicals… Read more »

Anti –gay bill hurting economy – Muhakanizi

A senior government official has offered the clearest hint yet that the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which has stirred an unprecedented international uproar, is seriously hurting the country’s economy. Keith Muhakanizi, the deputy secretary to the Treasury, told MPs at Parliament: “I have never seen a country like this where politicians hurt the economy instead of building… Read more »

With Uganda arrests, at least 13 in jail for being gay

In Cameroon, Jonas Singa Kumie and Franky Djome are appealing their five-year sentence for homosexual activity. Here they pose with their attorney, Alice Nkom. (Photo by Eric O. Lembembe) Arrests of two gay-rights workers this week in Uganda bring to at least 13 the number of people worldwide who are currently imprisoned on charges of… Read more »

We Are Here: LGBTI in Uganda

American-born gay photographer D. David Robinson collected portraits and first-person accounts from lesbian, gay, transgender, and intersex Ugandans, then turned to The Advocate to offer these brave activists a forum to tell their stories in their own words. Kaliisa Elijah, 34-year-old gay man As a kid, I thought I had been bewitched by one of… Read more »

Uganda gay youth worker arrested for ‘recruiting’ teens into homosexuality

An LGBT advocate and youth worker was arrested by Ugandan police for law on homosexuality that doesn’t exist on New Year’s Eve On New Year’s Eve, Joseph Kaweesi, LGBT youth worker and advocate, was arrested by Ugadan police and charged with crimes relating to homosexuality. According to reports from Uganda, Kaweesi, one of the founder… Read more »

Gay Uganda group office vandalized and robbed

The office of the Sexual Minorities of Uganda (SMUG) has been vandalized and robbed potentially putting gay Ugandans at risk The office of the Sexual Minorities of Uganda (SMUG), an LGBT advocacy group, was broken into and vandalized, with much its equipment having being stolen. Activists say that the information stored on some of the… Read more »

Gays should have their relationships in private – Museveni

Sex rights campaigners have accused Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni of being duplicitous, after he said homosexuals will not be killed nor persecuted. They accused Museveni of sending mixed signals on homosexuality in the East African country, saying this was dangerous to sex minorities. The Ugandan president recently said homosexuals will not be discriminated nor persecuted… Read more »