Tag: uganda gay rights
Uganda: Court Upholds Anti-Homosexuality Act
Entrenches Discrimination, Enhances Risk of Anti-LGBT Violence Nairobi – Uganda’s Constitutional Court on April 3, 2024, upheld the abusive and radical provisions of the 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act, Human Rights Watch said today. The ruling further entrenches discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, and makes them prone to more violence. The court did… Read more »
Uganda accuses US of pushing ‘LGBT agenda’ after pushback to anti-gay law
Uganda accused the U.S. of pushing an “LGBT agenda” in the wake of pushback to an anti-gay law. “There’s a coup at the State Department in the U.S. It is being taken over by people who are pushing the LGBT agenda in Africa,” State Minister for Foreign Affairs Okello Oryem said in a Wednesday Reuters… Read more »
Gay and targeted in Uganda: Inside the extreme crackdown on LGBTQ rights
In May, the country enacted one of the world’s harshest anti-homosexuality laws. At a small shelter in Uganda, members of the LGBTQ community seek refuge from persecution after their government enacted one of the world’s harshest anti-homosexuality laws earlier this year. Henry, whose full name is being withheld for safety reasons, runs the shelter along… Read more »
‘Everything is prohibited’: Uganda’s anti-gay law forces community into hiding
‘Wherever we have been renting, they have been chasing us.’ Kampala – When Richard Lusimbo came for the interview at an office in the suburbs of the Ugandan capital, Kampala, he looked exhausted. The bags under his eyes told the story of long sleepless nights. Throughout the interview, his phone wouldn’t stop ringing, and he… Read more »
Ugandan Police Arrest Four People for ‘Acts of Homosexuality’
The arrests come in a country with one of the harshest anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the world. In Uganda, which has one of the harshest anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the world, police arrested four people Sunday for “acts of homosexuality” at a massage parlor. The arrests occurred in Buikwe, a town about 35 miles east of the… Read more »
Uganda passed one of the world’s harshest anti-gay laws. LGBTQ people describe living there as ‘hell’
In between leading Sunday services at All Saints’ Cathedral in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, Rev. Canon John Awodi declares vehemently that “homosexuality is a sin that must be repented of,” adding that it is against the “order of God.” “Homosexuality is not natural, it is unnatural. That is the stand of the church here. It… Read more »
Ugandan President Signs Anti-Gay Law That Includes Death Penalty as a Punishment
The legislation is among the most restrictive of its kind in the world and was condemned by Western leaders and the United Nations human rights body. The president of Uganda signed a punitive anti-gay bill on Monday that includes the death penalty, enshrining into law an intensifying crackdown against L.G.B.T.Q. people in the conservative East… Read more »
Uganda waters down anti-gay law
Uganda’s parliament has watered down an anti-homosexuality bill that originally criminalised people for simply identifying as LGBTQ+. When it was first approved in March, the proposed legislation outraged human rights defenders. Members of the public were going to have to report individuals in same-sex relationships to the authorities. An activist told the BBC the debate… Read more »
Ugandan lawmakers pass new version of tough anti-gay bill
The new law prescribes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” which includes cases of sexual relations involving people living with HIV. Kampala, Uganda — Ugandan lawmakers on Tuesday passed a new version of an anti-gay bill that removes a clause which appeared to criminalize identifying as LGBTQ. President Yoweri Museveni last month returned the bill… Read more »
Furious protesters beg ‘tyrant’ Uganda president not to kill LGBTQ+ people under cruel new law
South African opposition leader Julius Malema has led a protest against Uganda’s controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill, which criminalises people for being gay. On Tuesday (4 April), Malema and members of his party, the left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), gathered outside the Ugandan Embassy in Pretoria to speak out against the bill that threatens the freedom and… Read more »
LGBTQ+ Ugandans ‘shaken, worried and scared’ after government criminalises homosexuality
LGBTQ+ activists from Uganda have blasted a draconian new bill that criminalises LGBTQ+ life and could see gay people sentenced to death, saying queer people in the country are “shaken, worried and scared.” On Tuesday (21 March), Uganda’s parliament passed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, a strict piece of legislation that expands on the East African nation’s… Read more »
LGBTQ+ Ugandans ‘shaken, worried and scared’ after government criminalises homosexuality
LGBTQ+ activists from Uganda have blasted a draconian new bill that criminalises LGBTQ+ life and could see gay people sentenced to death, saying queer people in the country are “shaken, worried and scared.” On Tuesday (21 March), Uganda’s parliament passed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, a strict piece of legislation that expands on the East African nation’s… Read more »
Uganda Bans Prominent LGBTQ Rights Group
End Harassment, Allow Group to Operate Last week, Uganda’s National Bureau for Non-governmental Organizations banned Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), a prominent lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights organization, for not having officially registered with it. Before being banned, SMUG had provided education on sexuality and advocated for health services for LGBTQ people since… Read more »
Ugandan LGBTQ+ Rights Organization Forced to Shut Down by Government
CNN — Uganda’s government shut down operations of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), a non-governmental organization for LGBTQ rights, accusing it of operating illegally in the country, according to a statement from the government. Uganda’s National Bureau for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO Bureau) under the Ministry of Internal Affairs said Friday the group operated without being registered… Read more »
The “Deviant” African Genders That Colonialism Condemned
European travellers and anthropologists found that their gendered worldview didn’t easily map onto the societies they encountered. In “pre-colonial times,” wrote the late feminist scholar Niara Sudarkasa, women in West Africa were “conspicuous in high places.” They led armies, often played important consultative roles in politics, and in the case of the Lovedu people (present-day… Read more »
‘Nowhere to go’: the young LGBT+ Ugandans ‘outed’ during lockdown
Student tells how he and others were arrested on Covid-related charges, publicly humiliated and left without a place to stay When you ask Ronald Ssenyonga, a 21-year-old Ugandan, to tell you about his arrest, he asks: “Which one?” Like many gay people struggling to survive in a country that has used Covid-19 as an excuse… Read more »
Homeless queer Ugandans brutally whipped by mayor before being falsely arrested under coronavirus laws
Shivering and scared, 23 LGBT+ people sat on the forecourt of a charity-run facility near Kampala, Uganda. A municipal mayor carries a four-foot cane as he paces in front of them before beginning to brutally whip and interrogate them, tying them up and marching them through the streets, locals jeering as they walk across the… 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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
‘Kill the Gays’ Uganda MP receives award at Britain’s Parliament
Despite her notorious homophobic views, Rebecca Kadaga received the award for being one of only a few female leaders in Africa A British thinktank has defended giving an award to the politician from Uganda behind the infamous ‘Kill the Gays’ bill. Rebecca Kadaga is the House Speaker in the Ugandan parliament and was recently award… Read more »
Ugandan LGBTQ+ activists announce plans for Pride following crackdown
LGBTQ+ activists in Uganda have announced plans to run a Pride event this year after a violent crackdown in 2016 which saw police raids and arrests at the event. Ahead of the 2016 Pride, government officials warned that they would arrest anyone that took part. ? Simon Lokodo, the Minister of State for ‘Ethics &… Read more »
Gay Ugandan activists rebuilding lives in Utah after fleeing anti-LGBTQ repression in Africa
Utah, though, presents its challenges to Barnabas Wobiliya and Apollo Kimuli. The slurs came at the young boy like barbs. Sometimes the word hurled his way from other kids was “guera,” meaning “girl” in the dialect of his native Ugandan village. At other times, it was “mudiga,” a word used for gay people, he said.… Read more »
Police move to protect gay rights stirs Christians to call on God
The move by Ugandan Police to endorse a workshop on gay rights caused uproar, with Christians and non Christians alike expressing their outrage at the security body for endorsing “what the constitution gravely condemns and points to as illegal” in the country. Police spokesman, Mr Emilian Kayima confirmed to Journalists that the workshop funded by… Read more »
3rd Edition of Bombastic Magazine Rolled Out as Parliament Recalls all Delivered Copies
On Wednesday 14th June 2017, Kuchu Times Media Group officially released Bombastic Magazine into the public domain. The magazine which was distributed in Kampala on the same day had earlier undergone a dispersion phase in the upcountry areas of Uganda in late May. The volunteer teams that doled out the magazine targeted local stakeholders and… Read more »
LGBT group sues Ugandan government after being blocked from official registration
A Ugandan LGBT+ rights group has filed a lawsuit against the country’s government after it was blocked from registering its name. Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) has been blocked by the Ugandan Registration Service from registering its own name as an organisation. A statement from SMUG said it expects a decision from the Ugandan High Court… Read more »
Ugandan man faces deportation after ‘failing to prove he’s gay’
‘I can’t go back home, because my family will kill me’, says Mr Kyeyune A gay Ugandan-born asylum seeker is facing deportation to his place of birth, where homosexuality is punishable by life imprisonment. Abbey Kyeyune, who has been living in the Manchester since 2014, told The Independent Home Office officials decided he had failed… Read more »
In Uganda, gay men say police use torturous method to ‘prove’ homosexuality
Cape Town (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – It was early in the morning when Jackson Mukasa was awakened by the chants outside his Kampala home. “The homos are in there!” the crowd yelled, banging spoons on metal cooking pots. Mukasa, a 21-year-old gay man living in the Ugandan capital, was terrified. “We opened the door, and… Read more »
Uganda gay rights activists try again to hold a pride event — again, police intervene
More than a dozen armed police officers shut down Uganda’s fifth annual gay pride celebration on Saturday — the second major government crackdown on the gay community since August. Yet, gay rights activists said the raid at a private beach resort outside Kampala marked one of the most important moments in their careers. “In the… Read more »
Ugandan police block gay pride parade
Ugandan police have blocked gay pride celebrations from happening in two resorts outside the capital, Kampala. Gay rights activist Frank Mugisha said more than 100 LGBTI people tried to participate in the celebrations in Entebbe near Lake Victoria. But many were escorted by police back to Kampala in minibuses. The minister for ethics and integrity… Read more »
Swedish police slammed for deporting gay Ugandan
Sweden’s justice watchdog has sharply criticised the the way in which a gay Ugandan man was sent home to face possible life imprisonment and even death, even though his case was under review. The man, who first sought asylum in 2012, was expelled from Sweden three days after a court had ordered his rejected asylum… Read more »
Uganda’s Government To ‘Rehabilitate’ Members Of LGBT Community
Uganda’s government said Monday that it has developed a program to “rehabilitate” members of the LGBT community to give them a chance to lead “normal lives.” At a press conference, Ethics Minister Simon Lokodo said that the government “will continue to suppress” the public activities of the LGBT community. Organizers behind Uganda’s annual pride celebration… Read more »
Ugandan activists released without charge after brutal police raid on Pride pageant
Dozens of activists have been released without charge after a Ugandan police raid on a Pride event – leaving one activist fighting for their life. Last night, Ugandan police raided the ‘Mr. & Miss Pride Uganda’ LGBT event inside the Venom nightclub in Kampala. More than 20 people were arrested including prominent Ugandan activist Frank… Read more »
Pope Francis passes up chance to condemn Uganda’s anti-gays
Anglican and Roman Catholic 19th-century missionary martyrs honoured, but LGBT rights activists are left disappointed Pope Francis has preached a message of reconciliation on a visit to Uganda, calling on people to reach out to “those who might be unfriendly, even hostile, to us” within local communities and in the conflict-ridden region. On the fourth… Read more »
Uganda’s Gay Community Has High Hopes For Pope Francis’s Visit
Church leaders, however, are praying the pontiff will avoid LGBT issues. Kampala, Uganda (AP) — Gay activists are hoping Pope Francis will preach tolerance toward homosexuals, and even go so far as to condemn violent attacks against gays during his upcoming visit to Uganda. Church leaders, however, are praying he’ll avoid the issue altogether. The… Read more »
Uganda’s President says new anti-gay laws ‘not necessary
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has said he will not pursue further anti-gay legislation in the country. The long-standing leader has declared that he will not pursue further anti-gay legislation, after previous attempts to strengthen the country’s anti LGBT legislation were defeated. President Museveni signed the draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill last February. The law called for repeat… Read more »
ADS
