Uganda police blocked the country’s LGBTI community from holding its fifth annual Pride Parade yesterday. More than 100 people tried to convene on a beach in Entebbe on Lake Victoria but were ordered back into their minibuses by police and told to leave the area, human rights lawyer Nicholas Opiyo told BuzzFeed News. “The police … Continue reading
Front Line Defenders demands an end to ongoing harassment of Ugandan human rights defender Sandra Ntebi, an LGBTI activist who focuses on the safety of members of Uganda’s LGBTI community. This is today’s press release from Front Line Defenders: Uganda -– LGBTI human rights defender Sandra Ntebi target of persistent harassment On 16 August 2016, … Continue reading
If LGBT-friendly Ugandan scholar Sylvia Tamale has her way, the Ugandan district police commander in charge of an anti-LGBT raid on Aug. 4 will meet her over a cup of tea to discuss tolerance. That invitation was contained in an open letter from Tamale, published in The Observer, that chided police for brutality, illegal arrests … Continue reading
Ugandan police today disrupted the Mr. and Miss Pride competition in Kampala and imposed a lockdown. This blog is covering the news as it develops. Many people, including at least three Ugandan LGBTI rights leaders, were arrested or at least detained. Trans participants reportedly were beaten, caned, and sexually assaulted by police. Dozens of people … Continue reading
“Giving people expired anti-retroviral therapies (ARVs) is haram, forbidden, sin.” That’s what Ugandan researcher/ activist Stella Nyanzi wrote on Facebook after she visited an HIV-positive friend. Use of expired medications is one of the many deficiencies of current efforts to control HIV/Aids in Uganda. It’s a problem that affects many who are HIV-positive, whether they … Continue reading
The Queer Kampala International Film Festival announced last week: The first ever and only LGBTQ-themed film festival opens up in Uganda It is a well-known fact that LGBT people in Uganda are not free. When they stand up for their rights, or merely stand out from other people, they often pay a heavy price, with … Continue reading
Ugandan artist Vincent Kyabayinze uses his artwork to appeal for respect for the human rights of LGBTI Ugandans. As director of East African Visual Artists, an independent nonpartisan, human rights advocacy organization, he works to improve the visibility, dignity and rights of LGBTI, sex workers and people living with HIV and Aids. East African Visual … Continue reading
By Kikonyogo Kivumbi and Colin Stewart LGBTI citizens and sex workers in Uganda should watch out for possible threats to their health that could occur after Uganda’s new Industrial Property Act takes effect April 1. At issue is the law’s acceptance of patent rights on new medications and medical equipment, as required under the World … Continue reading
Two opposing demonstrations last week focused on the Anglican Communion’s relationships to LGBTI people, presenting vastly different ideas about how that issue should be resolved. In England, dozens of protesters gathered at Canterbury Cathedral to urge homophobic churches within the Anglican Communion to stop persecuting LGBTI people. In Uganda, hundreds rallied to welcome the return … Continue reading
Keith King, the founder and creative director of Uganda’s Queer Collective, tells about the new Kampala-based organization, which aims to provide a space where queer artists in east Africa can come together and share their work locally, nationally, and internationally. The collective, launched in July, is currently fundraising for its first major project, called “I … Continue reading
