Category: East Africa
Senior Uganda government health rights ally Prof. Anthony Mbonye has died
Prof. Anthony Mbonye, the former Director General of Uganda's Health Services who has been instrumental in advocating for healthcare access for homose [...]
Gay and trans criminalization fuels HIV spread: UNAIDS
Criminalization of transgender people, homosexuality, and sex work holds back global advances in the fight against HIV/AIDS, according to a new report [...]
Times are changing in Uganda: Parliament gets a progressive clerk
In what appears to be a positive shift in state policy thinking, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has appointed Adolf Mwesige, a liberal and progress [...]
Trans Ugandans issue desperate food appeal as lockdown bites harder
Transgender rights defenders in Uganda have issued a desperate appeal for food for the transgender community amid the ongoing COVID-19 countrywide loc [...]
AIDS conference organisers silent as violence sweeps host South Africa
Organisers of the 2021 International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA) have remained silent about prospects for [...]
Ugandan clinic denies using donor funds to offer ‘conversion therapy’ to gays
A Ugandan clinic at the center of accusations of covertly using donor funds to offer "conversion therapy" to turn homosexuals straight has issued a st [...]
Uganda lockdown hampers rural LGBT access to life-saving HIV/AIDS drugs
Gay rights activists in Uganda are reporting difficulty in delivering life-saving anti-retroviral drugs to HIV-positive community members during the o [...]
Anti-gay “conversion therapy” at African clinics run by aid-funded groups
Staff at health clinics funded by the US and international donors in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania offer secret "conversion therapy" that attempts to "c [...]
Activists cheer new University of York college named for David Kato
Gay rights activists in Uganda have welcomed a decision by the University of York in England to name a new college after Ugandan human rights defender [...]
Gay Ugandans warned to abide by Covid-19 restrictions
Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), the umbrella LGBTIQ+ entity in Uganda, wants its community members to protect themselves from Covid-19 by following a [...]
Uganda court OKs bail for 42 arrestees
A Ugandan magistrate yesterday approved release on bail for 42 people arrested May 31 at a party that police thought was a gay wedding.
Get [...]
IDAHOT 2021: Foreign missions express solidarity with LGBTQI+ Ugandans
Diplomatic missions of the European Union, the United States and the United Nations came out strongly in support of LGBTQI+ people as Uganda and the i [...]
Uganda police arrest 44 at alleged gay wedding
Responding to a report of an alleged gay wedding under way yesterday, police in Kampala, Uganda, raided a party at the Happy Family youth shelter [...]
Uganda: LGBTQI access to health services remains problematic
A study by Uganda's Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF) has revealed that LGBTQI persons in Uganda continue to face barriers in accessi [...]
Homophobic leader Rebecca Kadaga dropped by Uganda Parliament
The homophobic Speaker of Ugandan Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, has been dropped by her ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) Party and replaced by [...]
Activists endorse tactics for fighting Uganda’s new anti-gay bill
Gay rights activists in Uganda have issued an advisory on how local and international supporters of LGBTQ+ rights should work to blunt the effects of [...]
U.K. plans global conference to fight anti-gay bias worldwide
The United Kingdom has scheduled a global conference for next year to "tackle" inequality facing LGBT people around the world. The conference chair sa [...]
Ugandan President Museveni hints he may not sign new anti-gay bill
Amid pressure from the United States and the United Nations, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has reportedly hinted that he may reject the recently p [...]
U.N. agencies object to Uganda’s new anti-gay bill
The two United Nations agencies combating AIDS and human rights violations have raised strong objections to Uganda's newly passed anti-gay bill.
[...]
Convicted homosexuals to be included in Uganda sex offender registry
Ugandans convicted of having sex with people of the same sex would be included in a new sex offender registry, following the passage by Parliament of [...]
Uganda gay activists urge president to reject new anti-gay bill
LGBT human rights defenders in Uganda want President Yoweri Museveni to refuse to sign into law the Sexual Offences Bill 2019, which Parliament passe [...]
Parliament of Uganda passes new anti-gay bill
Uganda's parliament has passed a new bill aimed at restricting Ugandans' sexual activity.
Get a free subscription: Keep informed and support [...]
Meet the trans Ugandan activist fighting for rights on social media
“If you want to know that [Keem] is a man, just snatch away his phone and run,” taunted an Internet troll under Keem Love Black’s new profile picture [...]
Ugandan church launches ‘All Are Equal Before God’ campaign
Adonai International Ministries, a Uganda-based LGBTQI-led church, has launched a campaign dubbed “All Are Equal Before God".
Get a free su [...]
Trans Ugandans react to new UNAIDS film about tolerance
A new short film released by UNAIDS to promote tolerance and acceptance of transgender identities is earning high praise from trans Ugandans.
[...]
Retired homophobic archbishop Ntagali apologises for adultery
The retired homophobic archbishop of the Church of Uganda, Henry Ntagali, has publicly apologised for committing adultery, addressing his remarks to C [...]
Kenya: Anger and horror over death of LGBTQ+ arson victim
Activists and U.N. officials are mourning the death of Ugandan LGBTQ+ refugee Chriton "Trinidad" Atuhwera, who died April 12 from burns he suffered a [...]
Uganda: Pop star Akon misses ‘200% opportunity’ to boost gay rights
Prominent Senegalese-American pop star Akon missed an opportunity to raise the issue of persecution and discrimination against LGBT people in Africa w [...]
Uganda: ‘LBQ Womxn’ need equal access to health
Freedom and Roam Uganda, a lesbian, bisexual and queer (LBQ) organisation, is about to publish a book urging Ugandan human rights and health-care righ [...]
New Tanzania president begins positive policy shifts
In a positive sign of policy shifts, Tanzania's new president, Samia Hassan Suluhu has lifted a ban on media houses closed by her homophobic predecess [...]
In documentary, Ugandan religious leaders preach love for LGBTQI people
The activist Ugandans at East Africa Visual Artists (EAVA Artists) have unveiled a video documentary featuring clerics from different faith traditions [...]
Human rights violations against queer and trans Ugandans on the increase
Violence, discrimination and other human rights violations against sex workers and queer and transgender people in Uganda increased in 2019, the lates [...]
Church of Uganda Bishop Senyonjo reflects on 20 years of LGBT rights advocacy
In 2000, Church of Uganda Bishop Christopher Senyonjo took in two LGBT youths who had been rejected by their own families, schools and communities bec [...]
Break-in at offices of Ugandan LGBT ally lawyer Nicholas Opiyo
Unknown people on Thursday, March 18, broke into the offices of Chapter Four Uganda and prominent gay rights ally Nicholas Opiyo, who leads that human [...]
Kenya: Victims of Kakuma arson attack airlifted to Nairobi hospital
In a rare change of heart, the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has airlifted the victims of a March 15 homophobic fire attac [...]
Hope for change in Tanzania after death of homophobic president
Human rights activists expressed hope for change in Tanzania now that former vice president Samia Suluhu Hassan has been sworn in as the country's fir [...]
‘Kill the Gays’ Bill author running for Deputy Speaker of Ugandan parliament
David Bahati, the homophobic Ugandan legislator, has declared his intention to contest the position of Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda when [...]
EU calls for urgent revision of Uganda’s anti-LGBTQI laws
The European Union strongly criticized Uganda’s harsh laws against homosexuality, calling for their urgent revision and a strategy to combat discrimin [...]
At Kakuma Camp, Kenya offers to guard LGBTQ+ refugees, but …
Officials of Kenya's refugee agency promised to deploy guards to protect LGBTQ+ refugees at Kakuma Refugee Camp after a meeting on Feb. 19 at which re [...]
Plea to U.N. agency: Save LGBTQ refugees from violent Kakuma Camp
Two LGBTQ advocacy organisations have called on the UN Refugee Agency to protect LGBTQ refugees experiencing violence in the Kakuma Refugee Camp.
[...]
Controversial Ugandan ally Stella Nyanzi flees to Kenya
Ugandan LGBTQ+ ally, academic and controversial political activist Stella Nyanzi has fled to Kenya for safety, citing persecution by President Yoweri [...]
Uganda: Electoral defeat for 2 notoriously anti-gay officials
In the Jan. 14 election, Ugandan voters rejected two politicians who are notorious for homophobic attacks against the LGBT community.
Get a f [...]
Uganda loses liberal judge who asked ‘What’s wrong with lesbian sex?’
A Ugandan high court judge who questioned hate and bigotry has passed on.
Subscribe for free. See more from the African Human Rights Media [...]
10 years on: Celebrating David Kato, other LGBT Ugandans we’ve lost
Gay rights activists and human rights defenders in Uganda today marked the 10th Annual Kuchu Remembrance Day in memory of David Kato Kisule (RIP) and [...]
LGBT Ugandans: Our health depends on trans nominee in U.S.
Gay rights activists in Uganda have welcomed U.S. President Joe Biden's nomination of Dr. Rachel Levine for the position of assistant secretary of hea [...]
Ugandan archbishop banned; ‘adultery is as bad as homosexuality’
Stanley Ntagali, the homophobic retired archbishop of the Church of Uganda, has been banned from carrying out any priestly work following the revelati [...]
Gay rights ally Stella Nyanzi concedes defeat in Uganda race
Dr Stella Nyanzi, a Ugandan gay ally and academic researcher who resigned her job at the country's top Makerere University to compete in the recently [...]
Homophobic Tanzanians hit with last-minute U.S. visa restrictions
Outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo used some of his last minutes in office to impose visa restrictions on Tanzanian officials "responsible f [...]
Ugandan activists dejected about homophobic Museveni’s grip on power
Ugandan human rights activists are trying to come to grips with the declaration that President Yoweri Museveni easily won re-election last week after [...]
2020 was a ‘dark’ year for the LGBTQI community in Uganda
The safety of sexual minority communities in Uganda has been a big concern for years, but 2020 will go down as one of their "darkest" years, especiall [...]