Category: East Africa
Ugandans face summons over LGBT torture charges
A Ugandan town councilman and a Ugandan prisons officer have been summoned to face criminal charges of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment con [...]
Ugandan candidate Stella Nyanzi appeals for LGBTQ contributions
Dr. Stella Nyanzi, a Ugandan queer scholar running for Parliament, is seeking campaign contributions from gay celebrities Ellen DeGeneres and Sir Elto [...]
Somaliland: ‘Don’t come back, they’ll kill you for being gay’
For 20-year-old Mohamed, a visit to his boyfriend was a dangerous act that risked landing them both in prison and might get them killed. That's gay li [...]
UNAIDS chief: We must focus anti-AIDS efforts on stigmatised minorities
The world's fight against HIV / AIDS needs to focus on homosexuals, sex workers, injecting drug users and migrant populations, says the leader of the [...]
20 Ugandans sue, citing torture during arrests, in prison
Twenty homeless Ugandan youths have sued a Kitalya Prison official and a Ugandan town council chairman who pushed for their arrest March 29 at an LGBT [...]
Sudan drops death penalty for homosexuality
The East African nation of Sudan has removed the death penalty as a punishment for homosexuality, leaving life imprisonment as the maximum penalty for [...]
Ugandan LGBTI activist appointed Pan Africa ILGA program manager
A Ugandan HIV and LGBTI activist, Richard Lusimbo, has been appointed program manager for Pan Africa ILGA, the LGBTI advocacy organization that serves [...]
Released from Ugandan prison, Cosf-20 seek probe of torture
Twenty LGBT Ugandans who spent 50 days on remand in a Ugandan prison on Covid-19-related charges have filled a complaint seeking an investigation of t [...]
LGBT refugees coalition condemns Kenya violence
A coalition of LGBT refugees in East Africa wants authorities in Kenya and globally to speak out against violence meted out against queer refugees in [...]
Uganda: Court awards $1,341 to each of 19 jailed LGBT youths
A High Court judge in Uganda has awarded damages of 5 million Ugandan shillings (about US $1,341) to each of 19 LGBT youths who were imprisoned for 50 [...]
Day 50: Freedom for 19 LGBT Ugandans, finally
Ugandan prison officials finally released 19 LGBT men today, a day after prosecutors dropped charges that the men violated Covid-19 lockdown rules by [...]
Facing no charges, 19 LGBT Ugandans remain in prison
Nineteen members of Uganda's LGBT community are spending a 50th night in prison even though the country's Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) dropped [...]
Stella Nyanzi, Ugandan LGBT ally, arrested at Covid-19 protest
Ugandan LGBT ally and academic scholar Dr Stella Nyanzi was arrested today in Kampala at a public protest demanding food for women and vulnerable peop [...]
Uganda: After 49 days, 19 prisoners ordered to be freed
Uganda's director of public prosecution today dropped all charges against 19 LGBT men who have have been held for 49 days in prison without a bail hea [...]
Day 47: Lawyers finally get to see 19 jailed LGBT Ugandans
Three Ugandan human rights lawyers finally were allowed to see 19 imprisoned LGBT clients today, 47 days after the 19 were arrested.
From t [...]
Kenya: Emergency food, supplies reach LGBTQI refugees
More than 250 LGBTQI refugees at Kakuma Camp in Kenya have received emergency deliveries of donated food and sanitation supplies.
From the [...]
Day 44: Uganda court sets bail hearing for 19 LGBT detainees
A magistrate in Uganda has ordered prison authorities to produce 19 members of the LGBT community who have been on remand since March, charged with vi [...]
Uganda 19 update: 44 days in prison with no lawyers, no bail hearing
A High Court judge said the case is urgent, but a lower court didn't budge, deciding today that 19 LGBT community members will have to stay in prison [...]
Covid-19: Ugandan activists condemn attacks targeting women
Advocates for human rights, LGBT people and sex workers last week denounced raids, arrests, extortion, and attacks by Ugandan police and officials enf [...]
After month of delays, 19 Covid prisoners’ case is ‘urgent’ — Ugandan High Court
A High Court judge in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, has issued a Certificate of Urgency that clears the way for a lower court to hear a case in which [...]
The Uganda 19: Lawyers barred; no chance of bail; 26 days in prison and counting
Ugandan officials have blocked lawyers from communicating with any of the 19 prisoners arrested March 29 at an LGBT homeless shelter near Kampala. The [...]
Desperate LGBTQ refugee hangs himself outside U.N. agency in Kenya
A desperate Ugandan LGBTQ refugee committed suicide outside the U.N. refugee agency in Nairobi on April 13 after he failed to win financial assistance [...]
New Ugandan rules allow HIV care during lockdown
LGBTI and health rights activists in Uganda have welcomed new guidance from Uganda's Ministry of Health about continued uninterrupted access to anti-H [...]
Uganda: Barred from seeing 20 prisoners, lawyers seek their release
Gay-friendly lawyers hope to win release next week for the 20 imprisoned members of the LGBT community awaiting trial on charges of enabling the sprea [...]
Uganda activists fear Covid-19 lockdown imperils AIDS fight
LGBT-rights and health-rights advocates in Uganda fear that the country's new lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19 will disrupt their fight agai [...]
New Uganda archbishop is less extreme but nixes same-sex marriage
The new Archbishop of the Church of Uganda has dropped the most homophobic rhetoric that used to flow from the archbishop's office. Still, he used his [...]
‘Uganda will never accept same-sex marriages’ – outgoing Anglican Archbishop
The homophobic outgoing archbishop of the Church of Uganda, Stanley Ntagali, used his final Sunday service to declare that Uganda will not be intimida [...]
Chaos, gunshots after Uganda court releases LGBT ally
Ugandan LGBTQ ally Stella Nyanzi was ordered freed today after she had served 15 months in prison for insulting Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and [...]
Tanzania’s anti-LGBT crackdown: ‘If we won’t get services we will die’
Tanzania is ignoring effective anti-AIDS strategies and replacing them with a prejudiced anti-gay crackdown. That's the conclusion of a new report fro [...]
Uganda Muslim pleads innocent at trial after marrying a man
A Ugandan Muslim cleric accused of marrying a fellow man -- “unknowingly,” he says -- has pleaded not guilty to charges of having carnal knowledge aga [...]
Uganda HIV stigma drops, but it’s still high against gays
Stigma against HIV+ homosexuals and sex workers in Uganda is almost six times greater than stigma faced by HIV+ Ugandans in general, a new survey foun [...]
Anti-gay Tanzania official blocked by United States
The U.S. Department of State has barred a Tanzanian official who launched an anti-gay crackdown from visiting the United States.
From the Afr [...]
Muslim cleric back in Ugandan jail awaiting trial for marrying a man
Muslim cleric Mohammed Mutumba was sent back to prison today because officials at a Ugandan court couldn't get their signals straight. He will have to [...]
Ugandan LGBT activists celebrate David Kato on Kuchu Memorial Day
Human rights defenders in Uganda have earmarked Jan. 26 as Kuchu Memorial Day to remember and celebrate the life of David Kato and other LGBT human ri [...]
Uganda: Muslim cleric in prison awaiting trial for marrying fellow man
A Ugandan magistrate has sent a Muslim cleric back to prison to await trial on charges of homosexuality despite the imam's protestation that he marrie [...]
U.N. promises one-on-one attention to Kenya refugees
It's wait-and-see time for LGBTQ refugees who took refuge at the main gate of the huge Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya.
From the African Human [...]
Ugandan pastor apologises for sodomy smear
In a rare change of heart among Ugandan evangelical Christian leaders, prominent Pastor Michael Kyazze has publicly apologised to his fellow pastor, R [...]
Uganda: Muslim cleric suspended for marrying fellow man ‘unknowingly’
In a case likely to test the limits of tolerance of same-sex intimacy among Ugandan Muslims, an Islamic religious leader has been suspended from all h [...]
Kenya: Renewed attack on LGBTQ refugees as U.N. refuses to act
The U.N. refugee agency remained frozen in denial of the dangers facing LGBTQ refugees even as anti-gay assailants launched an organized attack yester [...]
U.N. denies water to refugees to move them back into danger
The U.N. refugee agency is denying water to LGBTQ refugees so they will return to locations in the Kakuma Camp in Kenya where they have been repeatedl [...]
Kenya: Call for probe of U.N. agency as anti-gay attacks continue
Attacks on LGBTIQ refugees in Kenya continued as 2019 came to an end amid calls for an investigation into inaction or worse by the U.N. High Commissio [...]
Anti-gay violence remains a danger in Africa and worldwide
Year in review: Despite signs of progress, 2019 remained a dangerous time for LGBTQ people in Africa and worldwide.
In the United S [...]
Gay refugees in Kenya: Repeatedly attacked, unable to leave
On Christmas Day, LGBT refugees in Kenya again were the targets of homophobic attacks. It was just the latest outrage against LGBT asylum-seekers who [...]
Activist Stella Nyanzi in good spirits after a year in prison
Imprisoned Ugandan LGBTQ ally Stella Nyanzi remains in good spirits after spending a year behind bars for her rude opposition to Ugandan President Yow [...]
U.S. ambassadors seek repeal of 69 nations’ anti-gay laws
U.S. ambassadors are promoting LGBTQ rights worldwide even as gay-rights activists blast the Trump administration for anti-LGBTQ domestic policies.
[...]
Uganda challenger Bobi Wine supports gay rights
Popular singer and Ugandan presidential challenger Bobi Wine (Robert Kyagulanyi) this week spoke out in defense of LGBT rights, an issue that divides [...]
When will LGBTIQ Ugandan prisoners be released?
Lawyers for imprisoned LGBTIQ Ugandans hope that tomorrow, Nov. 26, will see the release of the last 20 people detained at Luzira Prison in the wake o [...]
Uganda, you promised to protect LGBTIQ people, so why arrest 125 of us?
In the wake of a raid that arrested 125 people partying at a gay-friendly bar, LGBTIQ activists are calling on Ugandan officials to make good on a rec [...]
Dozens in Uganda prison after anti-LGBTI nightclub raid
Ugandan authorities have sent 67 people to Luzira Prison to await court action related to their arrest during a Nov. 10 raid on the gay-friendly Ram b [...]
Ugandan vies for global parliament post where LGBT rights are shunned
A Ugandan has been nominated to a leadership position at the Inter-Parliamentary Union a year after Uganda persuaded the IPU never to discuss LGBT rig [...]