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Pan Africa ILGA urges authorities to investigate anti-LGBTQ, anti-intersex murders

Sheila Lumumba’s death in Kenya in April among cases cited

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(Photo by NASA)

Pan Africa ILGA once again urged authorities across the continent to investigate the murders of LGBTQ and intersex people and to work to reduce violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The organization ā€” which comprises 268 groups that work for LGBTQ and intersex rights across Africa ā€” in a report it issued in July noted a number of high profile murders that have taken place this year. They include Sheila Lumumba, a 25-year-old Kenyan woman who was murdered in April, Pinky Shongwe, a 32-year-old South African who was stabbed to death in March, and Obisike Donald Ibe, a 31-year-old doctor in Nigeria who was slain in January.

Lumumba, a lesbian who was reportedly targeted because of her sexual orientation, was raped before her murder. A South African court in April sentenced two men to life in prison for raping a 19-year-old lesbian woman in 2020

“LGBTIQ+ persons deserve to thrive without fear of being persecuted,” said Pan Africa ILGA Executive Director Nate Brown. “The recent murder of Sheila in Kenya reflects the realities of the LGBTIQ+ community in Africa. It bears mentioning that unfortunately, these are not isolated incidents. They are part of a pattern of attacks, violence and murders against LGBTIQ+ persons across the continent.” 

Pan Africa ILGA board co-chairs Star Rugori and Barbra Wangere at the same time said the organization is in the process of developing a crisis reporting center that will document human rights violations against LGBTQ and intersex people in Africa and advocate for increased protections and respect for them.

“The inhumane violations and slaughter of LGBTIQ+ persons should prompt thorough investigations, aimed at prosecuting those responsible,” said Rugori and Wangere in a joint statement. “Government needs to protect activists and the greater LGBTIQ+ community and to call a halt to the impunity that links this chain of vicious murders. LGBTIQ+ lives matter and should be protected at all costs just like the rest of our African citizens.”

Bishop Sithembele Sipuka of the Catholic Diocese of Mthatha in South Africa during an interview with the Catholic Information Service for Africa said people who identify as LGBTQ or intersex should be treated with dignity.

“The most we can do, for now, is to grapple with it, to try and understand, and to see how to continue treating these people with the dignity that they have because, despite their sexual orientation, they are still children of God, they have the same dignity,” said Sipuka. “I have known people, credible people, authentic people who are gay or lesbian, very intelligent, very integral people, very committed people, very loving people, and so it is difficult to say that thereā€™s something wrong with this one, you know because some of them really are in terms of integrity full of admiration, the way they are as a person that is difficult for me to condemn them, and say that there is something wrong with them.”

Sipuka also touched the issue of marriage equality, which is usually a catalyst for homophobic statements.

“The process and teaching of the church so far is still that marriage is between a man and a woman, but on the other hand, it does not mean at all that we should despise or think of people who are gay and lesbian as any less than heterosexual people,” said Sipuka. 

I cannot say you can go ahead and get married because I donā€™t have the mandate to do that. I do things on the mandate of the church. I am open to hearing more on how pastorally to deal with this matter. I am also open for it to be discussed theologically. In the end, the teachings about the church are always about love even exactly everything that they touch is about love,” added Sipuka.

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Africa

Burundi’s president reiterates LGBTQ people should be stoned in a stadium

Ɖvariste Ndayishimiye first made comment last December

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Burundian President Ɖvariste Ndayishimiye (Screen capture via Gentil Gedeon Official YouTube)

Burundian President Ɖvariste Ndayishimiye on March 8 reiterated his call for LGBTQ people to be stoned in a stadium.

Ndayishimiye made the remark during the commemoration of the International Women’s Day in Gitega, the country’s political capital. He first called for the public stoning of LGBTQ people lastĀ December during a public event.

LGBTQ activists sharply criticized the comments and some international diplomats even threatened to cut economic ties with Burundi. Ndayishimiye, however, seems unmoved by this pushback and maintained that if it meant if his nation would cut economic ties with the developed countries on the basis of his anti-LGBTQ stance then so be it, reaffirming that nothing will change his stance.  

JĆ©sus Dior Kant, a gay man and LGBTQ activist from Burundi, said the president’s remarks are tantamount to publicly calling for the lynching of gay people.

“This violent and anti-LGBT+ rhetoric endangers the lives of many individuals in Burundi and stains the nation’s commitment to human rights,” said Kant. “Such discourse not only incites homophobia and violence but also violates international human rights laws and norms that protect individuals regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Kant also said what Ndayishimiye said now poses a real and immediate threat for LGBTQ people in the country.

“The impact of this statement is not merely rhetorical, it poses a real and immediate threat to the safety and well-being of the LGBT+ community in Burundi,” said Kant. “It encourages hate crimes, promotes discrimination and undermines progress made towards equality and justice. This is not just a problem for the LGBT+ community but a stain on the moral fabric of our global society, reflecting on us all.”

Kant called for Ndayishimiye to immediately withdraw his remarks and commit to protecting the rights of LGBTQ people in the country.

“Your call to stone gay individuals constitutes a blatant violation of human rights and an incitement to violence and discrimination,” said Kant. “We implore you to take the necessary measures to withdraw your statement advocating violence against the LGBT+ community, commit to protecting LGBT+ individuals in Burundi by enforcing laws that guarantee rights and well-being and respecting international human rights conventions, ensuring that Burundi is a nation that respects and values every human life.” 

ClĆ©mentine de Montjoye, a researcher at Human Rights Watch’s Africa Division, said the anti-LGBTQ crackdown in Burundi could become worse, including continued political repression and restrictions on freedom of expression to maintain the governing partyā€™s control.Ā 

“This type of fearmongering is not new in Burundi, where sexual relations between people of the same sex have been illegal since former President Pierre Nkurunziza signed a new criminal code into law in 2009,” noted de Montjove. “The law was a fierce blow to Burundiā€™s LGBT people, who had begun to come out and organize, albeit in small numbers, to demand their rights be respected.”

De Montjove further noted the National Assemblyā€™s human rights commission added the anti-homosexuality provision in the 2009 criminal code at the last minute, apparently under pressure from Nkurunziza, who made statements on television that described homosexuality as a curse.

“Ndayishimiye, who presents himself as a progressive, rights-respecting leader, should be working to reverse this trend rather than stoking more fear and hatred,” said de Montjoye.

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Ugandan appeals court upholds ruling that blocked LGBTQ group from registering

Decision ‘doesn’t faze us’

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(Image by rarrarorro/Bigstock)

A Ugandan appeals court on Tuesday upheld a ruling that prevented an LGBTQ rights group from legally registering in the country.

The Uganda Registration Services Bureau in 2012 refused to legally recognize Sexual Minorities Uganda. The Uganda High Court upheld the decision in 2018, and SMUG appealed it to the country’s Registrar Court of Appeal.

“The LGBTQ community views this ruling as a missed opportunity to address the suppression of their freedom of association, instead focusing on perceived societal norms,” said SMUG in a press release. “It underscores a recurring trend in Ugandan courts, wherein rights of LGBTQ persons are marginalized, further widening the gap between legal protections and lived realities and experiences.”

Katie Hultquist of Outright International inĀ a post to her X accountĀ expressed her personal support for SMUG Executive Director Frank Mugisha, his organization and other activists in the country. Mugisha said SMUG is “fully committed to elevating this challenge to the next level.”Ā 

“After thorough debriefing, we will communicate our next strategic steps,” said Mugisha. “This ruling doesnā€™t faze us.”

The appeals court issued its ruling less than a year after President Yoweri Museveni signed the country’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, which contains a death penalty provision for “aggravated homosexuality.”

The Constitutional Court in December heard arguments in a lawsuit that challenges the law. It is not clear when a ruling will be issued.

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Prominent Angolan activist found dead in his home

Authorities say Carlos Fernandes showed signs he was strangled

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Carlos Fernandes (Photo courtesy of USAID Administrator Samantha Power's X account)

Authorities in Angola on Feb. 26 found a prominent activist dead in his home.

AssociaĆ§Ć£o ƍris Angola in a Facebook post wrote Carlos Fernandes, the group’s executive director, “was found lifeless in his residence” in Luanda, the country’s capital. Angolan media reports indicate authorities continue to investigate his death, but they suspect he was strangled.

His funeral took place on March 1. Activists throughout the country have organized candlelight vigils and other events to honor Fernandes.

“His departure leaves a huge void in our community and a deep mourning in our hearts,” said AssociaĆ§Ć£o ƍris Angola.

Angolan lawmakers in 2020 decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations and banned violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation in the former Portuguese colony. Fernandes was among the activists who championed these advances.

The State Department’s 2022 human rights report notes violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity remains commonplace in Angola. Angolan media reports indicate Fernandes is the second LGBTQ person found dead with signs of strangulation in recent weeks.  

“Carlos Fernandes led the first LGBTQI+ group in Angola, and tirelessly advocated for human rights and ending the threat of HIV/AIDS,” said U.S. Agency for International Development Samantha Power in a March 6 post to her X account.

U.S. Ambassador to Angola and SĆ£o TomĆ© and PrĆ­ncipe Tulinabo Mushingi in a statement noted his embassy “was proud to partner with Mr. Fernandes over the past decade.”

“We are grateful for his important contributions to our programs supporting human rights, fighting against stigma and discrimination, expanding access to health and education resources for LGBTQI+ communities, combatting human trafficking and more,” said Mushingi. “In particular, his contributions to our PEPFAR (Presidentā€™s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) program expanded protection and treatment for HIV/AIDS to previously unreached communities.”

PEPFAR echoed these sentiments, noting Fernandes’ “contributions expanded protection and treatment for HIV/AIDS to previously unreached communities.”

“Carlos Fernandes is remembered as a resolute, strong, welcoming person,” said Mushingi. “As a true pioneer in the fight against discrimination, he created a family among the LGBTQI+ community in Angola, and his legacy as an activist will be carried on by generations of LGBTQI+ Angolans.”  

“We trust that the Angolan authorities will conduct a thorough investigation to ensure that any parties responsible are held accountable,” he added.

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