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Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania move to further curtail LGBTQ rights

Ugandan MPs considering another anti-homosexuality bill

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The flags of Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. (Photos via Bigstock)

Three East African countries are tightening the noose on the so-called promotion of homosexuality through new laws and banning LGBTQ-specific content.

Lawmakers in Uganda and Kenya have introduced bills that would curtail the promotion of LGBTQ-specific activities with stiff penalties above their respective penal codes that criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations. Tanzania has recently banned LGBTQ-specific books.

Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2022, would sentence anyone who identifies with ā€œlesbianism, gay, transgender, queer or any other sexual or gender identity contrary to the binary categories of male and femaleā€ to 10 years in prison. 

The proposed law that was set to be tabled any time after its postponement on Wednesday for further preparation would impose a 5-year prison sentence or a fine of around $27,000 or both to anyone who is found guilty of promoting homosexuality in Uganda. The measure’s definition of promotion includes production, procuring, marketing, broadcasting, disseminating using electronic devices, publishing LGBTQ pornography and funding or sponsoring homosexuality. 

Ugandaā€™s latest move follows a growing number of LGBTQ-specific activities in the country that include the painting of rainbow colors at a children’s park in January that a local council removed because it went “against the norms of the people of Uganda.ā€ 

Moreover, Ugandaā€™s NGO Bureau, which monitors NGOs that operate in the country, in January recommended a new law that ā€œprohibits the promotion of LGBTQ activities in the country.ā€

Also, the move results from the Church of Englandā€™s decision earlier this year to allow its priests to bless same-sex couples. ThisĀ angeredĀ the Anglican Church of Uganda andĀ MuslimsĀ who called upon MPs to crack down on homosexuality through legislation.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā 

Anyone convicted of providing a house, a brothel or any other place in which LGBTQ-specific activities can take place could face up to seven years in jail under the new bill.

ā€œWhere the offender is a corporate body or a business or an association or a non-governmental organization, on conviction its certificate of registration shall be canceled and the director, proprietor or promoter shall be liable to two years imprisonment on conviction,” the bill reads. 

Anyone found guilty of conducting a same-sex marriage could face up to two years in prison and the business that hosts such a ceremony could lose their business license.

The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has cautioned Ugandaā€™s Parliament against proceeding with the bill, while noting that the ā€œState has a duty to ensure full protection of all people from violence and discrimination regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.ā€ 

Frank Mugisha, a Ugandan LGBTQ and intersex rights activist, has raised concerns about a rising number of homophobic attacks committed by people and security officials in the country since January.

ā€œThe LGBTQ community continues to face a harsh operational environment, an increase in direct and indirect attacks, and surveillance in its spaces. This has made it difficult for LGBTQ organizations to do advocacy and deliver services to the communities because of the fear of being arrested by security agencies,ā€ Mugisha said in a statement. 

He has documented dozens of harassment and assault incidents to LGBTQ and intersex people, including one on February 18 where a transgender woman residing in Kampala, the Ugandan capital, was assaulted at a friendā€™s party after discovering her gender.       

In Kenya, a bill that would further criminalize and punish people who engage in homosexuality and promote it is poised to be introduced in the country’s Parliament. 

ā€œThe proposed law intended to further the provision of Article 45 (2) of the Constitution of Kenya and to protect the family will not only consolidate the existing laws relating to unnatural sexual acts but also increase the penalty for those convicted of engaging or promoting the acts to imprisonment for life or consummate sentence,ā€ reads theĀ notification.Ā “Article 45 (2) of the constitution provides that every adult has the right to marry a person of the opposite sex based on the free consent of the parties to start a family, which is recognized as the natural and fundamental unit of society.”

Last week’s Supreme Court ruling that allows an LGBTQ and intersex rights group, the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, to register as an NGO after years of court battles with the countryā€™s NGOs Board has elicited criticism from religious leaders, lawmakers, the president and Kenyans themselves.

ā€œWe respect our court’s decisions but in Kenya, we have our culture, traditions, and religious beliefs. We canā€™t go the road of women marrying women or men marrying men. Same-sex marriage will happen somewhere else and not in Kenya,ā€ President William Ruto stated on March 2 at a womenā€™s function in Nairobi, the country’s capital.

Pressure is mounting on the seven Supreme Court judges to reverse the ruling, with Attorney General Justin Muturi vowing to challenge it. Muslim and Christian groups have planned a March 17 protest against the ruling.

The ruling has put the judges in a bind since a Supreme Court decision is final and cannot be appealed in any court in the country. The East African Court of Justice, which is based in Arusha, Tanzania, can consider an appeal.

Critics of the ruling argue that the queer group does not deserve an association, since Kenya’s penal code criminalizes homosexuality and the Supreme Court decision gives leeway for legalizing it from an appeal pending in the countryā€™s second highest court.

Thirteen groups that include the American Jewish World Service, Amnesty International-Kenya, the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and the Kenya Human Rights Commission on Thursday issued a joint statement in support of the ruling. 

“The judgment has demonstrated the great strides that Kenya has taken to promote the rule of law, democracy, and human rights,” it reads.

The groups insist that granting the LGBTQ and intersex community the right to form associations is in line with the spirit of Kenya’s constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression under Article 33 and freedom of association under Article 27 without any form of discrimination.

Tanzania, which also criminalizes same-sex relations, has joined neighboring Kenya and Uganda in restricting LGBTQ and rights. 

President Samia Suluhu last month described LGBTQ rights as ā€œimported culturesā€ as she cautioned university students against it. 

The Tanzanian government recently banned a popular series of childrenā€™s books from schools that contain LGBTQ-specific content. 

ā€œThe Diary of a Wimpy Kidā€ by U.S. author Jeff Kinney and another book, ā€œSex Education: A Guide to Lifeā€ were removed from libraries in public and private schools. The government has also committed to increasing its surveillance on books with LGBTQ-specific content.

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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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Africa

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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