And Here It Ends - For Now

Kasha Jacqueline and other LGBT campaigners
jubilant at the news.

We are taking a break at Kill the Bill in light of Ugandan court overturns anti-gay law that halted Western aid today. 

The new ruling, which can be appealed, voids a statute signed into law by the president in February and which had broad support in the religiously conservative east African nation.

Ugandan MPs are sure to move to reintroduce the bill, this time in such a way that it cannot be thrown out on a technicality, but for now we take a deep breath and smile.

Lokodo Case Ruling

Holy Mother. Hands up who honestly thought we'd ever live to see this day?

After the trial was delayed not once, not twice, not thrice, but four times, we just assumed it was never going to happen. 

But it has.

And the ruling is exactly as you'd expect:

Rights Group Says Ugandan Court Decision Violates Basic Freedoms

Human Rights Watch has condemned a recent Ugandan court ruling against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activists, whose workshop on rights advocacy was broken up two years ago by the government.  HRW says the ruling is part of a pattern of intimidation of activists. 

In February 2012, Uganda’s Minister for Ethics and Integrity, Simon Lokodo, stormed into a human rights workshop run by gay and lesbian activists in Entebbe and shut it down. 

The organizers sued Lokodo, arguing that the workshop was intended to develop advocacy and leadership skills.  But on Wednesday Uganda’s High Court ruled against the activists, saying Lokodo had acted in the public interest by protecting Ugandan moral standards.

Rights groups weren't the only ones saying it's unconstitutional. Credit where credit is due for Ugandan MP Fox Odoi. We dearly hope he still has a job, he's far too good for this parliament.

No doubt this ruling had an effect on the closure of LGBT workshops.

Ban on LGBT Workshops

After closing down the Refugee Law Project, Uganda's parliament has now banned all LGBT workshops, including those to do with HIV/AIDS Awareness:

Ugandan LGBT rights workshop ‘promotes illegal same sex acts’

The Ugandan High Court has endorsed the government closure of a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights workshop, saying that workshop participants were ‘promoting’ or ‘inciting’ same-sex acts. The judgement relied on a single statement from an ‘ex-gay’ who said that the organisation was ‘training homosexual youths to safely engage in the same-sex practices by distributing condoms.’

Let's just rewind in time to January 2013. SMUG were suing the hilariously titled Minister for Ethics & Integrity for arresting people at an LGBT workshop, long before the law was passed. The point disputed was that every citizen has the constitutional right to assembly. Only, SMUG never got to take Lokodo to trial, because the judge delayed the case long enough for the pending anti-gay bill to pass, criminalising gay people. And, of course, criminals don't have a right to assembly.

Sneaky little super villains.

[CORRECTION: No sooner did we post this, then we saw the ruling. Apparently the case wasn't dropped, but the results were as disappointing as you'd expect.]

Students Arrested

Following hot on the heels of Kenya's gay roundup and the first arrests of Ugandans under the Bahati Bill:

Students Arrested for 'Promoting Homosexuality'

The newspaper reports that those arrested include a teacher, two students, and two businessmen. Police reportedly arrested the group over the course of a week, after locals informed police of their suspicions that the group was "carrying out clandestine movements in both primary and secondary schools in the district, luring the pupils and students" into homosexuality...

Wow, a police officer's job must be so easy in Uganda. People just tell you who to arrest, no need for evidence or anything like that. Almost as good as the 1600s in Europe when you could just point accusingly at someone and shout 'witch'!

Who says Uganda isn't at the forefront of African development?

Uganda Forcibly Closes Refugee Law Project

An NGO based at Makerere University, which:

[W]orks to ensure that all people access, recover and enjoy their sexual and gender being and rights, and to raise global awareness of the close relationship between violations of sexuality and gender, and patterns of forced migration.

Has been forced to cease operations under the new anti-homosexuality bill.

Uganda stops refugee group's activities for being a threat to anti-gay law

The Ugandan government has restricted the activities of a group accused of ‘promoting homosexuality, a crime under the Anti-Homosexuality Act.

The Refugee Law Project (RLP), whose office hosts the coalition of activists opposing the anti-LGBTI law, has been under investigation since mid-March...

RLP confirmed it had received letters from the Minister of Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees and other government officials ordering it to suspend some of its activities.

Another article here: Ugandan Gov't Investigates Refugee Nonprofit for 'Promoting Homosexuality'

Even before the bill was assented, the government was closing down schools for reports of homosexuality, and the bill's requirement that you must report anyone you suspect of being gay creates a fundamental failure in doctor-patient confidentiality, leading to a lack of health care for LGBTI people.

Africa Adopts Resolution Against Anti-LGBT Violence

After so much doom and gloom, finally a ray of hope!

African Human Rights Commission Adopts Continent’s First Resolution Against Anti-LGBT Violence

The African Union’s human rights commission has adopted a resolution condemning violence against LGBTI people, marking the first time an African human rights body has held that LGBTI people are protected under human rights law. The move is a direct rebuke to member states Nigeria and Uganda, which both recently passed extreme anti-LGBTI measures.

“It is a big deal,” said Monica Tabengwa, a longtime lesbian activist from Botswana who now works for Human Rights Watch in Nairobi. The resolution lacks any enforcement mechanism, but in a context where many African leaders are sanctioning anti-LGBTI violence while arguing that LGBTI rights are an invention of the U.S. and Europe, it sends a critical message.

“There has never been anything like this before. It will be very symbolic,” Tabengwa said. “It’s a homegrown resolution saying [LGBTI people] are human beings … it’s about [protecting] people’s lives.”

This is indeed a huge deal. Uganda, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Cameroon - can no longer claim LGBTI people are not African, or that promoting gay rights is a form of Western imperialism. This is the African Human Rights Commission, and they stay STOP!

Two Stand Trial

Jackson Mukasa and Kim Mukisa

Last month we reported that the first LGBT Ugandans were soon to stand trial under the anti-homosexual laws.

Ugandan men first to face trial under severe anti-gay laws: The two men face criminal penalties after being charged with engaging in sex acts 'against the order of nature'

A Ugandan court has begun hearing the case against two men accused of engaging in gay sex – the first trial of homosexuals in the country since a severe law was passed in February.

The detained Ugandan couple, Kim Mukisa, 24, and Jackson Mukasa, 19, appeared before a magistrate's court in the capital, Kampala, on Wednesday to apply for bail after prosecutors said they had enough evidence to proceed with the case.

Funny Uganda's police can figure out what's going on behind people's closed bedroom doors, but not where all the money is going with regard to their corrupt political officials. 

#BetterUseofTime ?


[UPDATE: Here is a rundown of their situation and how it progressed to court.]

Torment to Tyranny

Sexual Minorities Uganda have published a groundbreaking report charting the National LGBTI Security Team, documenting the rise of LGBT persecution in Rwanda from December 2013 to May 2014. Download the full report as a PDF:

From Torment to Tyranny: Enhanced Persecution in Uganda Following the Passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2014 

[UPDATE: The Guardian have picked up on this report: Uganda anti-gay law led to tenfold rise in attacks on LGBTI people, report says: Passing of anti-homosexuality act has 'given permission to a culture of extreme and violent homophobia', says Sexual Minorities Uganda]

First LGBT People to Stand Trial

The first trials of LGBT people under the new anti-homosexuality act are due to begin next month.

Ugandan men to go on trial on homosexuality charges: Kim Mukisa and Jackson Mukasa face life imprisonment if found guilty in first such case since introduction of new anti-gay law

They are the first Ugandans to face trial on homosexuality charges, with an earlier case collapsing before it reached court and the majority of those arrested paying stiff fines to avoid prison.

The laws of Uganda are as corrupt as its politicians.

We can only imagine how afraid and alone Kim and Jackson must be feeling right now. We wish them strength. The world is watching.

Fear and Arrests Follow Museveni's Bill

The arrests have already begun of gay people in Uganda:

Two men, 22 and 18, tortured over gay sex in Uganda

Two men were arrested and tortured after they were accused of having gay sex in Uganda...

Under the new anti-homosexuality law, the two face life imprisonment.

[UPDATE: more on that story.]

Meanwhile, there are brave gay Ugandans who feel they have little left to lose, and are rallying to protest the bill:

Gay Ugandans Fight Discriminatory Law: Activists Emerge to Press Advertisers, International Community to Hit Nation in Pocketbook Over Discriminatory Measure

After a local newspaper in February named him as a homosexual, Sam Opio went underground. 

He stopped strolling in the park with his boyfriend. He stopped going to nightclubs. He even scaled back appearances at the office of his local activist organization, Queer Group Uganda. 

"I had to lay low," says the 31-year-old Mr. Opio, who lives as a woman... 

But rather than stay in hiding, Mr. Opio and his fellow activists took the risky step of fighting back. They lobbied advertisers through online campaigns urging them to stop doing business with the tabloid. Within a week, Orange Uganda Ltd., a subsidiary of French telecommunications company France Télécom SA, pulled advertising out of the paper. Days later, Multichoice Group, a South Africa-based cable-television company, did the same. Others followed suit.

Whilst Museveni celebrates, people suffer.

Fox Odoi Speaks Out

Thoroughly Decent Human Being: Fox Odoi

Shortly before Museveni signed the bill into law in February, West Budama North MP Fox Odoi pleaded with him not to. There have been only a handful of Ugandan politicians brave enough to raise their voices against the persecution of gay people, and his is one of the loudest. 

Former Vice President Dr. Wandira-Kazibwe is another, and together they are launching a campaign to challenge the constitutional legality of the bill.

Before it became legally mandatory to persecute gay people, Sexual Minorities Uganda were in the process of suing Simon Lokodo, laughingly called the Minister for Ethics and Integrity, for infringing on gay people's constituted human right to assembly. The case was predictably postponed again and again until the bill was passed into law and it became a criminal offence to admit to being gay. At which point the prosecution naturally dwindled.

Well, Fox Odoi and his free-thinking human rights defenders are putting forward a similar case: that the Bahati Bill is illegal because it is unconstitutional. In the following article, he outlines their case:

Uganda: Fox Odoi - Why the Anti-Gay Law Is Illegal

We argue, under the first ground of our petition, that Parliament was not legally constituted to deal with and pass this legislation. The problem is that if you do not have sufficient quorum, you do not have Parliament to deliberate on any matter. 

The rationale is if we have a very important issue that binds us as a country, it should as much as possible have all shades of opinion that represent the country. So, if you allow Parliament to pass a law without quorum, it will make it permissible for two people sitting to make a decision or law or constitutional amendment that will bind the whole country. 

I was not in Parliament that afternoon but I know for a fact that the Rt Hon Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi raised the question of quorum and I know that when the issue of quorum is raised, the presiding officer is supposed to call the register to ascertain by carrying out a head count. This was not done... 

We are also contending that by the law criminalising consensual same sex among adults, it contravenes equal protection before the law and is discriminatory and as such in violation of Article 21. What happens between two consenting adults should not be a concern to their neighbour.

These guys are our heroes. It cannot be underestimated how brave it is to stand up against this, whether you're risking your freedom as a political activist, or your career as a politician. These are hugely courageous men and women. Show them your support whenever and however you can.

Ugandan LGBTI Campaigners Challenge Bill

Dr Speciosa Wandira-Kazibwe

Whilst Ugandan former Vice President Dr. Speciosa Wandira-Kazibwe spoke out against the bill:

“In recent months, I have engaged with governments, public officials and civil society leaders in Africa, where we are seeing a dangerous resurgence of discrimination and homophobia in some countries.  

In Uganda, I highlighted to President Museveni that the criminalization of homosexuality only serves to fuel stigma and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons and risks undermining the national AIDS response, which is otherwise making significant progress.”  

Kazibwe further said in her meetings with members of Parliament, she expressed extreme caution that the passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act would have negative public health implications and serious consequences for Uganda’s international reputation and support from donors.

The anti-homosexuality law was being challenged in court:

Rights activists have petitioned Uganda's Constitutional Court in a case challenging the validity of the country's new anti-gay measure. 

The activists — under a group called Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law — filed the petition Tuesday in the presence of some prominent Ugandan gay activists. 

Nicholas Opiyo, a Ugandan lawyer who helped to draft the petition, said the new anti-gay law violates the country's constitution because it encourages the discrimination of people based on sexual orientation. He said it will be several months, even years, before judges reach a decision in the case.

Probably about as many years as it'll take to bring Scott Lively to trial in America. The wheels of justice turn slowly, if they turn at all.

Death and Eviction Follows Signing of Bill

It begins.

The above is a letter of eviction to a Ugandan lesbian.

Ugandan Lesbian Evicted, Landlord Cites 'Jail the Gays' Law: In a handwritten note, the landlord admits that the tenant is a 'wonderful woman,' but says she is 'depraved' for being a lesbian.

A Ugandan lesbian says she was served with an eviction notice on Monday, and while the landlord acknowledged that she had been a "wonderful" tenant, he cited the country's recently enacted antigay law as the reason she could no longer rent her home.  

"You have been a wonderful woman as well as a tenant who hasn’t given me any trouble over rent whatsoever," wrote the landlord in Lugandan, according to a translation by Ugandan LGBT blog SebaSpace. "But due to what is going on in the country [regarding the anti-gay law] and your way you and your friends behave, I am sorry but I think you are a depraved person who I can no longer tolerate in my house. I also cannot fight against the government. For that reason, I want you out of my house by March 30, 2014, peacefully."

Following on from Red Pepper and the Ugandan media's increased outing of people they say are LGBTI, at least one person has been killed.

LGBT Ugandans Attacked, Killed as Tabloid Lists 'Top 200 Homos': At least one Ugandan suspected of being gay has been killed just one day after the Anti-Homosexuality Bill was signed into law and a tabloid published the names of 'Uganda's Top 200 Homos.'

At least one gay person has been killed in Uganda since the nation's president signed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill into law Monday, imposing lifetime prison sentences for certain LGBT people and criminalizing anyone who supports LGBT equality or "promotes homosexuality." 

Ugandan LGBT activists report that a suspected gay couple was attacked after a local tabloid published the names of 200 LGBT people labeled by the tabloid as "Uganda's Top Homos." One of the people was killed in the attack, while other prominent LGBT activists have gone into hiding to avoid becoming victims themselves.  

And the world stood by and watched.

Horrors of Uganda

The 18 horrors Ugandans now face under the anti-gay law

The Anti-Homosexuality Bill was so controversial few saw it before it became law. Now we know what LGBTI Ugandans really have to face...

A chilling outline of what the bill entails for ordinary citizens of Uganda, including seven years in jail for 'conspiring' to have gay sex, rewards for 'victims' who report gay sex, and life imprisonment for gay sex, including hand jobs.

As the World Bank joins the list of donors who are cutting aid to Uganda, and David Bahati maintains that going bankrupt is a small price to pay for the pleasure of persecuting LGBTI people, this article by Chelsea Matiash takes a closer look at Uganda’s Outlaws: Life in the LGBT Community of Kampala: 

The community, already living a discreet existence, had gone further underground. One group burned its paperwork and campaign posters, and many individuals toned down their online presence, changing their names or photos on Facebook or deleting Twitter or Instagram accounts. Scores of people have left the country, according to activists who remain. Many went to neighboring Kenya; though it also has antigay laws, police are far less aggressive about enforcing them. Others have gone to Rwanda, Burundi or South Africa.

Some thought-provoking photographs included in the article, reminiscent of Living in Fear.

Anti Gay Bill Signed into Law

The depth and breadth of ignorance from Uganda's President Meseveni is breathtaking. 

He has just signed the Bahati Bill into law.

You can watch his speech on the BBC - it is chilling to think he is in charge of an entire country.

Such an appalling, uneducated man, backed up by a cabinet of appallingly uneducated religious fundamentalists.

But we're not going to focus on them. We're going to focus on the brave men and women fighting the bill, and the ongoing battle for equality and human rights.

More coverage on Melanie Natha's blog.

This is just the beginning, not the end.

Museveni Consults US on Gay Science

From the guys who brought you the CAMOVA Brief, new, improved Presidential Brief, with added homophobia and extra ignorance: 

Uganda MPs falsified gay report: The ministerial team tasked with advising President Yoweri Museveni on homosexuality falsified and twisted information in an expert scientific report.

Documents in the possession of the Mail & Guardian show that the Ugandan ministerial task team asked by the president to advise him on homosexuality falsified the information contained in the report given by medical and psychological experts, twisting it to show that homosexuality should indeed be further criminalised.

Seriously, anyone is the least bit surprised by this?

Still, it's led to: 

Uganda's Yoweri Museveni puts anti-gay legislation on hold: Yoweri Museveni challenges US scientists to advise on whether homosexuality is caused by nature or nurture

President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda has put harsh anti-gay legislation on hold while he seeks advice from American scientists on whether homosexuality is caused by nature or nurture.

The obvious problem we have here, is that they're expecting scientists to talk to religious nutcases.

(click for a clearer view of the problem)

Did Museveni Veto the Bill?

In light of yesterday's news that President Museveni is going to sign the Anti-Gay Bill, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé says Uganda’s anti-homosexuality bill has ‘serious human rights implications’.

“I strongly urge the Ugandan authorities to reject the bill and ensure the human rights and dignity of all people in Uganda,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)... 

The bill also has public health implications, UNAIDS, said citing studies which show that when gay people face discrimination including abuse, incarceration and prosecution, they are less likely to seek HIV testing, prevention and treatment services. 

In 2012, there were 1.5 million people living with HIV in Uganda and 140,000 new HIV infections, UNAIDS reported. 

Globally, gay men are around 13 times more likely to become infected with HIV than the general population, emphasizing the urgent need to ensure safe access to HIV prevention and treatment services for all people everywhere.

We've highlighted in the past that the Bahati Bill denies HIV/AIDS care to LGBTI people, and a supporting statement was issued by UHSPA in December.

Meanwhile, a very interesting article by Kapya Kaoma questions the earlier report that Museveni was planning to veto the bill.

Did Uganda’s President Really Veto the Anti-Gay Bill?

The answer, apparently, is no:

Museveni did not say that he won’t sign the bill into law. Rather, he promised to take the issue to his party’s caucus, which met on January 24. At the meeting, the caucus wanted Museveni to sign the bill, but, according to the Daily Monitor, Museveni pushed back by demanding “scientific evidence” to establish whether or not gays are abnormal... 

Like others concerned about human rights for all people, I read Museveni’s letter with interest. But after reading it, I realized that Museveni is hedging, clearly playing to both sides. As such, people can interpret the letter according to their own views—as we are now clearly seeing.

Watch this space for further updates...

Museveni to Sign Bill

Tweet just in from @wamala_dennis under the hashtag #AHBUganda:

The president bows to local pressure and agrees to sign the bill.

Followed by a flurry of articles, none of which look good.

Summed up: Ugandan President To Sign Anti-Homosexuality Bill

Museveni said that he would sign the bill if he was offered scientific proof that homosexuality is not genetic... a spokesperson for the government of Uganda, confirmed Friday that Museveni will sign the bill after “medical experts presented a report that homosexuality is not genetic but a social behavior” recently.

More:

Museveni says he plans to sign anti-gay law after all

Museveni to assent the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill into law

This is despite valiant efforts by Ugandan MP Fox Odoi to prevent the bill passing: 

Uganda MP pleads with president to stop anti-gay law

Fox Odoi, a member of parliament for West Budama North, has written to President Yoweri Museveni urging him to reject the bill.  

In his letter sent yesterday (13 February) and leaked to local media, Odoi has said he has consulted with legal experts and they believe the legislation is unconstitutional. 

The unnamed law firm argues by regulating the behavior of gay and lesbian Ugandans while not regulating behavior of heterosexuals, it will violate article 21 of the constitution. 

Article 21 ‘guarantees’ equality and freedom of discrimination.

And we will not stop reporting until that equality is achieved.

President Museveni Blocks Bahati Bill

[UPDATE FEB 14 2014: Museveni will sign bill into law.]
[UPDATE: Apparently he didn't even veto it.]


Ugandan President Blocks Anti-Gay Bill

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has refused to sign off on a controversial anti-gay bill passed by his parliament, saying there are other ways of dealing with “abnormal” people.

The video below is from this article: Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni Opposes Anti-Gay Bill

President Yoweri Museveni's opposition to the bill comes despite pressure from evangelicals as well from lawmakers from his own party.  

But Frank Mugisha, a prominent Ugandan gay activist, said gays are not celebrating the president's words that were published Friday in Kampala's Daily Monitor newspaper, noting that his characterization of gays "creates more hatred" of them.  

In his letter to parliament speaker Rebecca Kadaga, written days after lawmakers passed the bill in December, Museveni called for the bill to be revised and wondered what to do "with an abnormal person? Do we kill him/her? Do we imprison him/her? Or we do contain him/her?" Museveni said homosexuals need economic rehabilitation, not the threat of severe punishment.

When the president of the country is this ignorant, what hope is left for the average wo/man on the street?

Parliament Watch

We'd just like to give a shout out to the fantastic Twitter feed Parliament Watch (@pwatchug). Does what it says on the tin. Excellent place to get up-to-date, accurate news on everything that's happening in the Ugandan parliament.