Uganda

06 July 2008- Kampala, Uganda- Excommunicated pro-gay bishop Christopher Ssenyonjo of the Church of Uganda has been invited to the Lambeth Conference, scheduled for Canterbury, England from July 20 to August 4...more

Don't Legalise Gay Acts, Says Bishop

10 June 2008- Kampala, Uganda- Mukono diocesan bishop Eria Paul Luzinda has cautioned the government against legalising gay activities and described such culture as backward and non- indigenous...more

Orombi Wants Pro-Gay Bishops to Apologise

05 June 2008- Kampala, Uganda- Pro-gay bishops must apologise and renounce their support for sexual perversion in order to reunite the Church...more

04 June 2008- Kampala, Ugandan police arrested three gay rights demonstrators who stormed a major AIDS conference in Kampala on Wednesday in protest at the government's stance on homosexuality...more

29 Apr 2008- Uganda- A Ugandan woman who was jailed, raped and tortured after it was discovered she was gay is fighting a decision by the Home Office to refuse her asylum...more

26 Feb 2008- Uganda- The Anglican church in Uganda yesterday threatened to leave the worldwide communion unless the US Episcopal church condemned homosexuality...more

17 Feb 2008- Kampala, Uganda- THE contention over homosexuality has returned to rattle the unity of the worldwide Anglican Communion ahead of the Lambeth Conference mid-year...more

Gay Row - Ugandan Bishops Boycott UK Conference

15 Feb 2008- Kampala, Uganda- Bishop in Uganda on Wednesday announced a boycott of the July Lambeth conference...more

Gay, Clergy Clash At People's Space

23 Nov 2007- Kampala, Uganda- People advocating for the rights of homosexuals and those against the practice are using the People's Space at Hotel Africana in Kampala to air out their views...more

Fight Homosexuality, Says Sempa

22 Nov 2007 – Kampala, Uganda- ANTI-gay activists, under the Rainbow Coalition against Homosexuality, held a demonstration at Kololo Airstrip yesterday...more

Respect Gay Rights - People's Forum

22 Nov 2007- Kampala, Uganda-The Commonwealth People's Forum has proposed that the rights of minorities, including gays and lesbians, be recognised...more

Help Africa's Gay Men; You'll Save Their Women Too

19 Nov 2007- Uganda- Terrible, the news that came out this week as we marked World Aids Day. Things are very bad in Africa, and the poorer parts of the world...more

09 Nov 2007- Kampala, Uganda- The Archbishop of Kampala Diocese, Dr Cyprian Lwanga has advised students not to indulge in homosexuality and lesbianism...more

01 Nov 2007- Kampala, Uganda- Members of Parliament have asked the government to use the Chogm summit to speak out against homosexuality...more

30 Oct 2007- President Bush met at the White House on Tuesday with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni for talks that focused on trade, HIV/AIDS but seemingly ignored alleged human rights abuses of gays and lesbians...more

28 Oct 2007- Kampala - A Uganda chapter of International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) has been launched in Uganda following a successful meeting attended by over 100 gay men and women...more

15 Oct 2007- Uganda- The Mufti, Sheikh Ramathan Shaban Mubajje wants gays marooned on an island in Lake Victoria until they die...more

Buturo Vows to Fight Homosexuality

08 Oct 2007- Kampala, Uganda- The Minister for Ethics and Integrity, James Nsaba Buturo, has vowed to block the demand for recognition of gay's rights, reports Conan Businge...more

Gay Activists Write to President

24 Sept 2007- Kampala, Uganda- Gay rights activists have asked President Yoweri Museveni to support their campaign on the rights of homosexuals...more

Saggy Fights for Gay Rights

23 Sept 2007- Uganda- At first I thought my ears had a problem, but when she repeated the utterance, I wondered what our radio stations were up to allowing such utterances live on air...more

13 Sept 2007- Uganda- Crises Across Africa, when a daily newspaper unveiled the latest installment of what it bills as its "Weird Sex Investigation," publishing the names and detailed descriptions of 40 men it claimed are gay...more

Court Agrees to Hear Lesbian Case

12 Sept 2007- Uganda -The High Court has agreed to hear the case of two women who claim they were tortured by the Police and the LCI chairman of Kireka on allegations that they were lesbians...more

11 Sept 2007- Kampala, Ugamda-When a mother looks into her baby's innocent eyes, she envisions a responsible adult- the next David Beckham or perhaps Priscilla Winans...more

cience Explains Why Homosexuals Exist

04 Sept 2007- Kampala, Uganda- Daily Monitor reader F. Mungereza of Kampala has asked for scientific evidence why one is gay...more

Orombi Consecrates Anti-Gay U.S. Bishop

03 Sept 2007- Uganda's Anglican Church yesterday consecrated an American priest as bishop to lead some congregations in his country that are opposed to homosexuality...more

30 August 2007- Kampala, Uganda - Katherine Roubos ‘07 stumbled into a storm of controversy this week more befitting a Hollywood movie than a first-time journalism internship...more

29 August 2007-Uganda- The Broadcasting Council has suspended Capital Radio presenter Gaetano Kaggwa and programme controller George Manyali for “allowing foul language” in their breakfast show last Wednesday...more

Ugandan ministers meet to draft tougher anti-gay laws

23 August 2007- Kampala - Ugandan government ministers convened a special meeting Thursday to toughen existing laws against homosexuals and lesbians...more

21 August 2007- Kampala,Uganda- Hundreds of people held an anti-gay protest in Uganda's capital Tuesday and called for the deportation of an American journalist who covers gay issues in the east African nation...more

17 August 2007- Kampala, Uganda- Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Ugandans held their first-ever press conference at Speke Hotel yesterday to launch a media campaign to advocate for their rights...more

Gay Sympathiser Attends Mass

07 August 2007- Kampala, Uganda- The retired Bishop of West Buganda Diocese, known for his advocacy for gay rights, surprisingly attended mass at Kitovu Cathedral...more

27 July 2007- Kampala, Uganda- Two years ago, a government official broke into a home, seized property and detained one of the occupants without a warrant. The case seems clear, but will the plaintiff's homosexuality affect the verdict...more

29 Jun 2007- Uganda-A government minister has said that gay people from around the world send him hate mail everyday because of his stand against homosexuality...more

13 Jun 2007 - Uganda- "Acts of homosexuality and lesbianism have infiltrated our schools, especially secondary schools. I have personally joined the war against the vice and I want you to join me," Archbishop Henry Orombi has said...more

31 Mar 2007- Olivia Nabulwala says her family in Uganda was so angry and ashamed to learn she was a lesbian that her relatives hurled insults at her, pummeled her and, finally, stripped her and held her down while a stranger raped her...more

22 Mar 2007- Archbishop Cyprian Lwanga has slammed gay and lesbian marriages, saying the practice is sinful and evil. "How can someone advocate for same-sex marriages? God created a man and a woman and told them to produce children...more

Ugandans Protest SA Gay Marriages

22 Nov 2006- Kampala- Civil society organisations in Uganda have protested the legalisation of same sex marriages in South Africa (SA)...more

26 Sept 2006- Thirty protesters picketed the Ugandan High Commission in London on Friday in protest of the persecution of gay and lesbian Ugandans. They were from the National Union of Students LGBT campaign and from the gay rights group OutRage...more

11 Sept 2006- Uganda- Thirteen alleged lesbians have been outed by the Ugandan tabloid newspaper Red
Pepper.
They include two boutique owners, a basketball player and the daughters of a former MP and a prominent Sheikh...more

08 August 2006- A Ugandan newspaper's decision to publish the names of alleged homosexual men is a "chilling development", New York-based Human Rights Watch says...more

24 August 2006- Moses Kayizer a gay Ugandan asylum seeker now living in Manchester has won the battle to stay in the UK after a two year campaign supported by over 10,000 people...more

Gay Rights Commission Condemns Uganda's Gay Policy

16 August 2006- Uganda- The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission have condemned the decision by President Yoweri Museveni to ban same-sex marriage...more

National Theatre to Show Vagina Monologues Documentary

10 May 2006- Uganda- A documentary about the Vagina Monologues will be shown to the public at the National Theatre on Saturday as part of the 3rd Amakula Kampala International Film festival, a year after the play was banned...more

Let my people stay, begs Moses

04 May 2006- A Ugandan asylum seeker is facing a new battle to remain in the UK after the latest in a long line of legal attempts to avoid deportation...more

There is need to regulate IT laws in east africa, says buturo

01 May 2006- Uganda-The State Minister for Information, Dr James Nsaba Buturo, has urged the East African governments to harmonise the Information Communication Technology industry...more

Homosexuals Hatred is a Fruit of an Alliance

17 April 2006- Uganda- Anglican bishops must be cursing their rotten luck. Just when they thought they had gotten rid of the "homosexual problem" in their midst by expelling their dissenting colleague, retired Bishop Christopher Senyonjo, a new spoiler is about to break the virtual consensus of political and religious leaders in our country on same-sex relationships...more

Muslims Back Orombi

07 April 2006- Kampala- THE Muslim community has joined Church of Uganda Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi to condemn former Bishop christopher Ssenyonjo's pro-gay stance...more

I Will Die a Bishop, Says Ssenyonjo

27 Mar 2006- Uganda- Expelled Bishop Christopher Ssenyonjo has written a strongly worded letter to Archbishop Luke Orombi saying nobody can kick him out of the Church or strip him of his title as bishop...more

Rising Homosexuality Among Prisoners Irks Byabashaija
source: Monitor Kampala

21 Mar 2006- Uganda- The Commissioner General of Prisons, Mr Johnson Byabashaija, has said homosexuality is peaking in most detention facilities countrywide...more

Stuck In the Closet: Gays left out on HIV/AIDS Strategy

17 Mar 2006- KAMPALA, In a dimly lite karaoke bar in a suburb of Kampala, the capital, Crystal Namanya belts out Madonna’s Get into the Groove, following the words as they run across a television screen.

Her rendition is a crowd pleaser, attracting applause and shouts of “you go, girl!” from her fellow revelers.

This is no ordinary karaoke evening. Nearly everyone in the bar is gay, something most Ugandans consider un-African and un-Christian. The police have raided this secluded bar several times in the past year but, for the time being, it is one of just a handful of places where the city’s gays and lesbians feel safe.

Homosexuality carries a huge stigma in conservative Uganda, and a conviction for sodomy – deemed “an act against the order of nature” – carries a life sentence in jail. Most Ugandans prefer to pretend sexual minorities do not exist at all, a belief that permeates all levels of society, regardless of class or level of education.

“We are made to feel like we shouldn't be alive,” Crystal said. “The day you discover you’re gay you lose everything – people look at you like you’re sick, others say you are bewitched.”

A deadly consequence of denying that homosexuality exists in Uganda is that the national HIV/AIDS programme makes no provision for sexual minorities, despite scientific evidence that gay men are more susceptible to HIV transmission than any other group.

A 2000 global UNAIDS report, ‘AIDS and men who have sex with men’; found that the risk of HIV transmission by unprotected anal sex was “several times higher than the next most high risk category”.

Nobody knows how prevalent the HI virus is among gay Ugandan men – there are no statistics, as sexual minorities have never had a place in the government’s fight against HIV/AIDS.

During the 1980s and 90s, the international community heaped praise on Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni for his administration’s aggressive stance against HIV/AIDS, at a time when it was still one of Africa’s most taboo subjects.

The country’s pioneering ‘Abstain, Be Faithful, use a Condom (ABC)’ strategy became a continent-wide model and has been credited with bringing prevalence rates in Uganda down from over 20 percent to the current level of about six percent.

“There’s no mention of gays and lesbians in the national strategic framework, because the practice of homosexuality is illegal,” said James Kigozi, spokesman for the Uganda AIDS Commission. “These two groups [gays and lesbians] are marginal; their numbers are negligible.”

The Minister of State for Health, Jim Muhwezi, recently insisted that Uganda’s ABC approach adequately catered for all groups in Uganda, including homosexuals.

“They don't deserve a special message. They shouldn’t exist, and we hope they are not there. If they do exist they are covered under the three-pronged approach of ABC and should be content with that.”

A Ugandan physician, who has worked closely with sexual minorities for the last three years and spoke to PlusNews on the condition of anonymity, rejected the notion that the national average of six percent held true among homosexuals.

“In Uganda, when someone is discovered to be HIV positive we do not ask about their sexual behavior, so we get a statistic that is assumed to relate to heterosexuals,” he said, commenting that although there were no statistics, he was certain the prevalence of HIV among homosexuals was several times the national average.

Many gay men in Uganda remain unaware of the risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections through unprotected sex.

The physician maintained that this ignorance was due to a deliberate “policy of pretence” regarding the existence of homosexuals, and to incorporate them into Uganda’s HIV/AIDS framework would be tantamount to admitting their existence in society.

“There are gay men, the fact is they are a more vulnerable grouping than anyone else, so they need to be targeted, they need to be educated,” he stressed.

Joel, 20, a gay Kampala resident, said: “Some boys believe that to sleep with a man is safe because all the billboards around town show heterosexual couples, with messages ... nothing is said about homosexual couples using a condom, so they think it is safer to sleep with each other than a girl.”

In a ‘gay-friendly’ pizza house in the centre of the city, Joel recounted the confusion of discovering his sexuality at the age of 14. Since then, he has been encouraged to go for a monthly blood test by his father, whose attitude to homosexuality became more liberal when he lived in the UK.

Joel said he was fortunate to have both the moral and financial support of his family, which minimized his risk of becoming HIV positive – many of his gay contemporaries were not so lucky. Ostracized by their families and shunned by society, they were forced to sell their bodies, lured into a false sense of security by anti-AIDS campaign posters that warned only of the dangers of sex between heterosexual couples.

Reluctant to report symptoms of sexually transmitted infections for fear of eliciting questions about their sexual orientation, many gays and lesbians say they have neither the choice nor the opportunity to be honest about their sexuality.

The UNAIDS report called on governments to eliminate pre-existing prejudices and encouraged a non-discriminatory approach to sexual minorities, but Beatrice Were, an HIV/AIDS research and policy analyst at Action Aid Uganda, said no such approach had been adopted in Uganda.

“Our hands are tied behind our backs because we are bound by the law,” she said. Indeed, in 2005, the Ugandan parliament endorsed an amendment to the constitution outlawing homosexual marriage.

She conceded that prejudice in the NGO community meant they, too, were failing sexual minorities. “Many of us don’t walk the talk. We have not yet dealt with our own fears and stigmas and therefore we are biased in our preventions,” she said.

The result was that gays and lesbians were denied access to HIV education, treatment and counseling.

“We now have to be honest with ourselves and talk about sexual minorities,” she said. “Otherwise, by the time you accept it (HIV among sexual minorities) the scale will be too big to deal with.”

Ugandan Bishop Angers Americans

08 Mar 2006- A Ugandan Anglican Bishop currently on a visit to the United States has sparked off an uproar after declaring that he is there ".a-oeto rescue Anglicans" from gay influences

Bishop Jonathan Kyamanywa is currently visiting the Kentucky State Diocese where he confirmed 30 people, many of them ex-Episcopalians on Tuesday evening. Apostles Anglican Church and St. Andrew's Anglican Church, where Kyamanywa preached last Sunday, are both affiliated to the Church of Uganda.

In an interview with the Herald Leader newspaper, Kyamanywa said his diocese was in Kentucky not to fight, but to "rescue" Anglicans who have been abandoned. "Our coming is not causing any division. Actually our coming is nursing and providing care for the people who are hurt," he said.

Asked whether the Episcopal Church is still a Christian church, Kyamanywa said, "I don't know." Lexington Bishop Stacy Sauls, who has clashed with leaders of the breakaway churches in Central Kentucky, did not authorise Kyamanywa's visit, according to the Herald Leader.

"They have systematically divorced themselves from the Episcopal Church. To have another bishop come in and to participate -- I don't hesitate to use the word schism," Kyamanywa said, adding that, "But false teachings are even more damaging than division. Unity is important, but it doesn't supersede correct doctrine."

The Archbishop of Canterbury said on Tuesday that the Anglican communion may soon rupture over homosexuality, causing wounds in the world's largest Protestant body that could take decades to heal.

Losing hope as an HIV+ refugee

I’m only 27, an asylum and HIV, not good for me, I was born in Uganda and life out there is not as good as it is here, I must confess that I’m so lonely and my heart will never mend no matter what will come my way.

I was born in 1980, I’m coming from a family of 6, 4 girls and 1 boy, its not been easy having gone through my childhood, I faced so much sexual abuse and thinking life at one point would be great, but I guess I was wrong. One thing I would like to point out in this interview is that I did not get infected in Africa no, this is just for the record I know it does not matter where one gets the virus but its disgraceful to hear that all the Africans having HIV come with it from Africa, I’m not one of them I got it from here.

I must admit that yes I had to flee my country due to my sexuality, which is not tolerated in my country. I came to study and at one time I could not really go back because I knew I face persecution, I did receive threatening letters while in the UK I kept them all and when time came for me to go back to visit I could not and that hindered my support for my studies, while studying here I was seeing some guys and I knew it was different from my country.

My life was not that bad I tried to do all I could and ended up discovering that I was HIV, since then the hope for my life went away. After I showed my letters to the solicitors here in the UK, they said they would represent me and see how far I would go, it took two years for me to have all the papers and be recognized as a refugee. My studies were affected and did not do well at my grades, though I did realize that it was something I had to go through whether I liked it or not.

During the whole process of my issue regarding my stay in the country I was detained at one point so I have now lost where I left from in my studies, with all the pressure about be being HIV and not able to maintain that its not been easy for me, I do realize that there are other people like me and they have gotten used to their environment as for me it will take time to just adapt and be able to feel proud about myself, sometimes I wonder if at all I will be able to reach that stage for I know now that I have to be looking at my work, studies and life itself.

It would sound easy for my fellow Ugandans that would want to come here but for me its so sad that I’m not able to go back and knowing that my life has changed in way that I would never be the same again, I know people grow but in my case its like I have wasted my life and looking at my age I feel I have lost it when I had all life ahead of me. Being HIV out here you really are lonely you could live in London but for as long as you are sick its not easy to interact, at times I have come across all these organizations that say they are Africans that would be discreet, but im not sure if I want to trust them especially if I’m going to say anything about my sexual orientation.

It not easy to change people no matter how long they have lived in the uk for as long as they have been against homosexuals back home what makes me think they would want to accept me out here? I know more would say its not what I think believe me when you are African there’s only a few Africans that will not look upon you when you talk about it, and I know its not about one disclosing about their status but either way or another they will soon find out, it’s the same when you are applying for a job, they have a section in the application form that says " Tell us about your ethnic back ground" and immediately you say that then that’s it, they sound to be good at including it in the forms but in the end you are rejected, that’s the same with some of these African organizations out here.

Its not easy there are a lot of things that one wants to look at and in the end you just realize that you have no where to run at time I do understand when some people commit suicide, I can imagine being them, it not about solving problems no, its about not wanting to woke up in a society that will not really tolerate you in some situations, so my advise to those young gay guys out there that want to get excited about coming the uk be careful, never think of this term "You only live Once" that’s what I always said to myself, please try to know the person you are having fun with very well or always protect yourself at all costs, when you get sick out here, you will be on free medication but is that what you want to go on living for?

I’m trying my level best to fit in the environment but that’s not what I want for my fellow African that live here to go through, I do agree that there are other Africans that will not even look at what they are doing but this is the message for all the young African gay guys that have a chance of coming here like I did. I will be like this and till that time comes for me to die, I no longer blame myself because it will not help in anyway, but I will do all I can to contribute where I can.

Uganda

Ugandan ministers meet to draft tougher anti-gay laws

Home Page

Countries Covered