Tactics and tools for the protection
of Human Rights Defenders

7 September 2011

LGBTI activists in Uganda have slammed the renewed efforts by anti-gay Ugandans campaigning to bring back the draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

The renewed homophobic lobbying comes hot on the heels of an announcement by the chairperson of Uganda’s Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee that the Anti-Homosexuality Bill would be deliberated upon today, Wednesday September 7

The anti-gay crusade entitled “Pass the BILL Now Campaign” is spear headed by the Uganda National Parents Network (UNPN) and the Uganda Coalition for Moral Values (UCMV).

Speaking against the homophobic lobby, the director of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), Frank Mugisha (pictured) said “They are full of lies, and their NGO’s are made of lies. When they mobilise, they spread lies about the LGBTI people, and this in turn fuels homophobia and because they are Christians they get a lot support. But very soon they will be seen as irrelevant because they use false information such as telling everyone that we are recruiting children into homosexuality. Eventually the truth will come out.”

Joanitah Abang, Freedom Roam Uganda (FARUG) Programs Manager echoed Mugisha’s sentiments, adding, “I am thinking this will bring a lot of very negative impacts for the LGBTI community given the fact them they [homophobes] are still emphasizing recruitment. And with this I am anticipating increased violence against LGBTI persons because this clearly is spreading and preaching hate and lies about the community.”

In May this year, the so-called “Kill the gays” Bill expired as the Parliament was dissolved in the run up to the Ugandan general election.

Mugisha added “The discussions [in Parliament] can go on, but now this actually means that as the gay community we need to do more advocacy work and speak strongly against the Bill even though we are currently doing a lot at the moment. We need to intensify our efforts.”

Abang added, “This means a lot to the LGBTI community. It means we need to re-strategize, have collective thinking and continue with the advocacy and lobbying through both our local and international partners. We are not working underground, we are working under the same environment as before though with a lot of caution because you can never tell what can come up.”

Despite heightened levels of homophobia sparked by the draconian Bill, arbitrary arrests and even death, activists have vowed never to stop mobilising against the Bill. 

Mugisha said, “Things are not exactly normal, but it is not as bad as when the Bill was discussed in Parliament, because we have been able to do a lot of advocacy work and have not met any backlash like before, even after I appeared on national television.”

Abang reiterated, “The time is now. I am calling upon all our partners to join us in stopping this Bill and tell the truth that we don’t recruit and have no intentions whatsoever to recruit.”