Being gay in Uganda could get you arrested or killed

In South Africa, we are lucky to have one of the strongest constitutions in the world. We have lenient laws, freedom of speech, freedom of the press and progressive laws which don’t discriminate especially around issues of sexual orientation.

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Uganda, on the other hand is the complete opposite. Ugandan minister, Simon Lokodo has tried to reintroducing the revoked law that was almost passed in 2014 of allowing people who have committed the act of gay sex to be executed.

This has incited a great fear in the LGBTQI+ community in Uganda which forced a number of them to go into hiding.

Pretty (not her real name) told the Voice of Africa that she was kicked out of her home by her mother at age 16 and was arrested for being “transgender”.

“When they took me to the police, my mother was there waiting for me. They really mistreated me, there was an officer who was very homophobic. He got a hold of me and beat me up. He called in the media and in front of the press, they took my clothes off,” Pretty said.

Being gay is still illegal in Uganda and can grant you life imprisonment, the LGBTQI+ community is still under attack and tortured to the point of mutilation.

There are, however, organisations that are determined to fight this horrendous bill such as the Icebreakers organisation.

Elvis Ayesiga, programs director of Icebreakers said: “Evicting you, you don’t have anywhere to go, you don’t have money for rent so we offer space here, usually for one month, so that you go back on your feet as you look for money to go and rent somewhere else.”