Lesbian women in Kampala’s lesbian shelter can no longer breathe freely or be themselves after fleeing abuse and disgrace at home.
A month ago, parliament passed one of the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ laws, criminalizing homosexual “promotion” and inflicting the death penalty for gay sex crimes.
President Yoweri Museveni stated on Thursday that he supports the measure but wants lawmakers to “rehabilitate” LGBT people before he accepts it.
The shelter, a plain facility in a busy area, now instructs inmates to be inconspicuous and blend in, even if that means changing their behavior or appearance.
“You won’t find people sagging their pants and walking around the shelter, or… bringing their girlfriends around the shelter and then making out at the gate,” said Joan Amek, the foundation’s administrator.
“Everything has been made limited.”
LGBTQ Ugandans had a difficult time. Gay intercourse is prohibited under British colonial law, and the LGBT community is punished brutally.
However, LGBTQ Ugandans say that the bill’s passage triggered a wave of arrests, evictions, family slander, and mob violence.
One homeowner contrasted the current situation to 2013, when parliament increased penalties for same-sex relationships. A few months later, a domestic court annulled the law on procedural grounds.
“When the (2013) bill came, we had the right to get up and speak,” the resident, who asked to remain anonymous, continued. In 2023, the legislation terrified many. You can’t just say, “I’m a human.” “Please don’t hurt me.”
LGBTQ Ugandans are concerned about a new Kampala law.
After parliament passed the bill, she deleted her accounts on Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter. She escaped home when a friend informed her that her neighbors were discussing her sexuality, fearing she would be arrested and raped.
Unlike earlier anti-LGBTQ laws in Africa, the current Uganda bill criminalizes same-sex conduct and seeks to silence a culture that lawmakers claim, without evidence, is plotting to recruit youth and weaken traditional family and religious values.
HIV-positive gay sexers would be executed for aggravated homosexuality.
LGBTQ Ugandans reported carrying pepper spray and altering their commutes.
“I feel like it’s going to be a completely different environment,” another shelter resident said on the condition of anonymity. “It might get so brutal.”
Others want to leave Uganda. Amek said that her group has received at least 14 petitions seeking asylum in Western countries. LGBTQ Ugandans living abroad are also having difficulty coming home.
“There’s a lot of stories I wanted to tell in that place, so it really hurts me that I can’t go back,” said South African LGBT Ugandan photographer and activist DeLovie Kwagala (Papa De).
Amek, as the director of the nonprofit, faces up to 20 years in prison for advocating homosexuality under the law.
“I am concerned about everything, including how I will live, how I will access housing, food, and employment,” she continued.
