As Americans celebrate pride and freedom, loss of life and liberty looms over queer Ugandans. Suspicion of "promoting gay activities" prompted a June 19 police raid on a LGBT conference in suburban Kampala.
Father John Adewoye—a Nigerian native, gay activist and former Catholic priest who resides in Chicago—keeps track of what's happening in Africa. Adewoye wasn't startled by the situation facing Ugandans. To him, it's more of the same.
"Every year, there is something coming up anti-gay," Adewoye said in an exclusive Windy City Times interview.
Adewoye and gay Ugandans' oppressors have something in common. Simon Lokodo, minister of state for ethics and integrity, is a Catholic priest.
Ugandan activists are at the "forefront of the gay rights movement" in Africa, according to Adewoye. The East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP) organized a three-day workshop at Esella Country Hotel, according to Amnesty International (AI).
Organizers were arrested and soon released. Police allegedly advised EHAHRDP to provide its registration and incorporation papers as well as seeking approval for all future meetings.
"The police advice to EHAHRDP has no basis whatsoever in law," AI Africa Deputy Director Michelle Kagari said in a statement. "In this instance, the police have exceeded their authority. This continued harassment and intimidation of human rights activists must stop and the police need to start adhering to the laws they are supposed to protect and enforce."
Women's Policy Director Cristina Finch told Windy City Times it was the second police raid in four months. Lokodo shut down a similar conference. Finch stressed Ugandans' rights to freely assemble were violated. She described it as a "pattern of behavior."
In addition to the raids, Lokodo announced nearly 40 LGBT non-governmental organizations (NGOs) would be banned, various news outlets reported.
"The NGOs are channels through which monies are channeled to (homosexuals) to recruit," Lokodo said.
Finch echoed EHAHRDP Executive Director Hassan Shire Sheikh sentiments.
"This arbitrary closure confirms a pattern of behavior by the authorities that LGBTI people, and those working on LGBTI issues, will not be afforded the same protections as other people in this country," Shire Sheikh said, in an AI statement.
Adewoye said religion and politics fuels Lokodo's need to promote prejudice and hate of Uganda's LGBT community. However, combatting that prejudice and hatred has kept LGBT freedom fighters down.
"[Gay activists] continue to stand their ground and forge ahead," Adewoye said.
The raids have brought an international outcry. That outcry prompted a June 21 statement from the nation's president's office—free of remorse.
"The government would like to encourage all Ugandans to be vigilant and stay away from unlawful activities that would get them in trouble with the law," a June 21 statement read.
Section 145 of the nation's Penal Code Act makes "promoting gay activities" illegal. In addition to law, government officials use statistics and Africa's alleged social norms to make their case.
Unlike other nations, government officials claim two-thirds of African countries forbid homosexuality, while 80 percent East African countries criminalize it. They also said 80 countries outside of Africa deemed being gay a crime. Ugandan officials offered no sources to back their claims.
Even as police raid meetings, government officials remind Ugandans are free to assemble.
"No government official is bent to harass any section of the community and everybody in Uganda enjoys the freedom to lawfully assemble and associate freely with others," the president's office said.
AI is prepared, Finch said. Working groups are on the ground.
"We're very concerned about the human rights of [LGBT] people in Uganda," Finch said. "We're calling on the Ugandan authorities to stop the harassment."
However, losing freedom to assemble is the least of gay Ugandans' problems. Losing lives—legally—remains possible.
Uganda's parliament reintroduced a bill in January. It would sentence anyone engaging in "homosexual acts" to death. Government officials claim they don't support the legislation.
"It does not form part of the government's legislative program and it does not enjoy the support of the Prime Minister or the Cabinet," Lokodo said in a Feb. 8 statement.
With that said, he alleged that Uganda seemed to be a victim a double standard.
"If Uganda enjoyed as close a relationship with the U.S. and European countries as Saudi Arabia (which sentences homosexuals to corporal and capital punishment), would we have attracted the same [contempt] as a result of allowing this parliamentary debate. AI's Finch declined to predict whether the so-called "Kill The Gays" bill would actually get passed.
"We're certainly hopeful they would not," she said.
Based on personal observations of African politics, Adewoye dismissed Lokodo's claim that Uganda's government doesn't support the bill.
"[African politicians] hide a lot of things," Adewoye said. "Politicians play on people's intelligence. If the federal government didn't support it, why are police harassing people?"
