ABOVE: Photo via SMUG/Twitter.
An LGBTQ and intersex rights group in Uganda says the country’s government forced it to shutdown on Aug. 3.
Sexual Minorities Uganda in a press release said Uganda’s National Bureau for Non-Governmental Organizations, which oversees NGOs in the country, on Wednesday “halted” its operations “for non-registration with the NGO Bureau.”
The press release notes current Sexual Minorities Uganda Executive Director Frank Mugisha is among those who submitted an application with the Uganda Registration Services Bureau in 2012 “for the reservation of the name of the proposed company,” which was Sexual Minorities Uganda.
David Kato, who was Sexual Minorities Uganda’s advocacy officer, was murdered in his home outside of Kampala, the Ugandan capital, on Jan. 26, 2011. A Ugandan tabloid a few months earlier published Kato’s name and picture as part of an article that called for the execution of LGBTQ and intersex people.
The Uganda Registration Services Bureau on Feb. 16, 2016, rejected Sexual Minorities Uganda’s application based on grounds that it was “undesirable and un-registrable” because it sought “to advocate for the rights and wellbeing of lesbians, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer persons, which persons are engaged in activities labeled criminal acts under Sec. 145 of the Penal Code Act.”
Uganda is among the dozens of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain criminalized.
President Yoweri Museveni in 2014 signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act, which imposed a life sentence upon anyone found guilty of repeated same-sex sexual acts. The law was known as the “Kill the Gays” bill because it previously contained a death penalty provision.
The U.S. subsequently cut aid to Uganda and imposed a travel ban against officials who carried out human rights abuses. Uganda’s Constitutional Court later struck down the Anti-Homosexuality Act on a technicality.
The Uganda Registration Services Bureau’s decision to reject Sexual Minorities Uganda’s registration application was upheld. Ugandan lawmakers in 2019 passed the Sexual Offenses Bill 2019, which further criminalizes homosexuality in the country.
“The refusal to legalize SMUG’s operations that seek to protect LGBTQ people who continue to face major discrimination in Uganda, actively encouraged by political and religious leaders was a clear indicator that the government of Uganda and its agencies are adamant and treat Ugandan gender and sexual minorities as second-class citizens,” said Sexual Minorities Uganda in their press release. “These further compromises efforts to demand for better health services and escalates the already volatile environment for the LGBTQ community.”
Mugisha described the decision as “a clear witch-hunt rooted in systematic homophobia that is fueled by anti-gay and anti-gender movements that have infiltrated public offices aiming to influence legislation to erase the LGBTQ community.”
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, which honored Mugisha in 2011, on Friday said it is “outraged by the utterly discriminatory and arbitrary decision of the NGO Bureau in Uganda to shutdown SMUG operations.”
“This endangers the lives and rights of LGBTQ+ (people) in Uganda and shows the extent homophobia has permeated Ugandan authorities,” said Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights in a tweet.
We are outraged by the utterly discriminatory and arbitrary decision of the NGO Bureau in #Uganda to shutdown @SMUG2004 operations.
This endangers the lives and rights of LGBTQ+ in Uganda and shows the extent #homophobia has permeated Ugandan authorities. https://t.co/TT2ruLUrUI
— Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (@RFKHumanRights) August 5, 2022
The Council for Global Equality, OutRight Action International and Pan Africa ILGA are among the other organizations that sharply criticized the Ugandan government.
“Very disturbing news out of Uganda,” tweeted Pan Africa ILGA. “SMUG, one of the most influential LGBTIQ+ focused networks based in Uganda, has been suspended.”
Very disturbing news out of Uganda. @SMUG2004 one of the most influential LGBTIQ+ focused networks based in #Uganda has been suspended. #StillWeShallRise https://t.co/LeZJ04hIJZ
— Pan Africa ILGA (@PanAfricaILGA) August 5, 2022
U.S. Mission Uganda on Aug. 6 tweeted a link to President Joe Biden’s 2021 memorandum that committed the U.S. to promote LGBTQ and intersex rights abroad as part of American foreign policy.
“We reiterate our support for those committed to ensuring all people are treated with respect and dignity and able to live without fear no matter who they are or whom they love,” tweeted U.S. Mission Uganda.
https://twitter.com/usmissionuganda/status/1555893876732354560
Sexual Minorities Uganda, for its part, remained defiant.
“We shall be back,” it tweeted.
https://twitter.com/SMUG2004/status/1555594875168608257
