Uganda’s Treatment of the LGBTQ+ Community
Uganda is considered one of the most Christian countries in the world, with roughly 85% of its population following the faith. Due to such religiosity, Christianity has always had influence over Uganda’s culture and politics, as well as its treatment of its LGBT+ community, who have faced an onslaught of human rights abuses and persecution since the country’s independence in 1962. The country ranks amongst the lowest in terms of LGBT+ rights, with one 2013 poll showing that 96% of Ugandans reject the acceptance of homosexuality.
However, this hasn’t always been the case and the country’s persecution of its LGBT+ community is a largely modern phenomenon. Prior to its conquest by Britain in 1892, same sex relations in Uganda were quite common and tolerated by the population, as was the case with much of pre-colonial sub-Saharan Africa. However, attitudes changed following Uganda’s conquest by Britain, who helped spread Christianity throughout the country, thereby introducing the population to anti-LGBT+ attitudes. Along with the spread of Christianity came the introduction of the anti-LGBT+ Penal Code Act by the colonial government in 1950, which served to punish the LGBT+ community and kickstart the period of persecution Uganda’s LGBT+ community continues to face today. However, it’s also important to note that the anti-LGBT+ sentiment found in Uganda also comes its sizable Muslim minority, several of whom’s community leaders have supported anti-LGBT+ laws and threatened the community.
The anti-LGBT+ sentiment in Uganda is not just found at the grassroots level but is openly supported by many of the country’s highest officials. This includes President Yoweri Museveni himself, who has made number of anti-LGBT+ comments over the years, such as his referring to the LGBT+ community as “deviants” and homosexuals as “disgusting”.
Anti-LGBT+ attitudes have become so entrenched in Uganda that it culminated in the government attempting to pass the infamous anti-Homosexuality Bill in 2014, also referred to as the “Kill the Gays Bill”, which sought to prohibit sexual relations between people of the same sex. Whilst the bill was eventually ruled invalid, its introduction was a landmark moment for Uganda, as it signified a further deterioration of LGBT+ rights and worsened homophobic attitudes throughout the country. It was even found that hate crimes directed against the LGBT+ community saw a tenfold increase at the time, mostly likely because of the bill. The bill was met with a strong backlash abroad, with world leaders such as Barack Obama condemning the act and several governments threatening to cut off aid to the country.
Yet despite backlash to the bill and its violent repercussions, the government of Uganda made no efforts to apologise for the bill and continues to persecute its LGBT+ community. More recently, this includes the attempt by the Ugandan Parliament to pass the Sexual Offenses Bill, which sought to crack down on same sex relationships. Whilst it’s true that President Museveni refused to sign the bill into law, this was reportedly due to its potential foreign policy implications and because many of the acts and provisions were already covered by previously existing legislation, as opposed to him supporting the rights of the LGBT+ community. The persecution of the Ugandan LGBT+ community goes beyond just the realm of legislation, but also includes other methods, such as the government’s recent decision to shut down prominent LGBT+ rights group Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), as well as arresting two of its members who turned to the police for help. This recent move wasn’t an isolated incident, but occurred within a wider context of government harassment of human rights groups and abuse directed towards the LGBT+ community by the police under the guise of enforcing Covid-19 restrictions.
The blame for the abuses faced by Uganda’s LGBT+ community today lies not only with those in Uganda, but also with several overseas actors. This is because in addition to the impact of colonialism, much of the anti-LGBT+ fervour found in Uganda can be attributed to foreign missionaries from overseas, particularly Evangelical Christians from the United States, who have increasingly shifted their attention to Uganda in recent decades. Many have accused US Evangelical groups of spreading anti-LGBT+ ideologies as part of their missionary efforts in Uganda, with some even attributing the 2014 anti-Homosexuality Act to American influences. In fact, the link between US missionaries and the 2014 bill can be viewed as clear-cut, given that David Bahati, the Ugandan parliamentarian who wrote the bill, was a member of the Fellowship Foundation at the time, a US Evangelical Group. This American influence has not gone by unnoticed, as in 2012, several Ugandan activists filed a lawsuit against prominent anti-LGBT+ Evangelical Scott Lively, who has been accused of supporting anti-LGBT+ efforts in Uganda.