Article Author:
Associated Press
Rodney Muhumza
Kampala, Uganda (AP) — Ugandan authorities have shut down a prominent LGBTQ rights group, calling it an illegal group.
Sexual Minorities Uganda has been the East African country's most prominent lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer advocacy organization since 2004.
Its leader Frank Mugisha said on Saturday that officials said: Those overseeing non-governmental organizations advised him to cease operations, saying his group lacked the necessary documentation.
"This means that the lifesaving work we are doing is on hold. We cannot protect and support vulnerable LGBT people." ' he said. “There is, of course, homophobia and transphobia in the background.”
The NGO Bureau said in a statement that the group was neither a business nor an NGO and had to cease operations "immediately." Stated.
Uganda's lawsuits against sexual minorities derive from the group's name itself. The company's registrar rejected the registration as the name was inappropriate. The judge agreed and the group's appeal to the High Court is pending a decision, Mugisha said.
He said that because of his long-standing animosity towards his group, he decided to operate as an "association" rather than an NGO.
Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda under colonial-era laws criminalizing sexual activity "against the order of nature," and LGBTQ people face widespread discrimination.
After a panel of judges overturned President Yoweri Museveni's 2014 anti-gay law, amid international condemnation, some Ugandan officials called for draconian new legislation. requested.
This law was void because it was passed by MPs during a session lacking a quorum, and provided for up to life imprisonment for individuals convicted of homosexual conduct.
The original draft of the bill, first introduced in 2009, included the death penalty for what is termed aggravated homosexuality.
