The verdict’s impact on the LGBTQ+ community in Uganda is profound, amplifying the existing challenges faced by sexual and gender minorities. The inability to officially register organizations like SMUG limits our capacity to access resources, engage in advocacy, and provide essential support services. This setback not only impedes the community’s ability to foster unity but also leaves us susceptible to heightened discrimination, violence, and exclusion.
Furthermore, the court’s decision reinforces the hostile environment created by the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023, making it increasingly difficult for LGBTQ+ individuals to lead open and authentic lives. The fear of persecution and legal consequences looms larger, pushing many members of the community further into the shadows.

This year’s International Women’s Day theme “Invest in women: Accelerate progress’ resonates deeply with our work and mission at both UNESO and UBUNTU. Women cannot achieve progress at any rate let alone an accelerated rate unless they can live violence-free lives. Women in Uganda are being massacred and living under a constant threat of femicide, an extreme manifestation of violence against women. The picture is particularly grim for marginalised communities including sex workers and sexual and gender minorities who face intersecting and multiple vulnerabilities, inequalities, and criminalisation.
According to the police annual crime report 2022, a total of 17,698 country-wide Gender Based Violence cases with related murders were reported for women. The Demographic and Health Survey 2016, indicates that women are more than twice as likely to experience violence as opposed to their male counterparts.