For too long, Uganda’s LGBTQ community has been treated as though it is non-viable—censored, criminalized and abused in public discourse. This country has systematically sought to diminish the existence of us at the margins of society in the name of morals and God before the country.
Uganda’s Legacy of Anti-LGBTQ Laws
In Uganda, the ruling class’s hostility toward LGBTQ people is deeply entrenched in its tethered legal system, an inheritance of the colonial-era that forcefully baptized and renamed us then criminalized same-sex relationships as far back as 1902. These inherited laws were successively reinforced after independence as penal code acts with governments swiftly using homophobia as a political tool to suppress dissent. “We’d laugh if it weren’t so dangerously predictable.” A Queer History of Being Blamed for Literally Everything in Uganda | Kuchu Times https://www.kuchutimes.com/2025/04/wed-laugh-if-it-werent-so-dangerously-predictable-a-queer-history-of-being-blamed-for-literally-everything-in-uganda/
In 2005, Uganda initiated its policy ban of same-sex marriage actively entrenching discrimination based on sexual orientation. This escalated dramatically with the fanatical support of religious groups with the passage of the Anti- Homosexuality Act 2013 which had been initially drafted to impose the death penalty for same-sex acts- a penalty this country has never suggested for acts that have then resulted in visible human cost say Kiteezi tragedy: A failure of systems | Monitor. https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/oped/commentary/kiteezi-tragedy-a-failure-of-systems-4739070
Although the law was later nullified on grounds of lack of quorum in parliament at passage in 2014, it paved the way for state sanctioned violation of LGBTQ persons including the growing practice of forced Anal Examination of suspects in police custody and growingly by parents to children they “suspect” of homosexual tendencies.
When the 2023 anti-homosexuality law was enacted with provisions including life imprisonment for “repeat offenders” and the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” it gave all of us in the SOGIE movement a new sense of fear. It not only criminalized LGBTQ identities but targeted services access and those who offer those services much of which are actual lifesaving services for many in our community, It essentially became criminal to be Activists, healthcare providers, and allies under the vague charge of “promoting homosexuality”. This law has led to increased violence, arbitrary arrests, and the forced closure of LGBTQ organizations and allied spaces. Etika Lyayita Volume 2: A documentation of violations towards LGBTQI+ persons from September, 2023 to May, 2024. | Kuchu Times https://www.kuchutimes.com/2024/06/eteeka-lyayita-volume-2-a-documentation-of-violations-towards-lgbtqi-persons-from-september-2023-to-may-2024/
Rewriting the SOGIE Movement’s Future beyond the shadows of history.
In a show of resilience and commitment the SOGIE movement under the stewardship of UKPC, SMUG, TNU, Harm reduction, and UNESO hosted a community engagement under the tag ROOTS Symposium – “Sustaining Our Movement and Reimagining Organizing.” The three-day event brought together activists, donors, allies and grassroots leaders to reimagine the future of the movement and reclaim space, power, and our collective vision.
The grounding remarks traced the powerful evolution of Uganda’s key populations movement—from hidden living-room support groups into a nationally recognized coalition advancing health, justice, and dignity.
“Our communities have faced legal, structural, and social violence. But ROOTS shows we are not just resisting—we are building, this is about moving from survival to long-term strategy. It’s about changing systems.” said Richard Lusimbo, UKPC’s Director General reechoing the spirit of a movement that has consistently worked against erasure as long as Uganda itself has existed.
As powerfully put by keynote speaker Monalisa Akintole “We are not simply reacting to discrimination—we are dismantling the systems that enforce it. Through digital organizing, legal advocacy, and grassroots mobilization, this movement is designing a future where no one is forced to hide in the shadows. This is not just about LGBTQ rights, Trans rights, nor Sexworker rights —it is about fundamental human dignity.
The symposium marked a turning point with the launching of the National Key Populations Funding Priorities 2025–2030: a collaboratively designed roadmap focused on investment in safety, prevention, advocacy, and sustainability.
ROOTS Symposium was a bold affirmation that the works of the Uganda SOGIE movement through the last more than 20 years should count among other outcomes the undying spirit of fight, we are not victims—we are architects of a new era in human rights protection and promotion
