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At the beginning of January in a hospital a few kilometers south of Kampala, the capital of Uganda.

The pictures show Steven Kabuye, who was the victim of a knife attack.

And for a reason: Steven is gay and openly supports the rights of the LGBTQ community.

This is becoming more and more dangerous for him and others.

In May 2023, the Ugandan parliament passed an anti-homosexuality law.

It states, among other things, that “participation in homosexual acts” can be punished with life imprisonment.

In so-called serious cases, even the death penalty is possible.

You can face up to 20 years in prison for “knowingly promoting homosexuality.”

The new law even has consequences for renting apartments to queer people and for health care:

Franziska Ulm-Düsterhöft, Africa consultant at Amnesty International in Germany:


“People who work with LGBTI people, providing them with HIV/AIDS medication, for example, face 20 years in prison under the new anti-homosexuality law .

This has led to many people in the medical field not being willing to take this risk.

Queer people are almost completely excluded from everyday life in Uganda - this also affects access to the labor market.

Sandra Nambooze, part of the LGBTQ community:


"My boss called me and said to me: 'I can't let you work for me anymore because of what's happening.'"

In response to the debate over Uganda's new anti-homosexuality law, non-binary photographer DeLovie Kwagala decided to document queerphobia, provide information and raise funds for the queer community.

But the activist no longer understands the world either.

DeLovie Kwagala “Papa De,” Ugandan LGBTQ activist:


“They arrest us because we don't do anything, because we just exist, but where are we supposed to go?

How did we become refugees in our own countries?”

The living situation for queer people in Uganda has deteriorated significantly in the last six months.

Activists and people from the LGBTQ community have gone into hiding, slipped into illegality or are trying to leave the country.

Franziska Ulm-Düsterhöft, Africa consultant at Amnesty International in Germany:


»Amnesty International has been able to document at least twelve cases of arrests and charges of LGBTI people by police officers in Uganda since the anti-homosexuality law was passed.

There have been hundreds of attacks on LGBTI people, which local organizations have also recorded.

There are arrests by police officers who feel encouraged to use mistreatment against LGBTI people and, for example, to carry out forced anal examinations and check whether people are homosexual."

Queer people in other African countries also fear persecution.

31 of the 54 African countries criminalize consensual same-sex sexual acts.

However, the expert warns against making generalizations.

There were also positive developments in some African countries.

Franziska Ulm-Düsterhöft, Africa consultant at Amnesty International in Germany:


“Decriminalization has taken place, for example, in Mozambique and in Angola, in Cape Verde, in Mauritius.

Therefore, this image that things are really bad everywhere in African countries and that there is only regression is not correct.

However, anti-queer sentiment has recently increased in most other African countries.

In Uganda, homosexual acts were already illegal before the new anti-homosexuality law was introduced.

Some of these laws were introduced in colonial times, such as in the former British colonies of Kenya and Uganda.

According to the Ugandan Penal Code of 1950, homosexual acts are prohibited.

Twelve years later, the country gained its independence, but the situation for the LGBTQ community did not improve.

In the early 2010s, there were attempts to tighten laws against queer people.

Such a law was passed in 2014 – until the Ugandan Constitutional Court overturned it a few months later.

Activists are now relying on the Constitutional Court again: the first hearing of their complaint took place in December.

A verdict is still pending.

Nicholas Opio, lawyer for the plaintiffs:


"We hope that the court will use the opportunity to clarify the question of whether the Ugandan constitution protects every single member of our society, regardless of their sexual orientation."

Even before Uganda's recent anti-homosexuality law came into force, discrimination against sexual minorities was widespread.

What is new is its intensity and the legalization, which now affects almost all areas of queer people's lives.

Lack of loans from the World Bank and further international protests have so far had little effect.

Meanwhile, the queer community continues to fight.