On August 4 Ugandan police raided the 2016 Uganda Pride celebrations, forcefully arresting prominent human rights activist Dr. Frank Mugisha and Pepe Julian Onziema, leaders of Sexual Minorities Uganda, among many others.
In addition to unlawful arrests, and harassment of the crowd, police invited the media to take photos of everyone at the event without individual consent, violating their privacy and putting individuals in danger should those photos be leaked to the public. This would not be the first time that the media had free rein to “out” LGBTIQ individuals and expose them to harm.
The Kucha Times reported: “The Police who were in the company of plain clothed officers started pin pointing wherever two men they saw together and also picked out transgender people. It was a heartbreaking sight as they searched and sexually assaulted transgender people by touching their genitals and breasts to “determine” whether they were male or female. Many transwomen threw their wigs away and plucked out their braids to avoid being identified and harassed.”
Police cited the raid and arrests to a breach of the Public Order Management Act, which requires organisations to obtain permission to hold a meeting of more than 3 people in public.
However, organisers of the Pride event assert that they had attained permission prior to the celebrations. While the legislation grants authorities permission to regulate and stop public meetings which go against the law, they are meant to do so with “regard to the rights and freedoms of the persons in respect of whom the order has been issued and the rights and freedoms of other persons.”
Officers acted with no regard for the rights and freedoms of any individual they were in contact with, treating participants with disrespect and aggression.
Yesterday’s events directly contradict Uganda’s Constitution Articles 21, 23 and 29, which enshrine principles of equality and freedom from discrimination, the protection of personal liberty, including the direction that “a person arrested, restricted or detained shall be informed immediately, in a language that the person understands, of the reasons for the arrest, restriction or detention of his or her right to a lawyer of his or her choice,” and the protection of freedom of conscience, expression, movement, religion and assembly and association. Rights also enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Uganda is a signatory.
OutRight’s Deputy Executive Director, Maria Sjodin, said: “Again and again, Ugandan authorities show that they have no regard for basic human rights of LGBT+ people and that they will even violate the Ugandan constitution in order to stop LGBT+ people from exercising those basic rights. The assault on the community, and especially the physical violence against trans people is appalling. The US government and others with embassies in Kampala must continue to monitor the situation, their presence can make pride events safer and is a concrete way of supporting the targeted minority.
We stand in solidarity with the courageous Ugandan LGBT+ community who have again been the target of violence.”
Uganda Pride organisers have postponed all remaining events for the time being, after the Minister of Ethics threatened to stop further planned events from happening, going as far as saying he would call for the public to use violence in order to stop events from continuing.
LGBT+ activist Kasha Jacqueline, said: “While the Minister of Ethics vow to stop us, we in the LGBT+ community know that we must continue to fight for our rights. Basic human rights like freedom of assembly, freedom of association belong to us as well, and yes, so does the right to celebrate during Pride week. Police had no right to stop an event in a private club and to brutally assault the attendees. We need the world to speak up.”
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