Uganda accused of 'state bigotry' and attacks on LGBTQ+ people [View all]

Source: The Guardian

Uganda accused of ‘state bigotry’ and attacks on LGBTQ+ people

Report from Human Rights Watch criticises Museveni regime for arbitrary arrests and detentions, violence and extortion since draconian new law enacted

Samuel Okiror in Kampala
Tue 27 May 2025 10.00 BST
Last modified on Tue 27 May 2025 10.01 BST

The Ugandan authorities have “unleashed abuse”, perpetrating widespread discrimination and violence against LGBTQ+ people in the two years since the world’s harshest anti-gay laws were enacted, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The government’s policies in Uganda had encouraged attacks and harassment against people and organisations seen as being supportive of gay rights, said researchers from the rights group.

Public figures in the east African nation have engaged in virulent homophobic rhetoric and human rights’ violations before and since the controversial law was enacted in May 2023.

“Authorities have raided and suspended nongovernmental organisations, conducted arbitrary arrests and detentions, engaged in entrapment via social media and dating apps, and extorted money from LGBT people in exchange for releasing them from police custody,” said the authors of They’re Putting Our Lives at Risk: How Uganda’s Anti-LGBT Climate Unleashes Abuse, which was released on Monday.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/may/27/uganda-museveni-criticised-state-bigotry-abuse-arbitrary-arrests-and-detentions-violence-extortion-lgbtq-human-rights-hrw