Reacting to the abduction of Dr. Kizza Besigye, Ugandan opposition politician and former presidential candidate for the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) in Nairobi, Kenya on 16 November and his arraignment at a military court in Kampala on 20 November, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Tigere Chagutah, said: “Amnesty International is…
A throng of chants and loud affirmations that ‘trans rights are human rights’ and ‘not one more trans life will be lost’ set the scene for a demonstration on trans rights that I recently attended. In a never-ending escalation of attacks against the rights of transgender people to autonomy and dignity, it felt jubilant to…
Online attacks against Uganda’s LGBTQ communities have drastically increased, owing to overly broad laws that criminalize various aspects of the lives of LGBTQ people and entrench discrimination, Amnesty International said in a new report today. The report, “Everybody Here Is Having Two Lives or Phones”: The Devastating Impact of Criminalization on Digital Spaces for LGBTQ…
Responding to the arrest and detention of more than a hundred youthful protestors in Uganda on Tuesday during anti-corruption protests, a chilling onslaught on protest in the region, coming hot on the heels of violent suppression of anti-government protests in Kenya, Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa said; “The heavy-handed…
Where were you in May last year when the Anti-Homosexuality act was passed? I was at an orthopedics appointment in Massachusetts USA, watching everything on my phone. I wished I was home with my people and yet I knew I needed to take care of my health if I was to continue this fight. I…
Responding to a decision by Uganda’s Constitutional Court to only revoke parts of the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 (AHA), a law which prompted rising attacks against LGBTI people, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Tigere Chagutah, said: “We are dismayed that the Court has turned its back on its responsibility to fully uphold…
Last year witnessed a surge in discriminatory legislation directed against LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) persons across Africa, said Amnesty International today. In a new briefing looking at 12 African countries, Amnesty International documents how legal systems were increasingly weaponized in 2023 to systematically target and discriminate against LGBTI individuals. This includes…