Ugandan Government Shuts Down LGBTQ+ Group
Government officials in Uganda have ordered the closure of Sexual Minorities Uganda (Smug), a leading LGBTQ+ rights organization, in a move which many describe as a major setback to the community.
Homosexuality is criminalized in Uganda and punishments include up to life in prison. Gender and sexual minorities face hostility and harassment from the government as well as civil society. This latest move, to ban Smug, has been described by the organization as part of a "witch hunt" by the Government against the LGBTQ+ community. "This is a clear witch hunt rooted in systematic homophobia, fueled by anti-gay and anti-gender movements," said Smug's director Frank Mugisha, who is a gay Ugandan activist. He also accused the government of trying to "erase" the LGBTQ+ community in Uganda.
Police data suggests that between 2017 and 2020, 194 people were charged for same-sex acts, with 25 going on to be prosecuted. Their sentences are unknown.
Authorities cite the reason for banning the group – which they insist is not a ban but simply that it's operations have been halted – as being that it had failed to properly register itself with the National Bureau for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). This was a similar reason given to a number of pro-democracy organizations when they were also banned from operating last year. Smug contests that when they attempted to register, they were rejected on the grounds that their name was deemed "undesirable."
Founded in 2004, Smug has campaigned for equal treatment of the LGBTQ+ community and the overturning of unjust homophobic laws. Whilst being trans is not a criminal offence in Uganda, trans people are still tried and convicted under other laws aimed at criminalizing them, such as impersonation.
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