Interview — May 29, 2024, marked exactly one year since the Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) became law. It has been globally criticised for marginalising the minority community, including Dr Frank Mugisha, who has petitioned the Supreme Court to quash it.
Mugisha is internationally known for his advocacy as a human rights defender and has won awards for his activism. Also, a prominent advocate for sexual minority rights in Uganda, he was recently named as one of the 100 most influential people of 2024 by Time magazine.
In this interview with Joel Mukisa, he asserts that whereas his lobby group supports today's sanctioning of the speaker of parliament Anita Among and others, he does not support any blanket sanctions on Uganda and Ugandan citizens who need development aid from our international partners.
QUESTION: Congratulations on being named in the TIME100! How does this recognition feel, and what does it mean for you?
ANSWER: It feels great, first and foremost for me as an individual, but also for the cause of human rights amid barbs and a barrage of insults all over the internet.
To be recognised by Time magazine, underscores the plight of the marginalised minority that my advocacy efforts seek to highlight and center in major debates across the globe. The recognition is a statement of solidarity with the marginalised minority population in Africa and globally. It reminds me and my team of the greater efforts needed to do this work, for much is still desired, especially in these times of precarity. My influence is felt in many aspects globally, regionally, and nationally.
You're an outspoken human rights activist, especially for the queer community in Uganda for years. Do you sometimes feel at risk?
There are overwhelming threats against my person, life, and liberty, but this is also part of the work. There's nothing more rewarding for me than to live a life in service of others. Uganda is my home, and nothing can change that.
You've been abroad for some months now. How true are rumors that you fled the country?
That must be part of the toxic propaganda shared and spread by our adversaries from the ultra-Christian right. I am sometimes away from Uganda because of the numerous international engagements that ground me in various capitals, but I spend most of my time in Uganda.
When I am not in Uganda, it's because of the work that requires my urgent and personal attention, you can imagine how difficult it is for me and my colleagues in Uganda at this moment to support the community, but also you should know that my cause and activism is global and not limited to Uganda. I will never flee Uganda for exile. I have had several offers to leave Uganda, but I won't, or at least not now. No one knows how bad it may get, though many queer Ugandans have fled the country due to the situation here, and I do not blame them.
You have previously stated that homosexuality is African, and homophobia is foreign. What do you mean by this?
The existence of homosexuals has been recorded among many pre-colonial societies such as the Bahima, something noted by sociologist professor Musa Mwene Mushanga in a 1973 book chapter titled 'The Nkole of Southwestern Uganda.' The book title is called 'Cultural Sources Materials for Population Planning in East Africa: Beliefs and Practices.'
The same is true among the Baganda, a kingdom that's been greatly studied. British-Ugandan novelist Jennifer Nsubuga Makumbi in her page turning novel 'Kintu' historicises through fiction the place of same sex desire in pre-colonial Buganda. The setting is pre-colonial to debunk the normative assumptions of same sex desire being a western import. So, it is homophobia that emerges out of Victorian England and Christian ethos that is foreign to the continent.
The Gay lobby, of which you are a prominent face, has been accused of mobilising for sanctions against certain high-ranking personalities in Uganda. How true is this?
It's entirely not true though we support targeted sanctions against individuals both politicians and other actors who promote gross human rights violations and abuses. We do not support any blanket sanctions on the country or ordinary Ugandans.
What are your thoughts on the sanctions against the Speaker of parliament Anita Among? She claims the accusations against her are a cover-up and that she is being targeted for her stance against homosexuality in Uganda.
These sanctions have nothing to do with homosexuality. Many Ugandan politicians are extremely homophobic and voted for the law against homosexuality, including one who chaired the "kill the gays bill" back then and passed it as a Christmas gift. These Ugandans have never been sanctioned. What I can say, and this is my opinion, is that Uganda passing the anti-gay law has placed so much scrutiny on the country and has put Ugandan leaders under the lens by international development partners and human rights watch dogs.
Talk is rife that the queer groups have aligned themselves with Uganda's leading opposition, National Unity Platform (NUP) to the extent that its leader, Bobi Wine, has been accused of working for the pro-gay movement. To what extent are you working with NUP?
Not at all! The LGBTQ+ community is non-partisan; queer people are in every corner of Uganda; so, we cannot be part of any political party. Individuals are free to affiliate themselves with any political party of their choice. As I see, many politicians, both in the opposition and other parties, are mostly anti-gay and voted for the anti-gay bill in parliament. I really don't want to delve into the murky and uncharted waters of politics, but the test of the pudding is in the eating. How did his party vote while in the House on the matter of the Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA)? The record is there for all and sundry to see.
The Constitutional court ruled against your challenge of the AHA in a decision that you described as the worst. How would you describe the environment after this ruling?
Appalling to our judiciary. I wonder how they feel when they reflect on the ruling or when they interact with their peers globally? To be honest, I am embarrassed.
May 29 marked exactly one year since the AHA became law. How do you describe the past one year for the minority?
Terrible! This has been the worst time ever; the environment remains toxic. It is characterised by untold levels of misery and depression against the backdrop of wanton arrests, detentions, blackmail and exhortation, violence among other heinous activities. Every day I see cases of those losing jobs and tenancies, and most notorious now are those seeking to migrate because home is no longer safe. Before the introduction of this law, Ugandans were radicalised into hatred by the anti-gay lobby supported by American anti-gay groups; they were told so many lies about the queer community, and this has impacted the lives of queer Ugandans as many of the violations we see are from non-state actors. These anti-rights groups even paid influencers on social media to spread their lies.
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What contingency plan, if any, do you have?
The violations are overwhelming and there are many litigation options available locally and internationally. We have since appealed to the Supreme court; among a cocktail of other alternatives, I cannot disclose here.
One of the main reasons many Ugandans support legislation against the queer community is the allegation of recruiting children into homosexuality. What is your take on this?
That's just the convenient reason; you should probe what the actual reason is. That notion is not backed by any evidence whatsoever. Even police reports show how shallow that talk is. That talk is a sponsored by the American evangelicals. I was surprised to find this talk in the (Constitutional court) judgment. There are also many Ugandans I hold with high regard peddling this conspiracy theory. Where are these children who are recruited in what force or gang that eludes security all these years that cannot be found. I do, however, condemn any form of child exploitation by homosexuals and heterosexuals and there are laws for this.
What is your final word to Ugandans?
Uganda is largely known as a welcoming country. There are many LGBTQ+ persons that have contributed to the growth of this country; the hatred we see is new and taught.
As a welcoming, happy and accepting country, we should live with each other. However different we are, it is the Christian thing to do.
