LGBT-organizations in Uganda

Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG)

Sexual Minorities Uganda was established in March 2004 as an umbrella organization with 6 member-organizations. Victor Juliet Mukasa was chosen as chair-person, and has had this position since then.

In the program formulated at the launching the goals and visions of SMUG were stated:

To lead and organize LGBT organizations in Uganda in the fight for the recognition of same sex relationships and the removal of all forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The vision of Sexual Minorities Uganda is that of a peaceful non-discriminatory society with respect for human rights and equal health, social, economical and political opportunities for Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Uganda.

The six organizations also agreed on a strategy to reach these goals. The document is full of ambitions and suggestions about how to work. Unfortunately the fight for power between persons and groups started almost immediately after SMUG was formed. Since the beginning SMUG has therefore depended on the initiative of individuals. An impressing amount of work has in fact been done in the name of SMUG, but many of the members in the organizations do not feel sufficient ownership to SMUG or that they can influence what is done.

SMUG tried to register the organization but was rejected since they did not want to hide their goals. Victor has, as the chairperson, been visible in the media, at great personal risk. She has in a short period of time built a network of support among national and international organizations. Within few months of the launching of SMUG, homosexuality was put on the public agenda and hotly debated in Uganda. But the fearless attitude of Victor has also created conflict: Some people felt threatened by so much visibility.

After the raid in Victor’s home (see the article...), the problems multiplied. Naturally people were scared, and mistrust between them and the various groups intensified. SMUG has been hibernating since July last year. The spring of 2006 it fortunately seems like people are ready to start again. When Queer solidarity visited Kampala in April, meetings were already underway to shake off past disagreements and start again. Queer Solidarity too held meetings with the new SMUG and provided a lot of encouragement and direction. Some groups have been removed, and SMUG today includes the three organizations that will be presented here.

Spectrum Uganda Initiatives Limited

Spectrum has existed since the fall of 2004, and been registered since 2004. Officially the goals are to fight HIV/aids, speak for the marginalized groups in society and give psychological support to the members. The main focus is the HIV/aids work. What is not said in the official program is that their main target is LGBT, and that they want to fight for problems and needs that is particular to this group when it comes to the aids-epidemic. Spectrum is a peer-support group. Sick members are for example visited at home or helped to see (gay-friendly) doctors.

The group used to keep regular meetings for the members. They had problems with infiltrators – the press always got to know what was discussed at meetings. So today they only meet virtually, that is, they use e-mails and sms to contact each other. Their mailing-list has 160 members.

The main aim of Spectrum is not to fight for gay rights politically. They concentrate on softer goals by working for health-rights, counseling, and poverty reduction for the LGBT-group.

Integrated Fellowship Uganda

In the year 2000 Integrity Uganda was started as a support group for gay men with the retired Anglican bishop Christopher Ssenyonyo as chair person. Ssenyonyo was later thrown out of the Ugandan Anglican church and stripped of his official duties as a priest for his work with homosexuals.

The main aim of the organization is counseling and support, to be a place for gays to meet, talk and worship together. They have today 25 members.

Integrity Uganda tried to register, but was turned down because of a clearly stated gay target. The organization has changed its name to Integrated Fellowship Uganda and will try once again for registration. Integrity has targeted the poorer part of the community, and they see the need of doing something with the members’ practical problems. They wish to be able to help members in their fight for survival through micro financing. They want to reach out to a wider population. Their vision is to mix into the community to let ”ordinary” people meet gays and thus get rid of some prejudices.

Integrated Fellowship Uganda is not a gay rights organization. It is a charity organization that focuses on LGBT.

Freedom and Roam Uganda (FARUG)

It started with lesbians gathering at a bar in Kampala around 2002/03. A group (where Victor Juliet Mukasa was central) had started to be interested in LGBT-activism. They read everything they could find on the internet, and discussed it when they met for a beer. Their conclusion was that they needed organizing. They started attending a gay group, at the Makerere University (called MUSLA), but decided after some weeks that it didn’t fit their needs: “We saw that they didn’t take us seriously, they behaved the way mixed organizations often do towards women. That was the kind of male chauvinism we met.” So then the only LBT-organization of Uganda was started. Freedom and roam Uganda has never registered because they do not want to compromise with their identities as lesbians.

Freedom and Roam has had problems from the very start because members are divided in their views on what is to be the main aim of the group: social activities or political activism. This has had a somewhat paralyzing effect. Even if there are app. 40 women with ties to FARUG only a handful is active.

Those who wanted political activism are a group around Victor. They took part in establishing SMUG in 2004, and have both when representing SMUG and FARUG been very active. They have visited human rights organizations, written to the president, established media relations, been interviewed, and done lobbying and networking towards NGOs both in Uganda and internationally.