ugandan gay and lesbian organisations and activists targeted by the police

By Musa Ngubane

July 21, 2005: The calm before the storm finally broke out after the Ugandan parliament enacted new tough anti-homosexual laws when the police swooped on Victor Mukasa last night.

On the night of 20 July 2005, Victor Juliet Mukasa, who is the chairperson of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), had her residence raided by the Ugandan government police officials. The officials confiscated all documentations and other materials that had homosexual content.

Unfortunately for the police contingent which was clearly intending to pounce on Mukasa, they didn't find her at home as she had not yet arrived back home from town.

On the house they found a gay activist from Kenya who works closely with SMUG. She was detained for the night. According to Kasha Jacqueline, a lesbian human rights activist, "They took her [the Kenyan activist] in so Victor and the other LGBT activists [from SMUG] would want to fetch her from the police and then they can arrest Victor specifically and or the other activists

"The police threatened to broadcast the information found in the national media and that can lead to more containment by public at large", said Jacqueline.

This purported trap to arrest for SMUG officials is suspected to be part of an elaborate plan by the Ugandan government to obliterate gay and lesbian activities in that country.
It is mainly attributed to the new anti gay act that has been passed in Uganda

Mukasa said that she was supposed to meet with her lawyer today as well as Amnesty International and other human rights activist and had not yet handed herself over to the police. She was advised by visiting international human rights activist to report to the police until the group had met with the lawyers.