Uganda police accused of targeting LGBT community amid coronavirus lockdown

As the Ugandan authorities ordered a ban on gatherings of more than five people to curb coronavirus spread, the police authorities reportedly charged 20 LGBT people for disobeying rules. According to international media reports, campaigners have accused the Uganda police of abusing the newly imposed restrictions to target sexual minorities as earlier this week, the police raided a shelter on the outskirts of Kampala and arrested 14 gay men, two bisexual men and four transgender women. However, the police have denied the allegations by the LGBT campaigners.

While speaking to an international media outlet, a police spokesperson, Patrick Onyango, said that the detainees had been disobeying distancing by congesting school-like dormitory setting within a small house despite the ban. Onyango reportedly said that that country still has offences of unnatural sex in the law books and the authorities are still charging them with disobeying the ban. Uganda is a largely conservative Christian community and homosexuality is punishable by life imprisonment. 

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According to reports, the executive director of Sexual Minorities, Frank Mugisha, said that the arrests were a clear case of discriminations against the LGBT community. Frank said that the raid followed complaints to police about the shelter from neighbours, and the lockdown related charges were brought only when it was clear that there was no other justification for holding the detainees. He further reportedly added that the arrests were initially around homophobia and transphobia because neighbours reported them and so the security forces came and raided them. 

LGBT campaigners have also said that the pandemic had contributed to a rise in homophobic rhetoric in the country as the LGBT is reportedly also being blamed by some people for the disease. currently, Uganda has more than 40 confirmed coronavirus cases.

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Coronavirus outbreak

Meanwhile, coronavirus, which originated in China in December 2019, has now claimed over 47,000 lives worldwide as of April 2. According to the tally by international news agency, the pandemic has now spread to 203 countries and has infected more than 936,829 people. Out of the total infections, 194,604 have been recovered but the easily spread virus is continuing to disrupt many lives. Major cities have been put under lockdown in almost all countries including Spain, and the economy is struggling. 

(Image source: PoliceUg/Twitter)

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