Several Ugandans continue to face the brunt of persecution ever since the government of Uganda passed the Anti- Homosexuality Act, which left many innocent lives at peril.

Over the years, hundreds of Ugandans have fallen victim to acts of brutality, arbitrary arrests, lynchings, humiliation and isolation just because of being suspected to be members of the LGBTQ community.

Fugitive Simon Nahurira

Many of them have been arrested and are languishing in prisons across the country, while others live in hiding, to survive the government-backed onslaught.

The latest Ugandan to suffer the brunt of this persecution is renowned TikTok influencer Ken Mukalakasa, who was arrested in March this year on orders of Hon. Balam Barugahara, the State Minister for Youth, over allegations of abusing a minor, a case that according to the police, dates back to 2018.

According to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Diana Nandawula, Mukalakasa was first interrogated by the Minister, who later handed him to the police, something that raised a lot of questions about his arrest because what Balaam did is not the standard procedure for the Ugandan Police.

Mukalakasa

However, Mukalakasa’s case is not an isolated one because there are other Ugandans who have fallen victim to this spate of persecution against the LGBTQ community in Uganda.

Among them is Uncle Chumi, who is also an upcoming artiste, scribe Moses Serugo, Tiktoker Chicken Chicken Katongole, and Wasswa Simon Nahurira, a social worker, who currently lives in hiding.

Prior to fleeing into hiding, Nahurira was working with an Nongovernmental Organization known as Tomorrow Woman For Future In Sports (TWISF), located in Kakiri town, Wakiso District.

Sources close to Nahurira reveal that his problems started shortly after he got a job with the said NGO, which is under the proprietorship of sportsman, Jay Mukasa.

It should be noted that the said organisation, based in Kakiri town, carries out outreach programs for Ugandan youth talented in sports, but being persecuted for their links to the LGBTQ community in the country.

It is said, however, that Nahurira’s working with the NGO was misconstrued by many people in Kakiri town, who started accusing him of recruiting youth into acts of homosexuality.

Moses Serugo

The situation became so difficult for Nahurira after residents raided the home where he was staying, threatening to lynch him.

The matter also attracted investigations into the activities of the NGO by the local authorities, who threatened to arrest Mukasa and his team, accusing them of recruiting the youth into LGBTQ acts, under the guise of rehabilitation.

The residents also reported cases against him at wakiso Police Station and he was later arrested, only to be bailed out by his legal representative Peter Kakooza, who managed to secure Nahurira’s release from police custody.

However, even after his release, residents continued baying for his blood, demanding that he either leaves the area or faces their wrath for being a curse to society.

The persecution forced him to flee into hiding for safety and to date, his family members are worried about him because of not knowing his whereabouts and refused to comment on the matter.

As a result of the endless persecution and human rights abuse, LGBTQ individuals in Uganda face severe state-sanctioned violence, arbitrary arrests, forced evictions, and extortion, which has intensified following the passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act in 2024.

This law, considered one of the harshest in the world, makes consensual same-sex acts punishable by life imprisonment, while “aggravated homosexuality” can result in the death penalty, and to escape the punishment, many LGBTQ people live in hiding.