JUSTICE DELAYED IS JUSTICE DENIED.
By Melanie Nathan, June 05,2023.
The Judge did not show up to Court, yet again, and six young men, unjustly accused, under made up false charges, continue to languish, barely fed and tortured in the an Ugandan Prison cell, in Jinja, still effectively denied bail and a trial. This is the fifth remand - until June 26th. They have been in prison, innocent, unable to prove their case since March.
Sureties and advocates have shown up to court, at expense, only to have to leave with no action on behalf of the young men. The state is aware they are depleting resources for these young men.
Gays. lesbians and trans Ugandans continue to be attacked and hunted by state and non state actors in the wake of the new Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023, signed into law by President Museveni and gazetted just last week.
DENIED BAIL - Six Peer Educators Arrested in Ugandan Gay Hunts
By Melanie Nathan, April 17, 2023. The Ugandan Court in Jinja has denied bail to 6 young peer educators working for healthcare organizations, falsely accused, under made-up charges of “forming part of a criminal sexual network.” The arrests came hours after President Museveni described gay people as "deviants" and called for an investigation into homosexuality, before Members of Parliament passed the new Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023, which includes life in prison and the death penalty for so called "aggravated homosexuality. At writing, the legislation, otherwise known as THE KILL THE GAYS BILL is in the hands of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, awaiting his assent. The men were arrested in n Kiira and Jinja City pursuant to what the Ugandan government publicly promised would be a crackdown on organizations providing services to LGBTI people. The orchestrated hunt to shut down all LGBTQI+ Healthcare, and Human Rights related organizations in Uganda, is part of an effort to rid Uganda and Africa “of all homosexuality” and LGBTQI+ people, as called for by President Museveni. The call to target, attack, raid, shut down and arrest personnel is evidenced by an internal document which African Human Rights obtained, naming organizations under false accusations. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, National Bureau for NGOs set up a list to target these groups, based on this false persecutory report of the Ministry. HERE The false language used to set up these young men appears directly from police website and Facebook posts. HERE The Ugandan press has been mischaracterizing the peer educators and healthcare workers as "porn actors," evidencing the fact that Uganda's press is often complicit in the persecution of LGBTI Ugandans, adding to the danger the community faces in the country. This story has spread though many Ugandan publications to include false information, that serves to license the violence and mass panic we are seeing at African Human Rights Coalition. The Ugandan police have used FACEBOOK as a persecutory tool to OUT the men, even revealing home addresses. This is dramatically impacting families and all their contacts who are now facing harassment, and many of whom have gone into hiding or left the country, forcibly displaced. The six accused are presently being represented by lawyers from HRAPF, an Ugandan Human Rights NGO. African Human Rights Coalition has provided food for the detainees and money to transport the food, which is necessary in the Ugandan setting. READ MORE HERE
PIC: FALSE ACCUSATIONS OF UGANDAN PRESS:
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