African Activist

Ubuntu: "I am what I am because of who we all are."

2012-02-08T22:28:00.007-07:00

Write a Letter to Encourage Jean-Claude Roger Mdebe

2011-12-09T16:16:00.001-07:00

Take Action: Jean-Claude Roger Mdebe is imprisoned for 36 months in Cameroon solely because of his sexual orientation. He is an Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience. He needs the encouragement of your letters. You can send him a message of care and solidarity via: Association pour la Défense de l’Homosexualité (ADEFHO), Rue Kitchener Bonanjo, BP 59 Douala, Cameroon.

You can download the flyer from Amnesty International here: http://bit.ly/trACzQ

Peter Tatchell calls for those living in UK to protest Nigeria's harsh anti-gay law

2011-12-06T20:55:00.003-07:00

VETERAN gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has called upon the British public to protest against Nigeria's harsh new anti-gay law. From his Facebook page came the following message:

The new Nigerian anti-gay Bill is far worse than we feared. Same-sex marriage & civil unions to be banned: 14 years jail for participants, 10 years jail for helpers & witnesses. Gay advocacy groups & same-sex public affection to be outlawed, with 10 years prison. This sweeping criminalisation contravenes Article 42 of the Nigerian constitution. Read more here: http://bit.ly/vfvAWg
Email your MP and MEPs via this website: www.writetothem.com Ask them to protest to the Nigerian High Commissioner

It has also been reported by PinkNews that over 60,000 signatures were collected asking the Nigerian President to reconsider the harsh bill. (http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinknews.co.uk%2F2011%2F12%2F06%2F60000-petition-nigerian-president-not-to-sign-anti-gay-law%2F&h=dAQHRn-k1AQHFfFqPNNfBw8gB9ab7aauPvEkmSfgHExglTA). Nigeria is one of the few countries where the death penalty applies to homosexuals; though it is rarely applied and only applies to the Islamic North of the country.

Influential Virgin boss, Richard Branson, has also weighed in on the Bill, stating, "All of us with influence in Nigeria must do what we can to stop this cruel law. I would urge educated Nigerians all over the world to do what they can to help fight this discrimination."

International pressure can make a change. The case of Tiwonge and Steven, two young men who were partners in Malawi and were jailed for being gay, is an example. After threats of aid being withheld and protests from around the world, they were freed.

Anyone wanting to read the Bill can do so at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/74807203/Nigeria-Same-Sex-Marriage-Bill-final

UN Secretary-General: Negotiate Unconditional Release of Men Imprisoned for Being Gay

2011-11-29T02:30:00.001-07:00

Yaounde Central Prison

Please sign the following petition addressed to Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations and Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:

----------------
Dear UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay,

We call on you to start negotiations with Cameroon President Paul Biya for the unconditional release of all the men imprisoned in Cameroon solely because of their perceived sexual orientation.

A Yaounde Court sentenced two men to five years in prison for their perceived sexual orientation last week. Another man, Roger Jean Claude Mbede, remains in prison serving a 36 month sentence for his perceived sexual orientation. All three men have been declared Prisoners of Conscience by Amnesty International.

Alice N'Kom, a Cameroonian attorney who heads the Association pour la Défense de l'Homosexualité (ADEFHO), writes in a letter:

"In the last two weeks violence against gay people in Cameroon has skyrocketed to unprecedented levels: the situation is quickly becoming a crisis. The president of Cameroon can put a stop to this, and if he feels enough pressure he will do so.

I'm watching police in Cameroon conduct an anti-gay crackdown - over 10 people have been arrested on charges of "homosexuality" in the last months. One of them, Jean-Claude, has been sentenced to 3 years in prison merely for sending a text message to another man. I've heard countless recent stories of homophobic violence throughout the country. I'm 66, and in ten years of defending lesbian, gay, bi and trans (LGBT) people in Cameroon, it has never been this bad."

A number of international human rights organisations have attempted to intervene in the situation. Human Rights Watch in conjunction with Association pour la Défense de l'Homosexualité (ADEFHO) and Alternatives-Cameroun have written top level officials about the situation. Amnesty International have conducted a letter writing campaign.

We call on the United Nations to act decisively in this situation and start negotiations with President Paul Biya for the unconditional release of all men imprisoned solely based on their perceived sexual orientation.
----------------

Sincerely,

[Your name]

Watch this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYxRUHo4Tyo

Amnesty: Release Jailed Men in Cameroon

2011-11-26T09:57:00.000-07:00

Amnesty International is calling for the immediate release of the two men who have been sentenced to five years in prison by a Yaounde Court for homosexual acts.

The Cameroonian authorities must immediately release two men who have been sentenced to five years in prison by a court in Yaounde for homosexual acts, Amnesty International said today.

A third man was sentenced without being present after jumping bail. The men were arrested in July after police alleged they were caught in a sexual act in a car.

“The Yaounde court must overturn this shocking sentence, which punishes these three men solely on the basis of their perceived sexual orientation,” said Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty International’s director for Africa.

“People accused of such crimes in Cameroon often face abuse and violence from other detainees or prison officers in detention. The two men must be released immediately and the Cameroonian authorities must repeal the country’s discriminatory anti-homosexuality laws,” he added.

In addition to the five-year prison sentence, the maximum sentence for homosexual acts in Cameroon, the men, only known as Francky, Jonas and Hilaire,, were each fined 200,000 CFA francs ($400). Their lawyer has appealed against the sentence.

Amnesty International considers the two men to be prisoners of conscience who are being punished solely because of their perceived sexual orientation.

Homosexuality is illegal in Cameroon and the country has recently seen a wave of anti-gay persecution.

At least ten individuals in Yaounde and Douala have been arrested under the discriminatory anti-gay laws since March this year. One man, Jean-Claude Roger Mbede, was convicted and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment on 28 April 2011. At least six others, arrested in July and August 2011, remain in custody, while three men were arrested and then released.

“The use of criminal law to punish private sexual activity between consenting adults goes directly against international human rights laws that Cameroon has signed and ratified.

“The government must take steps to end detentions, arrests and harassment of individuals on the grounds of their perceived or real sexual identity, “said Erwin van der Borght.

Gay rights groups have reacted in horror at the ruling.

Michel Togue told AFP that: “It’s a bad ruling because it is a blatant violation of the law”.

The sentences are believed to be the toughest prescribed by the country’s law.

Gay rights groups in Cameroon have reacted in horror at the judgement.

“It’s a shocking and unacceptable,” said Alice Nkom, president of the gay advocacy group Adefho.

She added: “It is not worthy of a country that speaks of human rights”.

In September, five International and Cameroonian human rights organisations wrote an open letter to President Paul Biya demanding that he end the persecution of gays and lesbians, repeal laws that criminalise consensual same-sex relations and release all individuals detained under the discriminatory law. The organisations include Alternatives Cameroun, Amnesty International, L’Association pour la Défense des Droits des Homosexuel(le)s (ADEFHO), Human Rights Watch and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGHRC).

South African Cabinet Condemns "Corrective Rape"

2011-11-11T14:21:00.001-07:00

Government Seal

In the most high-level government statement to date, the South African Cabinet has condemned the epidemic of 'corrective rapes' of lesbian women. The message was released at a press conference on Tuesday by government spokesperson Jimmy Manyi after the cabinet meeting.

From News 24:

Cabinet has condemned the practice of "corrective rape" of lesbian women and wants perpetrators prosecuted, government spokesperson Jimmy Manyi said on Thursday.

"Cabinet condemns the senseless and brutal acts of criminality that have been coined 'corrective rape'," he said at a briefing on Cabinet's regular fortnightly meeting.

"Perpetrators who are found guilty will be met with the full might of the law."

Manyi said ministers had received the assurance of the police and justice departments that they would "work very hard" to deal with all violence against women.

He said communities were co-operating with the authorities by reporting cases.

"Society as a whole has been intolerant of these kinds of activities, and they keep getting reported, so I think in partnership with the community at large, police will win (the fight against) this 'corrective rape' scourge."

The Department of Justice task force began work in October to combat violent hate crimes against LGBTI South Africans and includes six people representing the judiciary, police and department of social development and six representatives from the LGBTI community.

Mixed News for LGBTI Persons from Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM)

2011-11-08T16:38:00.002-07:00

CHOGM Leaders

While the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Australia included no commitment to oppose homophobic persecution and to protect the human rights of LGBTI persons, Commonwealth of Nations Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma did speak out against homophobic persecution. In addition, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) will be empowered to deal with serious or persistent human rights violations by member states, which could include action against countries that perpetrate homophobic persecution.

From Peter Tachell's website:

“The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth, Australia, was mixed bag from an LGBTI perspective. On the positive side, Kamalesh Sharma became the first Secretary General to speak out against homophobic persecution at a CHOGM event, the ngo Commonwealth People’s Forum. However, there was no agreement on the decriminalisation of homosexuality by the assembled government leaders,” noted Peter Tatchell, Director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, who worked with Commonwealth, LGBTI and HIV/AIDS groups to lobby CHOGM.

“Huge thanks to the many Commonwealth, LGBTI and HIV/AIDS organisations that lobbied CHOGM and the Commonwealth People’s Forum. Our collective efforts raised massively the profile of LGBTI rights. Although not on the official agenda of the heads of government, demands for the decriminalisation of homosexuality were a major backdrop to CHOGM. The petition and email blitz put the Secretary General and Commonwealth governments under unprecedented pressure to respect the human rights of LGBTI people.

“The Secretary General heard our message loud and clear. He stood with us, taking a lead by affirming that homophobic criminalisation and discrimination are incompatible with Commonwealth values. No Secretary General had ever said this at CHOGM. Our hope is that he will continue to give a lead by opposing sexual orientation discrimination and by urging homophobic countries to abide by the Commonwealth’s human rights values.

“More than 40 of the 54 Commonwealth member states still criminalise same-sex relations, with penalties including 25 years jail in Trinidad and Tobago and 20 years plus flogging in Malaysia. Six Commonwealth countries stipulate life imprisonment: Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Pakistan, Uganda, Bangladesh and Guyana.

“At CHOGM, there was no condemnation of Uganda’s revived anti-gay bill which carries the death penalty for repeat homosexual offenders and no condemnation of Nigeria’s bill that outlaws same-sex marriage with three years jail for participants and five years jail for those who witness, aid or abet a same-sex marriage.

“The CHOGM 2011 Final Communiqué included no commitment to oppose homophobic persecution and to protect the human rights of LGBTI people, despite widespread sexual orientation and gender identity abuses by most Commonwealth nations.

Read the Final Communiqué here: http://www.thecommonwealth.org/news/34580/241632/301011communique.htm

“These failings contradict the Commonwealth’s professed fundamental values of human rights, equality and non-discrimination. They reflect a wider failure to tackle human rights abuses in many Commonwealth member states, including gender inequality, ethnic discrimination, detention without trial, torture, media censorship and state-sponsored executions.

“There were, however, some limited CHOGM agreements which could potentially lead to future progress on LGBTI rights; albeit very slowly and piecemeal.

"Commonwealth leaders agreed that the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) will be empowered to deal with serious or persistent human rights violations by member states, which could include action against countries that perpetrate homophobic persecution.

“CMAG will, in effect, be the custodian of the 2009 Affirmation of Commonwealth Values and Principles which, the Secretary-General said in his speech at the Commonwealth People's Forum, 'includes a clear commitment to tolerance, respect and understanding. This means we embrace difference, and that includes sexual identity. Discrimination and criminalisation on grounds of sexual orientation is at odds with our values.'

"Commonwealth heads of government are committed to set up a task force to advise on the recommendations of the Eminent Persons Group. These recommendations include that member governments should take steps to encourage the repeal of discriminatory laws that impede effective responses to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, such as the criminalisation of same-sex relations. This task force offers some hope that that the EPG’s decriminalisation recommendation might be implemented eventually, at least in some Commonwealth countries. To make this happen, we need to sustain our lobbying and campaigning efforts,” concluded Mr Tatchell.

Speaking at the Commonwealth People’s Forum on 25 October 2011, the Secretary General, Kamalesh Sharma, said:

“We recall the 2009 Affirmation of Commonwealth Values and Principles, which includes a clear commitment to tolerance, respect and understanding. This means we embrace difference, and that includes sexual identity. Discrimination and criminalisation on grounds of sexual orientation is at odds with our values and I have had occasion to refer to this in the context of our law-related conferences.”

See Also:

Voices Call for Decriminalisation of Homosexuality

LGBTI Activists Say No to UK Prime Minister David Cameron's Foreign Aid Threat

2011-11-07T20:39:00.002-07:00

President John Atta Mills

UPDATE: UK won’t force gay rights on Malawi, Africa, Nyasa Times

The leaders of a number of African nations rebuked recent comments by UK Prime Minister David Cameron about cutting foreign aid to Commonwealth countries that criminalise homosexuality. The rebukes came from the heads of East African nations and Ghana. LGBTI activists are also pushing back: "While the intention may well be to protect the rights of LGBTI people on the continent, the decision to cut aid disregards the role of the LGBTI and broader social justice movement on the continent and creates the real risk of a serious backlash against LGBTI people."

Statement of African social justice activists on the threats of the British government to “cut aid” to African countries that violate the rights of LGBTI people in Africa:

We, the undersigned African social justice activists, working to advance societies that affirm peoples’ differences, choice and agency throughout Africa, express the following concerns about the use of aid conditionality as an incentive for increasing the protection of the rights of LGBTI people on the continent.

It was widely reported, earlier this month, that the British Government has threatened to cut aid to governments of “countries that persecute homosexuals” unless they stop punishing people in same-sex relationships. These threats follow similar decisions that have been taken by a number of other donor countries against countries such as Uganda and Malawi. While the intention may well be to protect the rights of LGBTI people on the continent, the decision to cut aid disregards the role of the LGBTI and broader social justice movement on the continent and creates the real risk of a serious backlash against LGBTI people.

A vibrant social justice movement within African civil society is working to ensure the visibility of - and enjoyment of rights by - LGBTI people. This movement is made up of people from all walks of life, both identifying and non-identifying as part of the LGBTI community. It has been working through a number of strategies to entrench LGBTI issues into broader civil society issues, to shift the same-sex sexuality discourse from the morality debate to a human rights debate, and to build relationships with governments for greater protection of LGBTI people. These objectives cannot be met when donor countries threaten to withhold aid.

The imposition of donor sanctions may be one way of seeking to improve the human rights situation in a country but does not, in and of itself, result in the improved protection of the rights of LGBTI people. Donor sanctions are by their nature coercive and reinforce the disproportionate power dynamics between donor countries and recipients. They are often based on assumptions about African sexualities and the needs of African LGBTI people. They disregard the agency of African civil society movements and political leadership. They also tend, as has been evidenced in Malawi, to exacerbate the environment of intolerance in which political leadership scapegoat LGBTI people for donor sanctions in an attempt to retain and reinforce national state sovereignty.

Further, the sanctions sustain the divide between the LGBTI and the broader civil society movement. In a context of general human rights violations, where women are almost as vulnerable as LGBTI people, or where health and food security are not guaranteed for anyone, singling out LGBTI issues emphasizes the idea that LGBTI rights are special rights and hierarchically more important than other rights. It also supports the commonly held notion that homosexuality is ‘unAfrican’ and a western-sponsored ‘idea’ and that countries like the UK will only act when ‘their interests’ have been threatened.

An effective response to the violations of the rights of LBGTI people has to be more nuanced than the mere imposition of donor sanctions. The history of colonialism and sexuality cannot be overlooked when seeking solutions to this issue. The colonial legacy of the British Empire in the form of laws that criminalize same-sex sex continues to serve as the legal foundation for the persecution of LGBTI people throughout the Commonwealth. In seeking solutions to the multi-faceted violations facing LGBTI people across Africa, old approaches and ways of engaging our continent have to be stopped. New ways of engaging that have the protection of human rights at their core have to recognize the importance of consulting the affected.

Furthermore, aid cuts also affect LGBTI people. Aid received from donor countries is often used to fund education, health and broader development. LGBTI people are part of the social fabric, and thus part of the population that benefit from the funding. A cut in aid will have an impact on everyone, and more so on the populations that are already vulnerable and whose access to health and other services are already limited, such as LGBTI people.,

To adequately address the human rights of LGBTI people in Africa, the undersigned social justice activists call on the British government to:

Review its decision to cut aid to countries that do not protect LGBTI rights

Expand its aid to community based and lead LGBTI programmes aimed at fostering dialogue and tolerance.

Support national and regional human rights mechanisms to ensure the inclusiveness of LGBTI issues in their protective and promotional mandates.

Support the entrenchment of LGBTI issues into broader social justice issues through the financing of community lead and nationally owned projects

Contact Persons

Joel Gustave Nana, (French and English)
Executive Director
African Men for Sexual Health and Rights
Tel: +27735045420,
joel@amsher.net

Hakima Abbas
Executive Director
Fahamu
Email: Hakima@fahamu.org

Wanja Muguongo
UHAI- the East African Sexual Health and Rights Initiative
Tel: +254(020)2330050/ 8127535
wanja@uhai-eashri.org

Phumi Mtetwa
phumi10@hotmail.com
Sibongile Ndashe
sibongilendashe@gmail.com

SIGNATORIES

ActionAid (Liberia)
African Men for Sexual Health and Rights – AMSHeR (Regional)
AIDS Legal Network (South Africa)
AIDS Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (Sub-regional)
ARC EN CIEL + (Cote d’Ivoire)
Arc en Ciel d’Afrique (Canada)
Centre for Popular Education and human Rights - CEPEHRG (Ghana)
Coalition Against Homophobia in Ghana (Ghana)
Coalition of African Lesbians- CAL (Regional)
Engender (South Africa)
Evolve (Cameroon)
Face AIDS Ghana (Ghana)
Fahamu (Regional)
Freedom and Roam Uganda (Uganda)
Gay and Lesbian of Zimbabwe – GALZ (Zimbabwe)
Horizons Community Association (Rwanda)
House of Rainbow Fellowship – (Nigeria)
ICHANGE CI (Cote d’Ivoire)
Identity Magazine (Kenya)
IGLHRC Africa (Regional)
Ishtar MSM (Kenya)
Justice for Gay Africans (Diaspora)
LEGABIBO (Botswana)
Let Good Be Told In us (LGBTI) Nyanza and Western coalition of Kenya (Kenya)
Most at Risk Populations’ Society In Uganda (UGANDA)
Mouvement pour les Libertes Individuelles - MOLI (Burundi)
My Rights (Rwanda)
Network against violence, abuse, discrimination and stigma-Africa (Regional)
Nyanza and Western LGBTI Coalition of Kenya (Kenya)
Other Sheep Afrika (Kenya)
Outright Namibia
Pan Africa ILGA (Regional)
PEMA Kenya
Queer African Youth Center Network QAYN – (Sub-regional – West Africa)
Rainbow Candle Light (Burundi)
Reseau Camerounais des Personnes Vivant avec le VIH – Recap+ (Cameroon)
Riruta United Women Empowerment Programme (Kenya)
Si Jeunesse Savait (Democratic Republic of Congo)
South African National AIDS Council – LGBT sector
Spectrum Uganda Initiatives – (Uganda)
Stay Alive Self Help Group (Kenya)
Stop Aids In Liberia
The Initiative for Equal Rights (TIER) - Nigeria
The International Center for Advocacy on the Rights to Health -ICARH (Nigeria)
The Lesbian and Gay Equality Project (South Africa)
Together for Women’s Rights ASBL (Burundi)
Treatment Action Campaign (South Africa)
Triangle Project (South Africa)
UHAI-the East African Sexual Health and Rights Initiative (Sub-regional -East Africa)
Vision Spring Initiatives
West African Treatment Action Group (Sub-regional – West Africa)
Women Working with Women (Kenya)
Youth Focus (Uganda)

Press Release on the British Prime Minister's 'Homosexuality Threat' To Ghana from The Coalition against Homophobia in Ghana (CAHG)

Accra, 03 November, 2011: The Coalition against Homophobia in Ghana (CAHG), the Gay and Lesbian Association of Ghana (GALAG) and other LGBT Networks in Ghana are surprised and in total shock at the increased interest by the UK government to withdraw aid to some African countries who are homophobic. Though the Coalition have no problem with calling on government to abide by the British code of conduct for financial support, we believe LGBT people do not live in isolation in Africa. We have families and friends who need these aids to survive on daily basis.

Cutting aid to some selected Africa countries due to homophobic laws therefore will not help the LGBT people in these countries, but will rather stigmatize these groups and individuals. LGBT people will be used as scape goats for government inability to support its citizens and some sectors of the economy.

The challenge now is that,

1. Homosexuality is now being seen as western import due to the continuous threats from the UK government. It is now difficult to convince the ordinary person on the street that homosexuality was not imported into Africa; although we know and have always had African indigenous people who are born homosexuals.

2. LGBT groups and organizations are finding it very   difficult and risky to organize their programs due to such threats and continuous discussion on radio and television stations in Ghana.

3. Support from government agencies for LGBT programs with regards to health will be affected since the government will not want to be seen as promoting or supporting LGBT activities in the country.

We believe the UK government can use diplomacy to get some of these important issues across to the countries noted for promoting hate against homosexuals or the LGBT community in Africa. We encourage the UK government to find other alternative way to address the issue other than this option, which is going to increase   the level of stigma, violence and discrimination against LGBT people in Africa.

Though all these noise continue to go against LGBT groups and individuals in Africa, development partners never supports LGBT initiatives on the ground. Embassies and consulates including the EU offices continue to turn deaf ears to LGBT issues insisting that their priorities do not include LGBT people in Africa.

We are by this release appealing to development partners to channel some support to LGBT groups and organization in countries like Ghana to support local or internal advocacy as well as network building with state institutions.

This we believe will go a long way to help the LGBT people in Ghana and Africa at large.

###

For more information, please contact the coalition on coalition.homophobia.gh@gmail.com

Signed:

1.     Coalition against Homophobia in Ghana
2.     Centre for Popular Education and Human Rights, Ghana
3.     Gay and Lesbian Association of Ghana (GALAG)
4.     Face AIDS Ghana
5.     National Association of Persons Living with HIV/AIDS (NAP+)
6.     Development Communication Initiatives – Ghana
7.     Young People Advocate for a Change
8.     Youth and Human Rights -, Ghana

See Also:

Zambia and Zimbabwe appear to reject gay rights “pressure” on aid, PinkNews
Is the West Still Colonizing Continent?, AllAfrica
Cameron remarks vindicate Nyerere: Aid threat to independence, IPPMedia
Continent Must Shun Western Aid, AllAfrica
Getting Gay Rights Wrong in Africa and Brown Envelopes, AllAfrica

Queer Alliance of Nigeria Statement on Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Bill 2011

2011-10-31T22:18:00.001-06:00

Williams Rashidi
Queer Alliance of Nigeria

A bill that would imprison same-sex couples for three years for getting married is still pending in the Nigerian Senate. The bill also calls for imprisonment or heavy fines for anyone involved in solemnising same-sex marriages. The Queer Alliance of Nigeria, an organisation that works to promote the well being and the rights of sexual minorities, just published the statement they made to Nigeria's National Assembly.

From the Queer Alliance of Nigeria:

Distinguish Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
Members of the Press,
My Fathers and Mothers,
Fellow Nigerians,

I stand before you today to appeal to your conscience not to promote discrimination and hate towards some Nigerian citizens who for the dilemma of their sexuality cannot speak for themselves. My name is Rashidi Williams, the Executive Director of Queer Alliance Nigeria. Queer Alliance works to promote the well-being and advocate for the rights of sexual minorities in Nigeria. I am proud to identify as a gay man of African and Nigerian descent.

At this point in the history of our country, it is important to note that we are going through a period in which the decisive support for the rule of law, principles of freedom, artistic and intellectual expression, association, religious liberty, dignity of the Human Person, freedom from discrimination of all sorts, an open society and the respect, protection and fulfillment of the rights of all Nigerians have become an absolute necessity.
According to the World Health Organization; sexuality is a central aspect of being human throughout life and encompasses sex, gender identities and roles, sexual orientation, eroticism, pleasure, intimacy and reproduction. Sexuality is experienced and expressed in thoughts, fantasies, desires, beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviours, practices, roles and relationships. Sexuality is also influenced by the interaction of biological, psychological, social, economic, cultural, ethical, legal, political, historical and religious and spiritual factor. It therefore suffices to say that homosexuality is inherent in a particular percentage of the citizenry of our country.

Sexuality is a core component of what makes us human beings. Same Sex attraction as we know is not a matter of choice. No one will willing choose to belong to a marginalized group within any particular society. It is already a trial to survive the hardship of our nations let alone the discrimination we face as sexual minorities. We believe that our sexuality is God-given and that it should not be a basis for discrimination against us.

Nigeria’s constitution guarantees every citizen their fundamental human rights. The Chapter IV of the constitution gives a list of these rights. Notable is the Right to the Dignity of the Human Person, The Right to Freedom from Discrimination and The Right to Peaceful Assembly and Association. Our signatory to international covenants and treaties (notably Universal Declaration on Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women etc.), recognizes the fact that we know and acknowledge that sexual orientation and gender identity is and should be a protected clause in the context of human rights. It is also means that as people and a country, there is sexual diversity amongst us.

The Right to Freedom from Discrimination has been interpreted internationally to include freedom from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. While the constitution endorse the Right to Freedom from Discrimination, discriminatory and repressive laws found in the Penal And Criminal Codes of the nation gives a breeding ground for the perpetration of hate crimes and violations of human rights on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity in the country. This bill which is coming on the heels of penalizing legislation will further make life difficult for sexual minorities.

Distinguish Senators, in Nigeria violence against sexual minorities are frequent and occur on a daily basis, mostly under-reported. People with same sex orientation are being attacked by members of the society, using the discriminatory laws that exist in our statue books and religious texts to fuel their acts. These people go unpunished for these dastardly acts. This bill will escalate the tension that we are already experiencing as a result of our sexuality. Discriminatory laws found in the penal and Criminal Codes also prevent sexual minorities from seeking redress because state actors, especially law enforcement agencies use these laws to further abuse and violate their human rights. The killing of Innua Yakubu, a student of the Government College, Jigawa in 2002. Innua Yakubu was tagged gay by his classmates. This is a vivid example of the daily horrific experiences that sexual minorities in Nigeria go through.

May we also call the attention of the distinguished Senate of our country know that there is no place or evidence in Nigeria today that supports or affirms that persons with same sex orientations are getting married. We believe that what this bill seeks to penalize is non-existence and therefore means that the bill to prohibit same sex marriage is null and void.

Our beloved country has committed herself to numerous Human Right treaties and convention under international laws of the United Nations and Human Rights Commission which expands on the understanding of sexuality, sexual orientation and gender identity. We need these signatories to show in the protection of the lives of citizens of this great country that identify as same sex oriented persons. As citizens of Nigeria, we have contributed to the development of the nation, albeit in the closet of our humanity because of the laws present in the statues books of Nigeria. We cannot stand or sit by any longer and watch our lives and dreams shattered all because of our sexual orientation and gender identity; a dilemma that we cannot overcome.

The last three word of the first verse of the National Anthem reads ‘Freedom, Peace and Unity’ for all its citizens. The proposed bill is a tear off this part of Nigeria that guarantees freedom to all its citizens as enshrined in the1999 Constitution. Our quest for development as a nation, meet the challenges of the Millennium Development Goals and attain vision 202020 in the light of the current transformation agenda of the Goodluck Jonathan Administration cannot be realized if we continue to have discriminatory and repressive laws in the statues books of Nigeria or legislate to make abuse and violation on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity possible. It takes away our rights as sexual minorities to contribute to the development of our country. Freedom enshrined in the respect for the rights of every Nigerian is essential to the development and growth that we all yearn for as a country. Furthermore, sexuality, sexual health and sexual rights are related to almost all the Millennium Development Goals of which we are still struggling to achieve as a country. This bill makes that largely impossible.

Initiatives to promote rights and an open society where everyone can sit at the table irrespective of their status, inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity and proffer solutions to the myriads of problems facing the country should be keen on the minds of everyone, now that Nigeria seeks to be among the 20 best economies of the world in the nearest future. In this light, this bill is totally unnecessary and we as citizens of Nigeria urge the Senate and other bodies, to open up possibilities of discussing human sexuality in an open atmosphere rather than debating to further criminalize people with this orientation where it is already illegal and criminal.

In conclusion, we also as citizens of Nigeria pledge to our dearly beloved nation that we shall continue to be faithful, loyal and honest regardless of the seasons, peace or tribulations, we shall serve Nigeria with all our strength and uphold the dignity and honour for all rightful citizens, Help us God. Thanks for your attention and we are indeed better off as a country without this bill.

Recommendations

Queer Alliance in the light of the proposed bill therefore urges the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria:

Recognize the importance of sexuality and sexual rights in the lives of all Nigerians and the role of sexuality in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Take measures to protect the rights of every Nigeria irrespective of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Repeal, amend or review laws relating to sexuality, sexual orientation and gender identity that are discriminatory and repressive in the statues books of Nigeria

Legislate to protect from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity

Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!

See Also:

Nigerian Activists Appeal to President Goodluck Jonathan Over Anti-Gay Laws, Behind the Mask
Nigerian LGBT Activists 'Felt Bullied' at Hearing of Anti-Gay Bill, Behind the Mask

Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda Parliament Business Committee

2011-10-27T22:55:00.001-06:00

On Tuesday Uganda's Parliament voted to return unfinished bills from the eighth session to the current business session. This included the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009. The bill is now in the hands of the Business Committee which will decide if and how it will be considered.

Parliamentary Live Blog from the Daily Monitor:

5:30pm: Tinkasimire says the anti-gays Bill is overdue because the spirit of his ancestors tells him that they lived without this practices, says he hears government saying when we pass the anti-gays Bill, we shall loose the donor’s money. We can’t afford to stay with such ills in our society and when it comes before the floor, we shall all pass it and support it.

• Speaker says all reports not discussed in the Eighth Parliament will also be brought through a motion and discussed, passed or amended.

The Committee Report on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009 that was not discussed by the Eight Session was released in May, 2011.

Warren Throckmorton called members of Uganda's Parliament to find out about where the bill stood in the current business session. The bill is now in the hands of the Business Committee which will decide if and how it will be considered.

This morning I spoke with Parliament Spokeswoman, Helen Kawesa, who told me that no date had been set for debate on the anti-gay measure. “The Business Committee will meet to decide what bills are considered. Then they will be listed on the daily Order Paper,” Kawesa explained. The Business Committee is chaired by Speaker of the House Rebecca Kadaga and made up of all other committee chairs. Currently, no date has been set for this committee to consider a schedule for the bills returned from the Eighth Parliament.

I also spoke briefly to Stephen Tashobya, chair of the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs committee. His committee prepared a report on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in May and recommended passage with some minor changes. He had no comment on the status of the anti-gay bill since he has been traveling.

According to Kawesa, the Business committee could recommend that the anti-gay bill go back to committee or it could recommend that the former committee report become the basis for debate in the Parliament. Apparently, the return of the bill to the floor is not automatic. The Speaker has some ability to delay it or expedite it. The decision of the Business committee may signal how quickly the bill will move.

Zimbabwe PM Tsvangirai Wants Homosexuality Decriminalised

2011-10-24T14:00:00.001-06:00

Prime Minister Tsvangirai

On a visit to London last week, Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai told the BBC that he would not object to the recognition of gay rights in the new constitution. This is a very different stance to the one he took in March 2010 where he sided with President Robert Mugabe’s hostile stance about LGBTI persons.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has performed a U-turn on gay rights, and now wants to see homosexuality decriminalised in a new constitution currently being drafted.

Only last March, Tsvangirai came out in support of President Robert Mugabe’s hostile stance on gays, charging: “Women make up 52% of the population... There are more women than men, so why should men be proposing to men?"

Homosexual acts are currently illegal in Zimbabwe. Mugabe once said gays were "worse than pigs and dogs", sparking international condemnation.

But on a visit to London last week, Tsvangirai sat down for an interview with BBC Newsnight, which was due to air on Monday night, in which he withdrew his objections to constitutional recognition of gay rights.

Admitting that homosexuality was a “very controversial subject in my part of the world”, Tsvangirai went on to say: “My attitude is that I hope the constitution will come out with freedom of sexual orientation.

“For as long as it does not interfere with anybody, who am I to define what individual opinion would be as far as their sexual preferences are concerned?”

Asked if he thought gay rights will be recognised in the new constitution, he replied: “I think it’s going to come out. Of course there is a very strong cultural feeling towards gays but to me it’s a human right. It’s something that individuals must be allowed to make a choice.”

In March 2010, President Robert Mugabe (Zanu-PF) and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai (MDC-T) came out strongly against including sexual orientation in the new Zimbabwe constitution at a belated Women's Day celebration.

A wave of hostility towards LGBTI persons started after Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) submitted a 15-minute documentary to Zimbabwe's Constitutional Select Committee in February 2010 advocating for the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in Zimbabwe's new constitution. At the time, GALZ organised an Indaba that resulted in a plan of action and draft resolution declaring that sexual orientation and gender identity are integral to every person’s dignity and humanity.

See Also:

Zimbabwe's Chinamasa attacks Tsvangirai on gay rights, BBC News

Voices Call for Decriminalisation of Homosexuality

2011-10-19T23:49:00.001-06:00

Festus Mogae

Festus Mogae, the former President of Botswana, told the BBC that homosexuality should be decriminalised in Botswana. Mogae's call coincides with a potential call to Commonwealth Heads of Government to decriminalise homosexuality as well.

From BBC News Africa:

Then I come to things like same sex relations, men who sleep with men. I don't understand it. I am a heterosexual, I look at women, I don't look at other men, but, there are men who look at other men. These are citizens. If these people can infect each other, that means that a percentage of the population are becoming victims of HIV infection. They have to be helped. Again, I find that if you are arresting them, you will not be able to help them.

Festus Mugae and Kenneth Kaunda, former Presidents of Botswana and Zambia, were on the HIV Free Generation tour in May. At a news conference in Lilongwe they condemned Malawi's criminalisation of homosexuality as harmful to LGBTI persons and the fight against HIV/AIDS.

In the BBC Debate in May, Is homosexuality un-African?, Mogae placed the rights of LGBTI persons in a human rights framework.

I did not come out in support of gay rights but I did come out in support of human rights. I am not a pro-gay activist. I say I don't understand the sexual preference but they are entitled to it and therefore they should not be discriminated against, it should not be criminalised.

I can't understand why you say that homosexuality is un-African when there is evidence that it has always existed and exists today as it does elsewhere in the world. And therefore it appears to me that homosexuality whether we understand it or not or whether we like it or not is as African as it is European as it is Asian...We are trying to pursuade the rest of Africa and show them that homophobia is unjustified.

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Australia may also include an agenda item asking for the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the commonwealth. Forty-one of the 53 Commonwealth countries still criminalise homosexuality and HIV campaigners say such laws are seriously harming the ability to stop HIV infection.

Leaders will meet in Perth, Australia, next week for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (CHOGM).

Australian delegate Michael Kirby said today that the agenda will include a request to scrap anti-gay laws.

He told ABC Radio that HIV messages were “very difficult” to get across without removing laws against gay sex.

Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who is calling on people to lobby Commonwealth leaders, said that there is a “strong possibility” that the issue will appear on the agenda.

But he added that it was “not yet a certainty” and urged people to sign a petition.

Tutu to Christians in Africa: "It is not always popular to do justice, but it is always right."

2011-10-13T11:45:00.001-06:00

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

In September the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) voted to sever ties with the Presbyterian Church (USA) which now ordains openly lesbian and gay candidates to the ministry. Archbishop Desmond Tutu has written the Presbyterian Church (USA) to encourage them and to help them remember that, "It is not always popular to do justice, but it is always right."

From Archbishop Desmond Tutu:

To Rev. Grayde Parsons, Stated Clerk, Presbyterian Church (USA)

Dear Brother in Christ,

I am writing you with the request that you share these thoughts with my brothers and sisters in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.):

It is incumbent upon all of God’s children to speak out against injustice. It is sometimes equally important to speak in solidarity when justice has been done. For that reason I am writing to affirm my belief that in making room in your constitution for gay and lesbian Christians to be ordained as church leaders, you have accomplished an act of justice.

I realize that among your ecumenical partners, some voices are claiming that you have done the wrong thing, and I know that you rightly value your relationship with Christians in other parts of the world. Sadly, it is not always popular to do justice, but it is always right. People will say that the ones you are now willing to ordain are sinners. I have come to believe, through the reality shared with me by my scientist and medical friends, and confirmed to me by many who are gay, that being gay is not a choice. Like skin color or left-handedness, sexual orientation is just another feature of our diversity as a human family. How wonderful that God has made us with so much diversity, yet all in God’s image! Salvation means being called out of our narrow bonds into a broad place of welcome to all.

You are undoubtedly aware that in some countries the church has been complicit in the legal persecution of lesbians and gays. Individuals are being arrested and jailed simply because they are different in one respect from the majority. By making it possible for those in same-gender relationships to be ordained as pastors, preachers, elders, and deacons, you are being a witness to your ecumenical partners that you believe in the wideness of God’s merciful love.

For freedom Christ has set us free. In Christ we are not bound by old, narrow prejudice, but free to embrace the full humanity of our brothers and sisters in all our glorious differences. May God bless you as you live into this reality, and may you know that there are many Christians in the world who continue to stand by your side.

God bless you.

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu (Cape Town, South Africa)

Renogade Bishop in Zimbabwe Uses LGBTI Community to Maintain Power

2011-10-12T16:23:00.001-06:00

Using hate to hold onto power

Excommunicated Bishop Nolbert Kunonga, a loyalist of longtime ruler President Robert Mugabe, has been using the visit of Rowan Williams, The Archbishop of Canterbury, to stigmatise LGBTI persons and maintain his illegitimate control of church assets.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, told more than 15,000 mainstream Anglican worshippers gathered for mass at a city stadium that Anglican worshippers are constantly "tortured by uncertainty and risk of attack" and have endured "mindless and Godless assaults," in the southern African country.

He praised the worshippers for being "active and courageous" amid a bitter dispute between the followers of breakaway Bishop Nolbert Kunonga and mainstream Anglican church worshippers.

Kunonga, a loyalist of longtime ruler President Robert Mugabe, was excommunicated in 2007 by the main Anglican Province of Central Africa and the worldwide head of the church. He was accused of inciting violence in sermons supporting Mugabe's party.

The Anglican Church in Zimbabwe has been divided since Kunonga's excommunication. He has taken over the main cathedral, schools and the church's bank accounts...

Meanwhile Sunday, Kunonga and his supporters demonstrated outside Harare's main cathedral against Williams' visit.

Kunonga insists he split from the Anglican church because of its position on gay marriage.

Leaders of the global Anglican Communion have condemned gay relationships as a violation of Scripture. However, the Anglican Communion is loosely organized without one authoritative leader such as a pope, so some individual provinces have decided on their own that they should move toward accepting same-gender unions.

Mugabe is a bitter critic of homosexuality.

Kunonga led the demonstrations Sunday because he said Williams' visit to Zimbabwe is a "crusade for gays."

"This is a demonstration against homosexuality. I told people to come and demonstrate if they wanted," Kunonga said. "Rowan Williams erred by accepting homosexuality and that has broken up the church all over."

See Also:

Archbishop Of Canterbury Blocked From Entering Church, Radio VOP

Exposing Extortionists and Blackmailers in Nigeria

2011-10-11T12:40:00.002-06:00

An Extortionist Exposed
on Lagosheat

A Nigerian task force has been setup to creatively expose extortionists and blackmailers who prey on the LGBTI community online. The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) published a report in February documenting how LGBTI persons are often targeted by blackmail and extortion in nations with anti-LGBTI laws and deeply ingrained social stigma.

Extortion and blackmail continue to be weapons used against LGBT communities. Such criminal acts are seen as an occupational hazard by gay men in cities such as Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja.

Now a task force of concerned individuals has set up a new organisation to expose blackmailers and extortionists. They have established a blog www.lagosheat.wordpress.com, which exposes the criminals and their strategies.

The blog is regularly updated and provides safer dating tips for visiting gay people.

The modus operandi of blackmailers and extortionists in Nigeria is generally consistent and often related to online dating. Perpetrators will often steal possessions such as laptops and mobile phones from victims and often get in touch later, promising to return the items in the exchange for money. Sometimes however they take the items and disappear.

The perpetrators rely on fear amongst the victims. Victims of such crimes fear reporting the case to the police as they cannot be sure if it might backfire and that they will end up being arrested for having engaged in homosexual acts.LGBT rights activists have recently argued that blackmail and extortion are exacerbated by the criminalization of same-sex relationships. The vice is most common in countries, where homosexuality is illegal.

The full article at ILGA shares the experience LGBTI persons with blackmail and extortion.

Cary Alen Johnson, IGLHRC's Executive Director, writes that "the tragic reality is that blackmail and extortion are part of the daily lives of many LGBT Africans who are isolated and made vulnerable by homophobic laws and social stigma...The responsibility clearly lies with governments to address these crimes and the underlying social and legal vulnerability of LGBT people."

Mixed Messages by Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) Resulted in Hate Campaign Against LGBTI Persons

2011-10-09T12:01:00.000-06:00

The Coalition Against Homophobia in Ghana (CAHG) issued a statement on 4 October challenging the mixed HIV prevention messages of the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) that resulted in an intense hate campaign against LGBTI persons in the media. In a 3 June article, GAC called for HIV prevention and treatment interventions around MSM (men who have sex with men) while also encouraging religious leaders, traditional authorities, educationists, parents and NGOs to "reduce the number of young people who are lured into MSM."

The CAHG Press Release (pdf):

Ghana AIDS Commission Statement on Homosexuality Sparks Hate Speeches, Condemnation and Threats from Religious, Traditional and Political Leaders

Accra 4th October, 2011. The Coalition Against Homophobia in Ghana (CAHG) is deeply concerned about a statement issued by the Ghana Aids Commission (GAC), captured by the Daily Guide on Friday 3rd June 2011. This statement was only recently brought to the attention of CAHG members.

The statement was headed “AIDS Commission Monitors Gays”, according to the newspaper, “in reaction to reports of gay activities”. In the statement, Dr. Angela El-Adas, Director General of GAC, said that the MSM (men having sex with men) situation in Ghana was “an issue we cannot run away from”.

The statement subsequently says that “it is important that all hands are on deck to reduce the number of young people who are lured into MSM” and called on “all religious leaders, traditional authorities, educationist, parents and NGOs working with young people to get involved in educating males on the dangers of being involved in sex with other men”.

This was followed by a press conference by a member of the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) who is also a member of the Christian Council of Ghana to condemn homosexuals. The press conference allegedly included references to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) community calling for the de-criminalization of homosexuality in the country – which has not been the case to date. Those in attendance called for everyone to fight against homosexual individuals and groups, plus defeat any member of parliament supportive of homosexuals and homosexuality in the next election.

Following this, traditional leader have also condemned homosexuality and called for arrest of any people who engage in the practice. After President John Evans Atta-Mills made homophobic comments during his nomination acceptance speech in Sunyani, the Western Regional Minister, Mr. Paul Evans Aidoo, also called for the arrest of all homosexuals in the region.

Even the newly-appointed head of CHRAJ – mandated to protect the Human Rights of all Ghanaians – has recently back-pedaled and distanced herself from an earlier statement that she made which was “misquoted” as calling for de-criminalization of homosexuality. This was a particularly discouraging turn of events for Coalition members.

The coalition believes the statement made by the Ghana AIDS Commission set the stage for the present homophobic attacks against gay and lesbian people who are just trying to live their lives on a daily basis like anyone else. We know of no members of the LGBT community who attempt to lure young people into homosexual behavior. We believe adults having sex with minors is wrong, whether the perpetrator be heterosexual or homosexual. Such behavior must always be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. We feel the statement issued by the Ghana Aids Commission has been inflammatory and seriously misunderstood by the general public as giving license to gay-bashing and other forms of discrimination against members of the LGBT community. We call on the GAC to clearly state how its position has evolved on homosexuality in Ghana to give the public and the LGBT community a clear idea on their position. The GAC’s job is to work in all areas of HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support; not to derogate or single out any particular population for further stigmatization and discrimination.

Since over 90% of people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in Ghana to date are heterosexual, it seems particularly inappropriate to be calling on Ghanaian leaders to single out men having sex with men as culprits to be arrested or incarcerated in the midst of this serious epidemic. Because of the HIV/AIDS statistics to date, should the GAC be warning only males and females about the risk of having sex with each other? No, that would be ridiculous.

Rather, GAC should just be educating ALL Ghanaians – male and female of all ages, in all occupations and all religions – about the risk of having unprotected penetrative sex, about having multiple sexual partners and about stigmatizing any of our Ghanaian sisters and brothers, who have all been created equal in the eyes of our Creator.

####

For more information, please contact the coalition on coalition.homophobia.gh@gmail.com Or Nii Addo on +233 277 754247

The Coalition Against Homophobia in Ghana (CAHG) issued a Press Release in August to counter ongoing attacks against homosexuals in Ghana in the media.

See Also:

Four Men Found Guilty of Murder of Zoliswa Nkonyana

2011-10-08T20:49:00.000-06:00

Zoliswa Nkonyana

Four men were found guilty of the murder of Zoliswa Nkonyana for being lesbian by Magistrate Raadiya Whaten in the Khayelitsha Regional Court in Cape Town, South Africa. The 19-year-old was stabbed, kicked and beaten to death by a mob on February 4, 2006. Last month the court acquitted two of the accused and dropped charges against all of the men for attempted murder. In the five and a half years since the case began, there have been upwards of 40 postponements.

From Free Gender (Convicted #1, 4, 5 and 9 in the story below are Lubabalo Ntlabathi, Sicelo Mase, Luyanda Londzi and Mbulelo Damba):

The Magistrate reviewed the entire case, including the three ‘trials within trials’ regarding the confession of Accused #4, the DNA evidence taken from blood found on Accused #5's tekkies, and the police statements made by other accused. The confession and the DNA, which demonstrated that the blood on the shoes belonged to Zoliswa, were found admissible into evidence. However, the police statements made by the other accused were not. The Magistrate stated that on this point that the statements were not admitted because of the “sloppy manner” in which those statements were taken by police.

The Magistrate also reviewed the witness testimony given by Pindiswa and Laura. Taken together, their testimony tells the story of an altercation that broke out in the ladies’ toilets at Phela’s tavern. Pindiswa and Zoliswa were chastised for using the ladies’ bathroom and called ‘tomboys.’ After this, Accused #4 slapped Zoliswa in the presence of everyone in the tavern. When Zoliswa and Pindiswa left, they were chased by a group. Pindiswa was hit with a golf stick, and Zoliswa was stabbed and hit with bricks. The Magistrate compared the testimony of these two witnesses to the confession of Accused #4, and found that they were very similar and a “golden thread” could be drawn regarding the events on the Zoliswa was murdered. At several points, the Magistrate made reference to Zoliswa’s sexual orientation as being the motivation for her murder.

Despite poor lighting, the distance at which Laura and Pindiswa viewed the murder, and the 3 years between the incident and their testimony, the Magistrate found Pindiswa and Laura to be “honest witnesses.” And since only Accused #5 testified in court, no alternative version of events was fully put forward. The Magistrate wholly disregarded the explanation of Accused #5 who claimed that Zoliswa’s blood must have “jumped” onto his tekkies.

The Magistrate concluded based on Accused #4's confession that those participating in the assault acted with “common purpose.” All had been involved in the altercation outside the bathrooms at the shebeen, all had been chased her, and all had participated in the assault. Further, Zoliswa was “tiny girl” and it was reasonable to conclude that such an assault on her would lead to her death.

The only issue remaining was the question of identity. On this point, the Magistrate cited the testimony of the investigator who said that Accused #7 and #8 were in police custody for robbery at the time the murder allegedly took place. She also said that the State had not built a strong case against Accused #2. At this juncture, she acquitted #2, #7 and #8. She then said that the names of Accused #1, 4, 5 and 9 came up again and again, leading her to conclude that they had been reliably identified as participating in the crime. She said that “regardless of their role” whether stabbing, kicking or beating, their cumulative acts resulted in the death or Zoliswa. She said that it was “beyond reasonable doubt” that the involvement of #1, 4, 5 and 9 resulted in Zoliswa’s death, and she convicted them of murder.

Last month's trial was protested by a coalition of civil society organisations including the Social Justice Coalition, Free Gender, Treatment Action Campaign, Triangle Project and the Sonke Gender Justice Network. These organisations issued a joint press statement addressing the failures of the police and justice system inherent in this case.

South Africa's Commission for Gender Equality Demands Action on LGBTI Murders

2011-10-06T15:12:00.001-06:00

Barney van Heerden

The Star recently reported on the striking similarity in the murders of four gay men in Johannesburg sparking fears that there may be a serial killer in the area. A fifth murder came to light today with similar features. South Africa's Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) issued a statement yesterday condemning the police and the Department of Justice for not doing enough to solve these murders and others.

From The Star:

FOUR violent murders in which gay men were bound and strangled to death have police and forensic specialists investigating the possibility that a serial killer, or homophobic group, is stalking Joburg’s gay community.

All of the victims, discovered in the past 10 months, were found tied up and strangled inside private homes within the greater Joburg area – with police recording no signs of forced entry.

Police working on all four cases believe the minimal theft means robbery was not a motive. It is believed the lack of break-ins may mean the victims knew their would-be killers and could actually have invited them in.

The most recent victim, Barney van Heerden, 39, was found bound and strangled in his Orange Grove home on September 19. The murder was discovered by security guards, after they noticed his car gate was open and his front door unlocked.

Police believe Van Heerden may have known his attacker or attackers, as half-full glasses of wine were found on the kitchen table. Since the incident was reported, distraught relatives, friends and other members of the gay community have come forward, describing other recent violent crimes that seemed similar.

Three of these reported murders bear striking similarities to Van Heerden’s case.

Today the The Star reported on an additional murder with similar features.

South Africa's Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) issued a statement yesterday condemning the police and the Department of Justice for not doing enough to solve these murders and others.

The Commission for Gender Commission (CGE) strongly condemns the unfortunate killings of Gays and Lesbians in Johannesburg and elsewhere in the country. As enshrined in our Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgendered and intersexed people (LGBTI) have the same rights just like everyone else. The continual hatred and killings of LGBTI people is violation of founding provision of the South African Constitution which are equality and human dignity. Such horrendous deeds are not only meant to rob society and the families of good people who do not deserves to go through these gruesome acts but shows that some in our society are very intolerant and unable to appreciate the diverse society that we live in.

The continued use of culture in order to disguise for criminal intent against LGBTI people has to be strongly condemned. The Commission is also concerned about the long delays in cases relating to this issue.CGE views these acts as criminal acts and the perpetrators deserve to face the full might of the law, henceforth serve long sentence in jail if proven to have committed these atrocities.The CGE has been for years with other Chapter 9 (C9s) institutions and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) advanced the course of LGBTI people without fail.It is our firm belief that the Department of Constitutional Development and Justice have to come to party in ensuring that the plights of LGBTI people do not go unabated.

The CGE calls for all interested parties to rally around LGBTI people and help society to understand that LGBTI people are human beings who deserves respect and protection regardless of their sexual orientation. We will continue to monitor cases that involve LGBTI throughout the country.The CGE will support to the passing of hate crime legislation.

The South African Department of Justice task force began work in August to combat violent hate crimes against LGBTI South Africans and includes six people representing the judiciary, police and department of social development and six representatives from the LGBTI community.

The task force was formed in response to national and international outcry about the lack of attention by the police and the Department of Justice to ending the scourge of "corrective rape."

Fighting for Equal Employment Opportunities in Uganda

2011-10-05T16:25:00.002-06:00

Plaintiff Adrian Jjuuko

On Monday Uganda's Constitutional Court heard the petition, Jjuuko Adrian v. Attorney General of Uganda, Constitutional petition No.1 of 2009, asking to nullify Section 15(6) d of the Equal Opportunities Commission Act 2007. Section 15(6) d can be used to discriminate against LGBTI persons. The judges have yet to set a date for the ruling.

Background

The Equal Opportunities Commission was established by Ugandan law to...

give effect to the State’s constitutional mandate to eliminate discrimination and inequalities against any individual or group of persons on the ground of sex, age, race, colour, ethnic origin, tribe, birth, creed or religion, health status, social or economic standing, political opinion or disability, and take affirmative action in favour of groups marginalised on the basis of gender, age, disability or any other reason created by history, tradition or custom for the purpose of redressing imbalances which exist against them; and to provide for other related matters.

The challenged Section 15(6) d reads:

(6) The Commission shall not investigate—
(d) any matter involving behaviour which is considered to be—
(i) immoral and socially harmful, or
(ii) unacceptable,
by the majority of the cultural and social communities in Uganda.

While the clause does not specifically mention LGBTI persons, during a Parliamentary debate about the Equal Opportunities Commission Act of 2007, the Finance Minister specifically said that LGBTI persons should be targeted with this clause.

Adrian Jjuuko, the plaintiff in this case, is the Executive Director of the Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF).

The Hearing

According to Behind the Mask, "The petition was heard by five judges of the Constitutional Court led by deputy chief justice Alice Mpagi Bahigeine."

The other judges are Steven Kavuma, Arach Amoko, Remmy Kasule and Constance Byamugisha.

In the respondent’s submission, the Attorney General maintained that such a law was necessary and justified under Ugandan constitution. Ladislus Rwakafuzi, a Kampala gay friendly lawyer is representing Mr Jjuko.

Minorities are not defined in the Constitution of Uganda. However, vulnerable groups have been defined in the National Equal Opportunities Policy of 2006 as categories of people who lack security and susceptible to risk.

Mr Jjuko maintains that that such a law was not good for human rights in Uganda, and called on all activists to stand and defend the rights of minority groups in Uganda.

Rwakafuzi said his client wants the section of the law declared unconstitutional. A date for the ruling will be set by the court.

Uganda’s judiciary has in the past shown some level of independence when handling matters brought by groups advocating for homosexuals.

Joburg Pride Attracts 20,000 People

2011-10-03T23:15:00.001-06:00

Joburg Pride 2011/2Summers

Over 20,000 people took part in the 22nd annual Joburg Pride last Saturday. Mambaonline reports that, "In contrast to the recent Ekurhuleni and Soweto Pride parades, statements around issues such as corrective rape and hate crimes were noticeably absent among participants in the parade."

From Behind the Mask:

Thousands of out and proud members of the LGBTI community and their supporters flocked to Zoo Lake on Saturday for the annual Joburg Gay Pride, the biggest event on the Gauteng gay calendar.

Joburg Pride is an annual celebration of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) identity and sexual diversity. It consists of a weeklong festival of cultural, social, activist and entertainment events held in Johannesburg culminating in a street parade followed by a mardi-gras offering entertainment and a platform for community expression.

Some of the events in the week included a roundtable discussion of LGBTI rights organized by the Helen Suzman Foundation in association with the Open Society Foundation for South Africa on September 26 and the first ever African LGBT Business and Human Rights Forum sponsored by amongst others, blue chip firms, IBM, HP and Anglo-American.

Themed “Born This Gay”, this year was the 22nd annual edition of the Joburg Gay Pride and as usual events began with a parade in which members of the LGBTI community wearing purple, pink and other bright colours took to the streets marching from Zoo Lake to the Rosebank Mall and back.

Mamabaonline adds the observation about the lack of attention to "corrective rape" and hate crimes in the parade.

In contrast to the recent Ekurhuleni and Soweto Pride parades, statements around issues such as corrective rape and hate crimes were noticeably absent among participants in the parade.

Some exceptions included one participant who held aloft a large wooden cross with the names of LGBTI people who had been killed in South Africa and the continent while two others on a float held signs condemning Jon Qwelane, South Africa's homophobic ambassador to Uganda.

Nigerian Human Rights Defenders Challenge Bill Criminalising Same-Sex Marriages

2011-10-01T18:33:00.005-06:00

Senator Obende, Lead Sponsor

The Coalition for the Defense of Sexual Rights in Nigeria have condemned the Same-Gender Marriage Prohibition Bill 2011 that passed a second reading in the Nigerian Senate last week. The bill reads, "Persons that entered into a same gender marriage contract commit an offense and are jointly liable on conviction to a term of 3 years imprisonment each." It then goes on to list the penalties for those who solemnise same gender marriages.

From the Coalition for the Defense of Sexual Rights Press Release:

NIGERIA HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS CONDEMN 2011 SAME GENDER MARRIAGE PROHIBITION BILL

We, the Coalition for the Defense of Sexual Rights were shocked and deeply concerned by the news published in the Nigerian press about the re-introduction of “A bill for an act to prohibition marriage between persons of same gender, solemisation of same and for other matters related therewith”

Similar bills appeared before the House in 2006 and 2008 and were critically analysed both times by human rights activists, who articulated the dangers of the bills to a democratic society.

We wish to remind the parliament that Nigeria is a secular state. This means that the laws of our land cannot and should not be drafted and/or enacted on the basis of a particular religious and cultural value. These values already indicate the diversity of Nigeria as a heterogeneous society–hence our federal system of government.

We as human rights defenders are aware that not a single gay group has asked for the right to marry. Our advocacy is not directed at that. We are advocating for tolerance and respect for everyone irrespective of his or her sex, gender, age, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation and gender identity, etc. These rights are not illusionary. They are rights that Nigeria’s same –sex loving people derive from Chapter IV of the Nigerian constitution, which lists the fundamental rights enjoyed by all Nigerians, including the rights to freedom from discrimination, to personal liberty, to human dignity, and to private life.

Furthermore, we feel deeply threatened by the proposed paragraph 4(2) of the bill, which provides greater criminal liability to anyone who abets and aids same-sex marriage. An individual would face up to five years’ imprisonment.

This provision clearly targets the activities of human right defenders, who have a mandate, without limitation, to defend the rights of people regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity/expression.

The United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, in its Article 7, specifically provides that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others to develop and discuss new human rights ideas and principles and to advocate their acceptance.”

The UN Secretary General’s Special Representative on the Rights of Human Rights Defenders has repeatedly expressed concern over attacks on defenders “who are at particular risk, namely those who defend the rights of indigenous people and minorities [and] lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons and women human rights defenders.” (UN Doc A/HRC/4/37, January 24, 2007, at 55).

Already, in 2006, the Special Representative condemned the previous version of this bill in a letter to the Nigerian government. This bill would increase the risk to human rights defenders, and would violate Nigeria’s human rights obligations.

As citizens and human rights defenders, we demand our rights. As tax-paying Nigerians, we demand the efficient use of our financial resources. We request the Senate to disregard this ominous bill, and consider instead discussing life saving legislation, including the Anti-Stigmatization bill and National Health Insurance bill.

Dorothy Aken’Ova:
darlyndotty@yahoo.co.uk
+2348034500714

Akoro Joseph Sewedo:
sakoro@initiative4equality.org
+2347066622191

Nigerian blogger Sokari Ekine published the text of the bill before the Nigerian Senate. The provisions of the bill blur the line between Church and State even calling for the State to enforce the following: "Marriage entered between persons of same Gender shall not be solemnized in any place of worship either Church or Mosque in Nigeria."

THE SAME GENDER MARRIAGE BILL [PROHIBITION] 2011

An Act To Prohibit Marriage Between Persons Of Same Gender, Solemnization Of Same And For Other Matters Related Therewith
Sponsors:
Senator Domingo Obende
Senator Ehigie Edobor Uzamere
Senator Adegbenga Seflu Kaka
Senator Borrofice Robert A.
Senator Pius Ewherido
Senator Yusuf Musa Nagogo
Senator Mohammed Magoro
Senator Emmanuel Paulker
Senator George Sekibo
Senator Eyinnaya Abarbe
Senator Nenadi E. Usman
Senator Helen Esuene
Senator Babafemi Oiudu
Senator Owremi Tinubu
Senator Owgbenga Ashafa
Senator Obadara Owgbenga
Senator Joshua Dariye
Senator Saleh Mohammed Sani
Senator Hope Uzodinma
Senator Ayogu Eze
Senator Smart Adeyemi
Senator Ahmad Lawan
Senator Igwe Paulinus Nwagu
Senator Mohammed D. Goje
Senator Barnabas Gemade
Senator Boluwaji Kunlere

BE IT ENACTED by the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as follows:
1.–(1) Marriage Contract entered between persons of same Gender is hereby prohibited in Nigeria.
(2) Marriages Contract entered between persons of same gender are invalid and shall not be recognized as entitled to the benefits of a valid marriage.
(3) Marriage Contract entered between persons of same gender by virtue a certificate issued by a foreign country shall be void in Nigeria, and any benefits accruing there from by virtue of the certificate shall not be enforced by any court of law in Nigeria.
2.–(1) Marriage entered between persons of same Gender shall not be solemnized in any place of worship either Church or Mosque in Nigeria.
(2) No marriage certificate issued to parties of same sex marriage in Nigeria.
3. Only marriage contracted between a man and a woman either under Islamic Law, Customary Law and Marriage Act is recognized as valid in Nigeria.
4.–(1) Persons that entered into a same gender marriage contract commit an offence and are jointly liable on conviction to a term of 3 years imprisonment each.
(2) Any persons or group of persons that witnesses, abet and aids the solemnization of a same gender marriage contract commits an offence and liable on conviction to –
(a) if an individual to a term of 5 years imprisonment or a group of persons to a fine of ?2,000 or both,
(b) if a group of persons to a fine of ?50,000 only.
5. The High Court of a State shall have jurisdiction to entertain matter arising from the breach of the provisions of this Bill.
6. In this Bill, unless the context otherwise requires–
“Marriage” here relates to a legal union entered between persons of opposite sex in accordance with the Marriage Act, Islamic and Customary Laws.
“High Court” to include High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
“Same Gender Marriage” means the coming together of persons of the same sex with the purpose of leaving together as husband and wife or for other purposes of same sexual relationship.
7. This Bill may be cited as Same Gender Marriage (Prohibition) Bill, 2011.
Explanatory Note:
This Bill seeks to prohibit marriage between persons of same gender, and witnessing same, and provided appropriate solemnization of the marriage penalties thereof.

Frank Mugisha and Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) Win Rafto Prize

2011-09-29T20:59:00.010-06:00

Frank Mugisha

Frank Mugisha and the organisation he directs, Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), have won the 2011 Rafto Prize. According to the Norwegian foundation, "The Prize is awarded to SMUG for its work to make fundamental human rights apply to everyone, and to eliminate discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity." Mugisha was also recently awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award.

The Press Release about the award provides the foundation's arguments for awarding the prize:

The human rights situation in Uganda in general, and the plight of sexual minorities in particular, is getting worse. They are blamed for social problems and are "the good enemy" that politicians can attack in order to garner support. In this situation, SMUG's work is especially important. The battle they wage is for human rights' most basic purpose: to protect individuals from abuses by the authorities and the majority. The Rafto Foundation hereby gives its support to the work against what former SMUG leader Victor Juliet Mukasa, characterized as a "statesponsored homophobia that is spreading across the African continent".

This text is an extract from the Rafto Foundation's arguments for awarding the prize. For a full copy of the Foundation's arguments, please see the press pack, or our website: www.rafto.no.

SMUG is a coalition of organisations that work for the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people (LGBTI people, or sexual minorities, which is the term used by SMUG). Since its inception in 2004, SMUG has become a powerful voice for a stigmatised and persecuted minority. The coalition has played an important role in opposing the proposed "Anti- Homosexuality Bill" and has successfully used the legal system to fight harassment and violence from government and private actors. SMUG also does important work supporting individuals who suffer from abuse.

Photo taken of Frank Mugisha on 15 December 2009 in London.
Photo: Brendan O’Donnell

Sexual minorities - "pollutants of society"
Frank Mugisha and his colleagues in SMUG have demonstrated great courage in fronting the fight for LGBTI people's rights. People who do not conform to society's gender and sexual norms are subject to abuse in today's Uganda. Homosexuality is publicly portrayed as "un African" and a "contagious" pollutant that destroys society and therefore must be eliminated. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons are often ostracised by their families and local communities and are left without any form of social safety net. Many lose their jobs and place at school and end up having to live in the slum.

SMUG activist killed
Frank Mugisha describes a life in fear: "I don't know what could happen to me at any minute. I do not know who wants to hang me, I do not know who wants to attack me". A high-profile SMUG activist, David Kato, was killed in his home in January 2011. The killing came after his photo appeared on the front page of a local newspaper, Rolling Stone, accompanied by the headline: "Uganda's top 100 homos. Hang them!". Kato and two other activists took the newspaper to court and won. Soon after, he was killed. Victor Juliet Mukasa, another of SMUG's founders, sees himself as a lesbian and transgender person. While growing up, he was beaten by his father who could not accept that his daughter was behaving like a boy. He was encouraged to seek help from the church, where he was stripped and beaten in front of a large crowd "in order to drive out the evil spirits". In 2005 his home was raided by the police. Mukasa took the case to court, and won, but had to flee the country.

A lesbian who fled Uganda after being beaten and threatened by a mob before having her house burned to the ground explains: “They would point and shout at us in the street. They would swear or say 'You lesbians, that is disgusting. It is against nature. Heaven will not accept you'". She fears for what will happen when she returns to Uganda after being refused residency in Great Britain.

Photo taken of Frank Mugisha on 14 December 2009 in the House of Parliament in London.
Photo: Brendan O’Donnell

The “Anti-Homosexuality Bill”
Frank Mugisha and his colleagues cannot expect protection from the Ugandan authorities. Sex between persons of the same gender has been prohibited since colonial times and can, in principle, be punished with lifetime imprisonment. Proposed legislation from October 2009 (”Anti-Homosexuality Bill”) proposes lifetime imprisonment as a minimum sentence and a death sentence for repeat offences, or if the person is HIV positive or has had sex with a minor. Those who do not report acts of homosexuality to the authorities, or who “promote homosexuality” for example by offering information risk imprisonment. So far, the proposed legislation has not been passed, but the recurring debate has radically worsened conditions for sexual minorities. The proposal may at any time be brought up for debate once again. Many Ugandans say that lesbians and gays have no human dignity and should be killed. Few dare speak their case and in this situation SMUG and Frank Mugisha's work is vital.

Political distraction
The situation for sexual minorities in Uganda must be seen in the context of the political developments in the country, where president Yoweri Museveni has been in power for 25 years. Ugandan politicians like David Bahati, use sexual minorities as scapegoats for social problems. They serve as a useful distraction from human rights violations, corruption, and misgovernment. By playing on people's prejudices, anti-democratic forces gain greater room to manoeuvre. It is important the international community also sees the bigger picture, and don’t let the "Anti-Homosexuality Bill" distract from other human rights abuses. Unfortunately, the situation in Uganda is not unique. Political and social mobilisation against sexual minorities is increasing in large parts of Africa; often, as in Uganda, supported by conservative American religious communities. The majority of countries in Africa and the Middle East have strong sodomy laws and in several Muslim countries, homosexuals risk the death penalty. Discrimination and harassment of sexual minorities continues to be a problem across many areas of the world, including where legislation formally respects sexual orientation and gender identity as part of the right to a private life.

International responsibility
By awarding the 2011 Rafto Prize to SMUG and Frank Mugisha's fight for sexual minorities, the Rafto Foundation wishes to underscore that human rights encompass everyone and that it is unacceptable to persecute or discriminate against anyone based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Norwegian authorities have declared that the protection of the rights of sexual minorities shall have a high priority in the work against discrimination. The Rafto Foundation supports this, and by awarding the prize it hopes to support and make Norwegian and other authorities more accountable in this work. We also wish to help make the fight against discrimination of sexual minorities a high priority among private organisations and companies that work in Uganda and other countries where the situation for these groups is precarious.

The Rafto Foundation also wishes to turn the spotlight on the serious human rights situation in Uganda. It wishes to highlight the fact that SMUG and Frank Mugisha's fight for the human dignity of a particularly vulnerable group is also part of a greater fight for democracy and social justice. By awarding the 2011 Rafto Prize, the Rafto Foundation recognises Frank Mugisha and his colleagues for their work on human rights and hopes the award will help afford them greater protection and inspiration to continue working in what is a vulnerable and difficult situation.

The Rafto Foundation, Bergen, Norway. Wednesday 17 August 2011

See Also:

Ugandan sexual rights activists get Norwegian prize, Daily Nation

Nigerian Senate Bill Proposes Three Year Imprisonment for Same-Sex Marriage

2011-09-29T19:57:00.004-06:00

Nigerian Senate

A bill in the Nigerian Senate that would imprison same-sex couples for three years for getting married passed the critical second reading on Tuesday and was sent to the Standing Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, as well as the Committee on Health and Interior. The bill also calls for imprisonment or heavy fines for anyone involved in solemnising same-sex marriages.

Bad news for gays and lesbians. Anybody wishing to contract a marriage with another person of the same sex had better leave the Nigerian shores or risk three years in jail.

Also, any person or group of persons who witnesses, abets and aids the solemnisation of a same gender marriage contract may get five years imprisonment or a fine of N50,000.

These were the highpoints of a bill for an act to prohibit marriage of persons of same sex and solemnization of same and other related matters, which scaled the crucial second reading in the Senate yesterday.

However, the bill, which was sponsored by Senator Domingo Obende and 13 other senators nearly suffered still-birth when Senator Eta Enang (PDP, Akwa Ibom) argued that the Criminal Code has already criminalised the act.

The Senate President saved the day when he allowed the bill to proceed.

His position was that the bill should be allowed to go through the second reading and, during the committee stage, people who had observations against the bill could table same.

Subsequently, after a very exhaustive debate, the bill passed the second reading and was sent to the Standing Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, as well as the Committee on Health and Interior.

In his lead debate, Sen. Obende observed that same-sex marriage cannot be allowed on both moral and religious grounds.

"Even the Muslim religion forbids it, Christianity forbids it and the African traditional religion forbids it," he noted.

He argued that same-sex marriage should not be allowed because it would lead to the breakdown of society.

While defining marriage as the institution where man and woman are joined in a special kind of social and legal dependence for the purpose of founding and maintaining family, the distinguished senator noted that by admitting homosexual and lesbian relationship to the privilege of the married state we would be devaluing and weakening the duties and the sense of obligation that marriage entails. He stated: "No same sex marriage is best.

The problem associated with it causes more sexually transmitted diseases, more childless relationships, more mental health problems and other major social problems, especially deprivation at old age."

Other senators who supported the bill included senators Victor Lar, George Thompson Sekibo, Ajayi Boroface, Gbenga Kaka, Emmanuel Bwacha and Remi Tinubu. Lar noted that, from the religious point of view, same-sex marriage was ungodly and satanic and desecrates the institution of marriage as ordained by God.

He said the whole essence of marriage as ordained by God was for procreation. If same-sex marriage is allowed, she wondered, who would fill the world tomorrow and who would replace them in the future as senators?

This Day Live provided more detail on the religious context surrounding the bill.

The Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, led by former Anglican Primate, Very Rev Peter Jasper Akinola, had led a crusade against the practice when the Anglican Church in Britain and United States of America had seemingly endorsed it by consecrating gay bishops and priests in the church.

But Akinola had launched a ferocious campaign against it by mobilising West and East African Bishops to boycott the Lambeth Conference in England.

His successor, Rt Rev Nicholas Okoh, recently re-echoed the campaign against same sex marriage, stressing that it was never what God planned for the sacred and honourable institution of marriage.

See Also:

Senate to Ban Gay Marriage in Nigeria, Daily Times Nigeria
Third Time Unlucky? New Bill Prohibiting Same Sex Marriage Placed Before Nigerian Parliament, Behind the Mask

African Pride - Queer Love Is a Human Right

2011-09-28T16:08:00.001-06:00

According to Forum for the Empowerment of Women (FEW)'s Acting Director Sedica Davids, the 7th Annual Soweto Pride "went exceptionally well. We got more people that we expected." The theme of the 24 September Heritage Day event was "African Pride - Queer Love Is a Human Right."

From Behind the Mask:

Sedica Davids, Director of FEW said, “I think it’s a fabulous turnout and the weather has been very kind to us. I think there is this smooth gentleness about today and there is a coming and going and the moving and the discussing. We wouldn’t want it to be overly political because we really need to relax, but the tone, the key thing for today, is queer loving is a human right. I think that encapsulates it, and in fact we base our struggle, we base our existence, we base the organisation in the fact that it’s a human rights struggle. Queer love, queer rights as a human rights struggle.”

Soweto Pride is a project initiated by FEW in 2004 with the aim of creating and making political and social space for black lesbian women to celebrate their sexuality and their humanity. Pride has grown in numbers over the years.

Explaining the significance of Soweto Pride Davids said, “The significance of pride is that it gives a platform to the LGBT sector. In particular for FEW, which provides a safe, fun space and environment for the people of Soweto.

“We aimed this for the people of Soweto but we also wanted the queer community in Soweto to feel safe and to own some of the spaces in Soweto. It’s the first time that it’s being held at the Credo Muthwa Park, which is a little bit more central compared to the six previous locations.

Davids added, “The significance of it, being combined with September 24, which is Heritage Day, is that we are interpreting our heritage as inclusive of the fact that our sexuality defines who we are. So dressing up as a Xhosa woman or Zulu woman is one thing, but when your tradition denies you your existence then it becomes quite a struggle within you to come to terms with that particular tradition. So the idea is to say primarily one of the key things on how we are, who we are is our sexuality, so we want to celebrate our heritage as well as our sexuality today and we want to say, we want to own back township streets.”

Photographer Lauren Barkume writes that, "This day provides South Africans with an opportunity to voice their frustrations against homophobia and discrimination experienced by gays and lesbians and other minority groups in South Africa, especially those who live in the townships." Here is the beautiful photo set she created of Soweto Pride 2011.

Soweto Pride 2011 Photographs by Lauren Barkume

Cameroon's Laws Criminalising Homosexuality Violate International Human Rights Laws

2011-09-26T18:58:00.007-06:00

President Paul Biya

Five International and Cameroonian human rights organisations have written an open letter to President Paul Biya demanding that he end the persecution of gays and lesbians, repeal laws that criminalise consensual same-sex relations and release all individuals detained under the discriminatory law. The organisations include Alternatives Cameroun, Amnesty International, L’Association pour la Défense des Droits des Homosexuel(le)s (ADEFHO), Human Rights Watch and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGHRC).

21 September 2011

Open letter to His Excellency Paul Biya, President of the Republic of Cameroon (pdf)

LAWS CRIMINALIZING SAME-SEX SEXUAL CONDUCT VIOLATE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAWS

Your Excellency

We write to express serious concern about the increased use of criminal laws to punish consensual same-sex relations between adults and non-normative gender expression in Cameroon in recent months. In the last six months, at least ten individuals in Yaoundé and Douala have been arrested under Article 347(a) of the Cameroonian Penal Code. This Article criminalises “sexual relations with a person of the same sex”.

Jean-Claude Roger Mbede was arrested in Yaoundé on 2 March 2011; he was convicted and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment on 28 April 2011. He is being held at Kondengui Central Prison in Yaoundé.

Two men, Jonas, aged 19, and Frankie, 25, were arrested in Yaoundé on 25 July 2011. They remain in custody at Kondengui Central Prison.

Four men were arrested in August 2011. One man, Joseph Magloire Ombwa, aged 46, was arrested at his home; two others – Sylvain Séraphin Ntsama, aged 34, and Emma Loutsi Tiomela, aged 17 – were arrested when visiting Ombwa, who was then in custody at a police station in Yaoundé; a fourth, Nicolas Ntamack, aged 19, was arrested at the home of Ntsama. We received information that Ombwa was subjected to an anal examination by a military medical doctor. The four men were denied bail and remanded in custody on 26 August.

Stéphane Nounga and another man only identified as Eric O. were arrested in late August after they were tricked into meeting a man who dragged them to a nearby police station in Yaoundé where they were detained. Both men were subsequently released after the intervention of lawyers.

Jean Jules Moussongo was arrested in Douala on 6 September after the parents of a young man asked gendarmes to arrest him for allegedly seeking contact with their son. Moussongo was released on 8 September after the respective parents of the two men apparently reached an arrangement.

We have received information that at least some of these men were subjected to torture or other ill-treatment whilst in custody.

Furthermore, many of the individuals detained have been targeted on the grounds of their perceived sexual orientation, rather than on any alleged participation in prohibited acts. As the 2010 report documenting rights violations of lesbians, gay men, and bisexual and transgender people, Criminalizing Identities: Rights Abuses in Cameroon based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, shows, individuals charged and convicted under Article 347(a) face increased threat of violence and discrimination in prison, and their health can be severely compromised because of the abuse and the lack of access to medication and treatment.

Article 347(a) contravenes the international and regional human rights treaties which Cameroon has signed and ratified, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. In addition to creating a climate of fear and allowing police to detain, torture and beat suspected lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individuals with impunity, this law impedes health initiatives, particularly around HIV and AIDS, that attempt to reach vulnerable groups, including men who have sex with men, by driving individuals underground and making it harder for them to access safer sex information and services.

We are also concerned about reports of proposed legislation to increase the penalty for same-sex sexual acts to 15 years imprisonment and a fine of two million francs CFA. Such a move will further increase the vulnerability of members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community to violence and discrimination by state and non-state actors.

We therefore urge the Cameroonian Government to:

Immediately and unconditionally release, and drop all charges against, all individuals detained under Article 347(a) or detained solely because of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity;

End arrests, detention, prosecution and other forms of persecution and discrimination against people suspected or known to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender;

Repeal all legislation criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual acts between adults and withdraw proposals for new legislation that would increase the penalties for consensual same-sex sexual acts.

We look forward to receiving your response.

Yours sincerely,
Parfait Behen
President
Alternatives Cameroun

For Salil Shetty
Secretary-General
Amnesty International

Alice Nkom
Executive Director
L’Association pour la Défense des Droits des Homosexuel(le)s (ADEFHO)

Kenneth Roth
Executive Director
Human Rights Watch

Cary Alan Johnson
Executive Director
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission

cc:
Laurent Esso, Secretary-General at the Presidency
Philémon Yang, Prime Minister
Amadou Ali, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Justice, Keeper of the Seals
Henri Ayissi Eyebe, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Andre Mama Fouda, Minister of Public Health
Marafa Hamidou Yaya, Minister of State for Territorial Administration and Decentralization

This letter follows an All Out Petition, the Amnesty International letter writing campaign and an earlier letter from Human Rights Watch and other Cameroonian human rights organisations.

Amnesty International have classified Jean-Claude Mbede as a prisoner of conscience, imprisoned solely because of his sexual orientation.