Ugandan authorities have suspended the work of a prominent LGBTQ rights group, calling it an illegal entity.
Since 2004, Sexual Minorities Uganda has been the most prominent support group for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people in East Africa.
Its leader, Frank Mugisha, said on Saturday that authorities who oversee non-governmental organizations told him to suspend activities, saying his group lacked documentation.
This means that the life-saving work we do is on hold. He said that we can't protect and support vulnerable LGBT people. The background is homophobia and transphobia. The NGO Bureau said in a statement that the group had to stop working with immediate effect because it is neither a company nor an NGO.
The Uganda case against Sexual Minorities stems from the name of the group. The registrar of companies refused to register that name, saying it was unsuitable. A judge agreed, and the group s appeal to a higher court is awaiting a decision, Mugisha said.
He said that because of the hostility to his group over the years, he decided to run it as an association instead of an NGO.
Homosexuality in Uganda is illegal under a colonial law that criminalizes sex acts against the order of nature, and LGBTQ people face widespread discrimination.
Some Ugandan officials urged tough new legislation after a panel of judges nullified an anti-gay law enacted by President Yoweri Museveni in 2014 amid international condemnation.
The law, which had been passed by lawmakers in a session that lacked a quorum, gave a maximum punishment of up to life in prison for people convicted of engaging in same-sex activity.
The bill, which was first introduced in 2009, included the death penalty for what it called aggravated acts of homosexuality.