Ugandan LGBTQ rights activist stabbed in ‘hate crime’
Uganda passed one of the anti-homosexuality laws last year.
A prominent LGBTQ rights activist in Uganda, Steven Kabuye, has been stabbed and seriously wounded by unknown assailants while he was on his way to work on Wednesday morning, his organisation has said.
“He is in dire condition and we ask you all to keep him in your prayers,” said Coloured Voice -Truth to LGBTQ on social platform X.
A video posted on Mr Kabuye’s account showed him writhing in pain, with a knife in his stomach and an apparent wound on his arm.
Rights activist Frank Mugisha said that “hate crimes have no place in Uganda”.
“We urge the police to conduct a thorough investigation,” he added on X.
Police have not yet commented. Uganda passed one of the world’s harshest anti-homosexuality laws last year.
The law caused global outrage, with the World Bank halting new loans to Uganda and the US imposing visa restrictions on key officials.
Anyone convicted of being involved in homosexual acts faces life imprisonment under the law.
Rights groups have asked the Constitutional Court to annul the law, arguing that it violates the right to equality and dignity.
The government is defending the case, saying the law protects traditional family values.
A report by rights groups said that more than 300 human rights abuses were recorded against LGBTQ people in Uganda in the first eight months of last year – including beatings, torture, arrests and evictions from homes.
Source: BBC
