Monday, April 3, 2023

An open letter to the German government:
I am writing to you today trusting that you are aware of the current and terrible situation in Uganda. The Ugandan parliament recently passed a bill called the Anti-Homosexuality Bill after its second reading, which basically makes it illegal in Uganda to identify as LGBTQ+ in any way. Acts of homosexuality were already illegal in Uganda, but now it is a crime to simply say you are gay.

This law is already having an impact on the LGBTQ+ community in Uganda, as we are talking far beyond the scope of the law itself. By adopting this new wording, the government is signaling that it supports any stigmatization, discrimination and outright persecution of LGBTQ+ people. Even before the law came into force, a wave of anti-queer violence swept the country. Queer people are attacked with everything from harassment in public spaces and abuse to evictions, banishment/rejection by family and friends, dismissal from jobs and violent mob attacks as well as arbitrary arrests/detentions.
In one such case, which I know personally. No sooner had the bill been passed in parliament than a community member, a certain Moses, received a screenshot of the clause banning landlords from housing LGBTQ+ people in their homes, a message from his landlord asking him to leave his residence because the landlord was now afraid of being accused of helping an LGBT person and providing his property, saying that he should not be arrested and imprisoned. Moses had already paid his landlord in advance, but the property owner (landlord) insisted that Moses left the property immediately and his money was refunded!!! We are leaving Moses without a home with immediate effect!!!

The entire LGBTQ+ community in Uganda is in grave danger as LGBTQ+ members are in overwhelming fear for their lives!

We at People Like Us call on the German government to take immediate action to defend the human rights of LGBT+ Ugandans:

1. Allow LGBTQ+ Ugandans emergency and immediate temporary entry
   Asylum in Germany
   Support local organizations in Uganda that provide emergency aid in the form of
2. resettlement, medicines and food for LGBTQ+ people who have been displaced from their communities without warning.
3. Impose visa bans on human rights violators. Promotion of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda, including Ugandan members of parliament supporting the bill.

I come from Uganda and know this persecution and violence only too well. Those I left behind contact me every day, panicked and desperate. We, the People Like Us team, are in contact with local Ugandan organizations and they urgently need your help. We are happy to work with all German authorities to coordinate this vital and much-needed support.
Thank you in advance for your support of the LGBTQ+ community in Uganda and your continued fight for the protection of human rights worldwide.
With all my best,

Cameron Kakande
Managing Director
People like us (PLUS)
Tel: +49 176 41688621
E-Mail: Cameron@plusde.org
www.plusde.org