LGBT rights

African academics have used scientific evidence to argue against such laws and to urge African nations to abandon them. In a report published on 10 June by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAF), the academics, most of whom are scientists, make the case that laws criminalizing homosexuality have no basis in science and hamper efforts to prevent and treat HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

A new penal code in Mozambique will soon come into effect under which same-sex intimacy is no longer illegal. The new criminal code is set to come into effect in June, and removes a clause which previously allowed “security measures” to be taken against people “who habitually engage in vices against nature.” The previous penal code had been in place, aside from some amendments, since Mozambique was a Portuguese colony, and was written in 1887.

Over 300 asylum seekers in Kenya who allegedly fled the homophobia and persecution in Uganda are still faced with physical and mental torture as fellow asylum seekers in Kenyan refugee camps turns more hostile. LGBTI asylum seekers cannot easily integrate in to this homophobic society where bullying, harassment and arrests by security agents are already at the increase.

Kenya's High Court has ruled that the government can no longer block LGBT groups from formally registering their organisations. A pro-gay group in the country, the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, has fought a long-running legal battle after being blocked from registering as an NGO – leaving them without a number of legal protections.

My friend asked me if I’d participate in a Pride parade if it was held in Nigeria. He’s a fellow Nigerian who has never been abroad but has watched videos of various Prides. I told him I couldn’t imagine Pride in Nigeria without the thought of people dying. In Nigeria, whenever people gather to protest against an act of the government, police officers attack them with tear gas and sometimes shoot at the crowd.

LGBTI and sex worker activists in Uganda are preparing for a celebration of solidarity, with an emphasis on developing self-sufficiency in their community. The local Youth on Rock Foundation is organizing the event in conjunction with the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT) on May 16. Organizer Frank Kamya labels this event the second annual LGBTQ and sex worker pride celebration, following last year’s Kuchus’ Day Out. It is in addition to the Ugandan pride celebrations that the country’s LGBTI community has held for the past three summers.

Gay Nigerian man living with HIV, Kenny Brandmuse, has congratulated Muhammadu Buhari on his win in the presidential elections. He also urged the president-elect to do good by the gay people in Nigeria by striking out the anti-gay laws introduced by the Jonathan administration. Brandmuse said in his Facebook post: "Now, the real hard work begins. Let's test our democracy and make real demands like electricity and good roads.

Ghanaian celebrities including Efya and Kuby Mahama have taken to social media to condemn the beating of a suspected gay man, opening a rare window for debate on homosexuality in a country where gay sex is illegal. A video has emerged on social media which shows a well-known music promoter Kinto Rothmans being viciously beaten and threatened by a fuming mob.

In a gathering at Kampala’s Grand Global Hotel on January 29, five key population groups chose five nominees each for seats on the Country Coordinating Mechanism panel. In a new election scheduled for February 5, those nominees will meet and choose a total of two of their number to serve on the CCM. The CCM oversees programs and makes key decisions about requests for funding from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which finances many of Uganda’s anti-AIDS efforts.

Attorney General Githu Muigai said last month that Kenya has made progress on rights of the country’s gay community. Githui was speaking during a session of the 21st Universal Periodic Review, at the Palais des Nations, in Geneva, the headquarters of the United Nations in Europe where Kenya’s human rights records is being assessed. The Attorney General was responding to recommendations made by Slovenia, Sweden, Brazil and Chile that Kenya should decriminalize same sex relations and adopt non-discrimination law covering Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI).