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I’ve defended hundreds of LGBTI people arrested in Uganda. Our laws must change – but we need public acceptance too

We can fight for equal rights through the courts, but we need to do more – it’s ordinary citizens who murder LGBTI people, and we must reach them too

By Patricia Kimera

I’ve defended hundreds of LGBTI people arrested in Uganda. Our laws must change – but we need public acceptance too — Lawyer Patricia Kimera (left) on 15 November 2019, working on the case of 67 people who were charged in Kampala after being arrested at a LGBTI-friendly bar | Courtesy of Patricia Kimera

Published: January 23, 2020, 2:59 pm

On the night of 10 November 2019, we received a call from someone who had been arrested. They said the police had rounded up people at an LGBTI-friendly bar. They wanted legal representation.

I am the director of the access to justice programme at the Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF) in Kampala, Uganda. Among other things, we run a legal aid clinic for people who struggle to find legal representation, including LGBTI people.

Our organisation was the first in the country to provide legal services for LGBTI people. Now, most people know us for this work. Sometimes, we even get police officers phoning us to say “we have your people here, come and give them legal representation.”

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