Uganda, Ghana LGBTQ+ activists urge Ottawa to step up action against homophobic laws

OTTAWA — Canada is missing a pivotal moment to fight a rollback of LGBTQ+ rights abroad, activists say, and they’re urging the Liberal government to put more action behind its condemnation of homophobic legislation in Uganda and Ghana. 

Steven Kabuye, an activist visiting Toronto who was stabbed in broad daylight in Uganda in January, says the situation is dire.

“They’ve legalized homophobia,” he said of his country in an interview. 

“They gave a public mandate to kill gay people, because where can I get justice? Even the police want to arrest me.”

Last spring, Uganda put into force a law that prescribes life imprisonment for homosexuality and the death penalty for the offence of “aggravated homosexuality,” which includes having gay sex while being HIV-positive.

The bill calls for jail terms of up to 20 years for those promoting LGBTQ+ rights, and requires landlords to evict anyone they suspect of committing homosexual acts.

Ghana’s parliament passed its own draft law last month that if ratified would allow decade-long prison terms for anyone promoting LGBTQ+ rights, and jail for any same-sex “public show of romantic relations.” 

The bill would require friends of people who identify as LGBTQ+ to report them to authorities.

A coalition of Canadian groups advocating for LGBTQ+ rights globally says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is failing to adequately push back.

“We’re frustrated that they haven’t recognized that this is an emergency,” said Doug Kerr, head of the Dignity Network.

“This is the time to really step up and support groups — and Canada does have capacity to do that.”

A year ago, Trudeau condemned the “despicable” legislation in Uganda, and said he was “looking at how we can support” LGBTQ+ Ugandans.

Since then, Ottawa stepped up its support for LGBTQ+ refugees by giving Rainbow Railroad a larger role in selecting some of the people resettled to Canada.

Yet Washington has done more, issuing visa bans on certain politicians in Uganda, suspending the government’s access to preferential U.S. trade terms and diverting HIV funding from the Ugandan government toward grassroots groups.

Last month, the U.S. also called out the Ghana draft bill, saying it would undermine the country’s economy, public health and reputation for human rights.

Kabuye said these bills are creating a culture of impunity for those who wish to harm LGBTQ+ people, including a dozen Ugandan religious leaders who have recently been recorded calling for violence against them.

“Homophobia existed, but it wasn’t legalized before the bill. We had people that wanted us dead, but they didn’t have any power,” said Kabuye.

Uganda police say Kabuye was stabbed Jan. 3 by two assailants on motorcycles who were aiming for his neck. A video Kabuye filmed after the attack shows him on the ground writhing in pain with a deep wound to his right arm and a knife stuck in his belly.

His flatmate held the knife puncturing Kabuye’s gut as the two rode a motorcycle to the hospital. 

Kabuye runs an advocacy group and alleged police haven’t taken his case seriously because of his activism. If anything, officers have tried to persecute him and the flatmate, he said. 

He said police tried to search their apartment for evidence they had committed homosexuality.

Then police charged his flatmate with obstruction for blocking entry to the apartment, and with attempted murder since his fingerprints were on the knife.

He alleged that his flatmate was put into a cell with multiple inmates who beat him up after police told them he was gay. He was released after diplomats raised concerns about the case, Kabuye said.

Kabuye also said police interrogated him the moment he woke up from surgery. “If I didn’t have colleagues, lawyers and my fellow human-rights defenders around that minute, I would have died in a police cell,” he said.

The Uganda Police Force did not respond when asked to comment on the claims, nor did the country’s high commission in Ottawa. 

Kabuye arrived in Toronto earlier this month. He said he came to Canada after feeling increasingly unsafe in both Uganda and Kenya, where he had sought temporary refuge. 

He constantly gets threatening messages, he said. And after each media interview, he said police tell his flatmate to “tell Steve that the more he makes a lot of noise, the more he puts your life in danger.”

Kabuye has a Canadian visa for a conference this fall, and is staying in Toronto with the help of local activists until it’s safe to return.

He said he wants Canada to leverage its influence to impose visa bans and sanctions on politicians spreading hate, along with their children who study in the West.

LGBTQ+ groups are asking for similar interventions in Ghana.

They are looking for other democracies to condemn the legislation and for foreign companies to stop doing business in the country. 

Guidelines circulated by groups on the ground implore foreigners to “identify instances when Ghana has been identified as a beacon of hope for democracy in Africa, and how by the passage of the bill we fall from this high reputation.”

Grassroots organizations tend to warn against foreign governments lecturing their own, lest they invite the accusation that they are trying to impose Western values and erase local culture. 

But it’s time to act, activists say, because debate around the bill in Ghana has already sparked violence.

The Toronto-based Coalition for Queer Ghanaian Liberation, led by Canadians with roots in Ghana, says Canada should be more vocal and consider sanctions to dissuade bigoted policies. 

The group fears the draft bill will cause more LGBTQ+ Africans to claim asylum in Canada, at a time when the country is already struggling to house refugees.

Coalition member Ayo Tsalithaba suspects Ottawa doesn’t want to speak out for fear of compromising mining access for Canadian firms operating in Ghana. 

“It’s been disappointing to us to not hear anything from the ministry of foreign affairs thus far,” said Tsalithaba. “It sets the foundation for other African countries to follow suit.”

When asked to respond to criticisms, Ghana’s high commission in Ottawa said in a statement this week that the bill is still awaiting Supreme Court review, and the president has said he will “suspend his decision” pending that verdict.

Global Affairs Canada said it has made multiple diplomatic representations with Uganda in Ottawa and its capital Kampala, including a meeting last week with members of the Ugandan president’s office.

“We are currently assessing our response options,” said spokesman Grantly Franklin. “We are committed to working with experienced partners to support communities in situations of vulnerability and persecution.”

As for Ghana, the department “notes with regret” the drafted bill, saying in vague terms that Ottawa will support LGBTQ+ people. 

“Given that the bill has not been assented into law yet, it would be premature to comment further,” Franklin wrote.

Kerr argued just “a tiny sliver” of Canada’s foreign aid goes toward human-rights defenders, with most aid programs targeted toward humanitarian crises or services such as schools and hospitals.

“The Trudeau government has to put their money where their mouth is,” he said, including by helping mount international pressure and looking at temporary asylum programs for activists.

“This is where we can have an impact in a way that I think most Canadians would support.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2024.

— With files from The Associated Press.

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press