Arrests of gay men have begun in Uganda, following a recent statement by President Yoweri Museveni that he would order police to “lock up” homosexuals, according to the San Francisco based International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC).

In the wake of Museveni's statement, the IGLHRC's Kamal Fizazi, regional program coordinator for Africa and south-west Asia, visited Uganda and met with gay men. “Some men have gone into hiding in fear of arrest”, Fizazi said.

Museveni was recently quoted in the state-owned newspaper New Vision as saying: “I have told the CID [Criminal Investigations Department] to look for homosexuals, lock them up and charge them”. The statement followed press reports, apparently false, of a marriage ceremony between two gay men in a suburb of Kampala, the capital.

According to Fizazi, “Authoritarian leaders like Museveni demonise homosexuality hoping to shore up their political support. This intolerance will spread until it is recognised for what it is -- a threat to democracy and fundamental human rights.”

The IGLHRC has received reliable reports that one individual is being held in Luzeira Prison outside Kampala. Other reports indicate that at least five others may also have been jailed under Uganda's laws banning sex “against the order of nature”. Fizazi is maintaining contact with Ugandan activists and urges those who are concerned to wait before taking actions which, though well intentioned, might have the inadvertent effect of exacerbating matters.

“Ugandan law punishes same-sex love with life imprisonment”, said Fizazi. “Under this harsh law, even individuals who elude imprisonment face constant fear, stigmatisation and the threat of extortion by the police”, he continued.

The heavy-handed repression of homosexual behaviour has already roused debate within Uganda. Responding to Museveni's recent statements (and similar statements by Kenya's President Daniel Arap Moi), the Monitor declared on October 4, “The presidents' attacks on homosexuals are not based on any sound evidence”.

Homosexuals, a columnist in the paper wrote, “should enjoy the same rights and freedoms as their heterosexual counterparts, including the freedom from harassment by the state and individuals”.

The government's arsenal of legal means of repressing homosexuality is not unique to Uganda. “Worldwide”, Fizazi explained, “both specific laws against sexual acts and vague laws regarding idleness or 'public scandal' serve to repress manifestations of sexual difference”.

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