Kampala – A Ugandan court charged 67 people with causing a nuisance on Tuesday after they were arrested in a gay-friendly bar, in a move condemned by activists as the latest “homophobic” attack.
The 67 – who were among 127 arrested at Ram Bar, in the capital, Kampala, on Sunday – could face up to one year in jail if found guilty, said Patricia Kimera, a lawyer for the group.
“This is just a homophobic attack,” LGBT+ activist Raymond Karuhanga told the Thomson Reuters Foundation outside the court.
“These were people in a club, not even on the streets. They were having fun, listening to music. Then you arrest almost 130 and charge them with being a public nuisance … They just want to silence us as a community.”
LGBT+ rights campaigners in Uganda have expressed concerns about a spate of attacks after a minister proposed introducing the death penalty for gay sex last month, a threat retracted by the government after international donors condemned the move.
