The National Union of Students (NUS) is organising an emergency demonstration outside the Ugandan embassy this week over continued persecution of the LGBT (lesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender) community within the country.

The campaign will be handing a letter of protest to the Ugandan embassy calling on the country to respect equality and freedom.

“We call on individuals and groups, to protest against the intimidation, arrest and torture of LGBT people in Uganda. We will be handing a letter of protest to the Ugandan Ambassador calling on his Government to respect the provisions enshrined in the
Ugandan Constitution giving citizens rights to equality and freedom,’’ said Claire Anderson of the NUS LGBT campaign.

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The protest is being held this Friday 22nd September at 4pm outside the Ugandan Embassy at 58/59 Trafalgar Square, London.

Two years ago, a government official broke into a home, seized property and detained one of the occupants without a warrant. The case seems clear, but will the plaintiff's homosexuality affect the verdict? The ruling, due next month in Uganda's Constitutional court, could set a precedent for sub-Saharan Africa's reportedly conservative masses.

Two Ugandan lesbians are suing the government for trespassing, theft of property, illegal arrest, and inhuman and degrading treatment. The case has been in court since December 2006 and a verdict is expected when the court session resumes in August.

Victor Mukasa, a 31-year-old gay rights activist and Yvonne Ooyo, a 24-year-old Kenyan, claim that on July 20, 2005, LC1 Chairman John Lubega from Kireka Kamuli zone illegally raided and searched and their home without a warrant and proceeded to arbitrarily arrest Ms Ooyo who was alone in the house at the time.

The case is highly contentious, if only because of the complainant's sexuality. Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda. Some religious leaders like born-again Pastor Martin Sempa of the Makerere Community Church, advocate a path of 'redemption' rather than court trials.

"I know many people in my congregation who were lesbian but have turned around and are living a straight life now," he says. "Victor will experience redemption if she is given the right treatment and information," he adds.

This is the first case on legal rights of homosexual citizens in a Ugandan court to receive a public hearing. In fact, aside from South Africa where homosexuality is legal, it is the first case in Africa of a gay person seeking affirmation of their constitutional rights.

Uganda will not give equal rights to gays and lesbians nor has it plans to legalise homosexuality, Ethics Minister James Nsaba Buturo has said.

He was responding to a call from the Sexual Minorities Groups in Uganda (Smug) which for the first time held a press conference demanding recognition.

They also accused the police of brutality and harassment.

The gay community is estimated by activists to number 500,000 in Uganda where they face much discrimination.

The vast majority of Ugandans do not support demands by gay activists that homosexuality be decriminalized, according to a new survey. Some 95 percent of Ugandans said homosexuality should not be legalized, while a paltry 4 per cent said they support its legalisation, a new Steadman poll shows.

The interviews, conducted at household level in Kampala, involved respondents whose education background ranged from the "never gone to school" category to holders of post university qualifications.

The Ugandan Penal Code Act criminalizes homosexuality, an offense lumped among others that are deemed "unnatural." A convict could face imprisonment for life.

a paltry 4 per cent said they support its legalisation

NAIROBI (Reuters) - An international human rights group has accused President Yoweri Museveni's government of promoting "state homophobia" in Uganda and urged the repeal of a colonial-era law against sodomy.

Human Rights Watch's attack added to a fierce social debate in the east African nation, where gays and lesbians have been increasingly vocal in demanding rights while Christian groups have taken to the streets to denounce them.

Religious conservatives in Uganda are clamoring for deportation of Stanford University journalism student Katherine Roubos, who covers gay issues for the Kampala-based Daily Monitor newspaper on a university-sponsored summer internship.

Roubos has not been directly threatened or detained, and continues to work in the East African nation, where homosexual activity is illegal and carries a prison sentence. But a recent gathering of hundreds of angry Ugandans at a protest rally - carrying banners and placards denouncing what they called an "immoral" lifestyle and demanding Roubos' deportation - "was nerve-racking," wrote Roubos in an e-mail.

"It was disturbing to feel so much hate coming toward me in particular, and toward lesbian, gay and bisexual people in general," she wrote.

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The Aug. 21 protest, held at a local rugby field, followed Roubos' coverage of a news conference held by members of Uganda's small but growing gay rights movement.

In her article, she described an appeal by gay Ugandans - wearing masks to conceal their identities - to respect their dignity. Offenders may face life in prison, but the law is rarely enforced.

The anti-Roubos protest was organized by a coalition of Christian, Muslim and Bahá'í groups called Interfaith Rainbow Coalition against Homosexuality. The estimated 200 demonstrators accused Roubos of advocating for gay rights in the country and blamed the West for importing homosexuality.

"We people of Uganda have values. If this lady cannot respect them, then she had better be deported," Eddie Semakula, a coalition member, told Associated Press. "She is advocating for the rights of homosexuals in a paper that is read by children even. We must protect our children," he said.

[...]

Alerted by an e-mail announcing a protest against homosexuality - with the goal to deport "Lesbian leader Katherine Roubos, who has hijacked the Monitor to promote the gay agenda" - Roubos watched from a nearby cafe. She then joined the crowd, and even covered the event for the next day's paper. Because her photograph hadn't been released, she felt anonymous, she said.

Since then, some talk show and blog commentators have said they want Roubos put on a firing squad or deported, she said. "But I have received no direct personal threats," she said.