Advocating for LGBTQIA+
Communities in Africa
Being a member of the LGBTQIA+ community in many Africa nations can be a death sentence, in essence or in actuality. In several nations, being queer or differently-gendered is illegal. In nations where punishments for such have been removed, the attitude of lawmakers and citizens causes LGBTQIA+ persons to endure punishments that are no longer legal.
Uganda is an excellent example. In 2013, Uganda enacted the Anti-Homosexuality Bill which meted out the death penalty to those who committed homosexual acts. Gay Rights activists successfully challenged the bill in the Supreme Court and managed to nullify the legislation on a technicality. However, in May of 2021, the Ugandan Parliament introduced and passed a bill called the Sexual Offenses Bill. This bill has been hailed by women's rights activists, AIDS counselors, and law enforcement because it criminalizes rape, sex tourism, exploitation of women in custody, and, as Pamela Nasiyo Kamugo, chairperson of Uganda's Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA), stated, it gives women the right to withdraw consent mid coitus if she realizes the man is not wearing protection.
However, it is the very last clause in the long list of felony offenses in the Bill that worries all of us who care about the LGBTQIA+ community. The bill outlaws a litany of sexual aggression against vulnerable persons, but ends with "unnatural offenses." It is clear that this phrase is aimed at any homosexual or alternately-gendered act of intimacy. Parliamentarian, Rep. Oboth-Oboth, stated categorically that homosexuality is included as an "unnatural act." In his arguments before the Ugandan Parliament in favor of the bill, Oboth-Oboth stated: "A person who performs a sexual act with another person contrary to the order of nature, performs a sexual act with a person of the same gender, a person who attempts to commit an unnatural offense, commits a felony is liable on conviction for imprisonment for five years."*
In May of 2020, a gay male couple were imprisoned by a Zambian judge for 15 years for having sex "against the order of nature." After pressure from the US Ambassador Daniel Foote, the men received a presidential pardon. However, the incident sparked an international incident in which the two US ambassadors to Zambia were removed for exerting pressure on the government.**
Governments find themselves locked in battle with LGBTQIA+ rights groups, often siding with members of conservative religious factions or bowing to pressure from homophobic and transphobic groups because the vast majority of residents in African nations are extremely conservative, both religiously and socially. In many countries, the laws affecting LGBQIA+ persons were instituting hundreds of years ago, during European colonization and occupation of much of the African continent.
The conservative culture that exists among the average population affects more than the LGBTQIA+ community. Young, unmarried mothers find themselves tossed from their homes by the parents because they have dishonored their families. This occurs regardless of whether the intercourse that produced the pregnancy was consensual or not. The AAOCC assist even here: our Kenyan Bishop-elect, Father Antonio Nyandoro Ocharo, finds shelter for the young women while he counsels the families to take their daughters back. We also train the women in a skill so they can earn a living.
However, the conservative nature of Africa's varying cultures allows for the passage of anti-gay bills into law. This is why advocacy, education, and the courage to stand up for the community is so vital and must be nourished. Our priests in Africa all believe in the equality of the LGBTQIA+ community. Our clergy in the U.S. and elsewhere are creating materials that will explain Homosexuality and Transgenderism from scripture. Our fight isn't just in the parliaments and courtrooms around the world. Our fight is in the minds of those who support courts and parliaments--the ones who vote for judges, lawmakers, and presidents.
We applaud nations like Botswana for finally recognizing that LGBTQIA+ persons are, INDEED, human beings and deserve to live their lives in peace, safe from attack and oppression. However, not every country sees their treatment of the community as a problem that needs to be fixed. Most governments are content with policies ranging from silence in the face of violence up to and including imprisonment and death.
One of our religious communities in Rwanda was attacked by a mob who dragged a gay monk into the street and beat him to death. The government requires payment to prosecute the man's murder. A conservative pastor recently kidnapped the grandchild of another member of an LGBTQ-friendly convent and still holds the child to "protect it" from an "unnatural" upbringing. The police will do nothing.
For many in Africa & other global regions, the closet doors are locked from the outside. There is no "coming out" when it means loss of employment, of housing, of family, of property and life. To us at the AAOCC, that one person lives in fear of being themselves is utterly intolerable.
As an Advocate for Inclusivity, the AAOCC will stand idly by when so many suffer. We are blessed to have a courageous and compassionate voice like Bishop-elect Antonio Ocharo Nyandoro's (who is a straight, cis-gendered married man). Father Antonio has begun an underground community of people who are in need of companionship and hope. Using technology to connect individuals trapped in secrecy for fear of the repercussions of their situation, our clergy in Kenya and elsewhere assist LGBTQIA+ people with spiritual counseling, resources, AIDS counseling, opportunities for education, and other resources. We are also developing an educational course that will help educate Christians as to what the Bible REALLY says about homosexuality and transgenderism.
Right now, we are assisting people virtually. However, our vision is to ultimately create safe places in every country for LGBTQIA+ people to go when they need fellowship, assistance, and protection.
The first step to that goal is to find other like-minded groups and communities from whom we can learn and with whom we can join. If your church or organization is working toward the same goal of equality, please email Archbishop Rake or Father Antonio. If we can network with organizations doing the same work in every place where the community is oppressed, we can add that much more to their numbers.
While we begin our vision by finding others like us, we have created a virtual community on WhatsApp where closeted people can have fellowship and can connect freely while also learning about opportunities, safe places, and events. If you're a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and want to join our online group, please write to Father Antonio. We do our best to maintain this space safely by investigating all applicants to join.
If you can donate to our cause, you will help us help others who may have lost their job, their home, their livelihood. You can do so on our homepage.
If you are an organization with whom we can network and from whom we can learn, please email Archbishop Rake.
Finally, if you are someone who cares deeply about the LGBTQIA+ community around the world, pray for them and for those who are working to make their lives like yours and mine: legal.
*"Uncertain future for LGBT+ rights in Uganda as controversial bill is passed". May 5, 2021. www.DW.com. https://www.dw.com/en/uncertain-future-for-lgbt-rights-in-uganda-as-controversial-bill-is-passed/a-57437925.
**"Zambian jailed gay couple pardoned in presidential amnesty". May 26th, 2020. www.bbc.com. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-52807727.
Uganda is an excellent example. In 2013, Uganda enacted the Anti-Homosexuality Bill which meted out the death penalty to those who committed homosexual acts. Gay Rights activists successfully challenged the bill in the Supreme Court and managed to nullify the legislation on a technicality. However, in May of 2021, the Ugandan Parliament introduced and passed a bill called the Sexual Offenses Bill. This bill has been hailed by women's rights activists, AIDS counselors, and law enforcement because it criminalizes rape, sex tourism, exploitation of women in custody, and, as Pamela Nasiyo Kamugo, chairperson of Uganda's Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA), stated, it gives women the right to withdraw consent mid coitus if she realizes the man is not wearing protection.
However, it is the very last clause in the long list of felony offenses in the Bill that worries all of us who care about the LGBTQIA+ community. The bill outlaws a litany of sexual aggression against vulnerable persons, but ends with "unnatural offenses." It is clear that this phrase is aimed at any homosexual or alternately-gendered act of intimacy. Parliamentarian, Rep. Oboth-Oboth, stated categorically that homosexuality is included as an "unnatural act." In his arguments before the Ugandan Parliament in favor of the bill, Oboth-Oboth stated: "A person who performs a sexual act with another person contrary to the order of nature, performs a sexual act with a person of the same gender, a person who attempts to commit an unnatural offense, commits a felony is liable on conviction for imprisonment for five years."*
In May of 2020, a gay male couple were imprisoned by a Zambian judge for 15 years for having sex "against the order of nature." After pressure from the US Ambassador Daniel Foote, the men received a presidential pardon. However, the incident sparked an international incident in which the two US ambassadors to Zambia were removed for exerting pressure on the government.**
Governments find themselves locked in battle with LGBTQIA+ rights groups, often siding with members of conservative religious factions or bowing to pressure from homophobic and transphobic groups because the vast majority of residents in African nations are extremely conservative, both religiously and socially. In many countries, the laws affecting LGBQIA+ persons were instituting hundreds of years ago, during European colonization and occupation of much of the African continent.
The conservative culture that exists among the average population affects more than the LGBTQIA+ community. Young, unmarried mothers find themselves tossed from their homes by the parents because they have dishonored their families. This occurs regardless of whether the intercourse that produced the pregnancy was consensual or not. The AAOCC assist even here: our Kenyan Bishop-elect, Father Antonio Nyandoro Ocharo, finds shelter for the young women while he counsels the families to take their daughters back. We also train the women in a skill so they can earn a living.
However, the conservative nature of Africa's varying cultures allows for the passage of anti-gay bills into law. This is why advocacy, education, and the courage to stand up for the community is so vital and must be nourished. Our priests in Africa all believe in the equality of the LGBTQIA+ community. Our clergy in the U.S. and elsewhere are creating materials that will explain Homosexuality and Transgenderism from scripture. Our fight isn't just in the parliaments and courtrooms around the world. Our fight is in the minds of those who support courts and parliaments--the ones who vote for judges, lawmakers, and presidents.
We applaud nations like Botswana for finally recognizing that LGBTQIA+ persons are, INDEED, human beings and deserve to live their lives in peace, safe from attack and oppression. However, not every country sees their treatment of the community as a problem that needs to be fixed. Most governments are content with policies ranging from silence in the face of violence up to and including imprisonment and death.
One of our religious communities in Rwanda was attacked by a mob who dragged a gay monk into the street and beat him to death. The government requires payment to prosecute the man's murder. A conservative pastor recently kidnapped the grandchild of another member of an LGBTQ-friendly convent and still holds the child to "protect it" from an "unnatural" upbringing. The police will do nothing.
For many in Africa & other global regions, the closet doors are locked from the outside. There is no "coming out" when it means loss of employment, of housing, of family, of property and life. To us at the AAOCC, that one person lives in fear of being themselves is utterly intolerable.
As an Advocate for Inclusivity, the AAOCC will stand idly by when so many suffer. We are blessed to have a courageous and compassionate voice like Bishop-elect Antonio Ocharo Nyandoro's (who is a straight, cis-gendered married man). Father Antonio has begun an underground community of people who are in need of companionship and hope. Using technology to connect individuals trapped in secrecy for fear of the repercussions of their situation, our clergy in Kenya and elsewhere assist LGBTQIA+ people with spiritual counseling, resources, AIDS counseling, opportunities for education, and other resources. We are also developing an educational course that will help educate Christians as to what the Bible REALLY says about homosexuality and transgenderism.
Right now, we are assisting people virtually. However, our vision is to ultimately create safe places in every country for LGBTQIA+ people to go when they need fellowship, assistance, and protection.
The first step to that goal is to find other like-minded groups and communities from whom we can learn and with whom we can join. If your church or organization is working toward the same goal of equality, please email Archbishop Rake or Father Antonio. If we can network with organizations doing the same work in every place where the community is oppressed, we can add that much more to their numbers.
While we begin our vision by finding others like us, we have created a virtual community on WhatsApp where closeted people can have fellowship and can connect freely while also learning about opportunities, safe places, and events. If you're a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and want to join our online group, please write to Father Antonio. We do our best to maintain this space safely by investigating all applicants to join.
If you can donate to our cause, you will help us help others who may have lost their job, their home, their livelihood. You can do so on our homepage.
If you are an organization with whom we can network and from whom we can learn, please email Archbishop Rake.
Finally, if you are someone who cares deeply about the LGBTQIA+ community around the world, pray for them and for those who are working to make their lives like yours and mine: legal.
*"Uncertain future for LGBT+ rights in Uganda as controversial bill is passed". May 5, 2021. www.DW.com. https://www.dw.com/en/uncertain-future-for-lgbt-rights-in-uganda-as-controversial-bill-is-passed/a-57437925.
**"Zambian jailed gay couple pardoned in presidential amnesty". May 26th, 2020. www.bbc.com. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-52807727.