Explainer: Here’s Why The Ugandan Government Shutdown the Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) NGO

The Ugandan administration terminated the operations of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), a non-governmental organization for LGBTQ rights citing illegal operations.

Why was SMUG terminated?

On Friday, the National Bureau for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) under the Ministry of Internal Affairs said the organization functioned without appropriately registering its name in the NGO Bureau. The NGO Bureau also stated that in 2012, SMUG had tried to register its name with officials, but the application had been turned down because SMUG’s full name was regarded as “undesirable.”

According to Stephen Okello, who is in charge of a government firm that manages NGOs, SMUG’s dealings have been halted instantly because “they were operating illegally”. 

“SMUG continues to operate without a valid NGO permit”, he added.

Following the announcement, SMUG’s director and gay Ugandan activist, Frank Mugisha, in a statement said, “This is a clear witch hunt rooted in systematic homophobia, fuelled by anti-gay and anti-gender movements”. He also blamed the officials of discriminating against members of Uganda’s LGBTQ and trying to get rid of them.

“The refusal to legalize SMUG’s operation that seeks to protect LGBTQ people who continue to face major discrimination in Uganda, actively encouraged by political and religious leaders, was a clear indicator that the government of Uganda and its agencies are adamant and treating Ugandan gender and sexual minorities as second-class citizens,” He said.

SMUG was established in 2004 in Kampala, Uganda by Victor Mukasa and Sylvia Tamale to advocate for the protection and promotion of the human rights of Ugandans in the LGBTQ community. Since its inception, the NGO has championed the rights of LGBTQ people in Uganda, a country where homosexuality is a crime and gay people have been discriminated against by society, imprisoned for life, or/and met with atrocious brutality. 

In 2009, Uganda introduced the anti-homosexuality bill with a death sentence for homosexual activities. In 2014, a Ugandan court annulled a bill that tried to replace the death sentence with life imprisonment for homosexual affiliation. Some legislators have made attempts to reinstate it.

What’s next?

In the statement, SMUG urged the Ugandan government to stand by its commitment and responsibility to protect Ugandans regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression. Several human rights organizations and advocates have rallied together to support and condemn the unfair treatment of SMUG on social media.