Ugandan prison a hell for gay inmates
Gay former inmate accuses Ugandan prisons of gross human rights violations
A gay man who was held in a Ugandan prison for more than two months is speaking out about the gross human rights violations he suffered while in custody.
On March 14 this year, Ugandan gay activist Ronald Agaba was brutally arrested for protesting against the growing corruption in Parliament reportedly orchestrated by the House Speaker Anita Among.
He set out to Parliament with posters calling for Among’s resignation. One of the posters read, “Anita Among stop stealing from Ugandans and scapegoating the gays.”
Agaba was detained at the Central Police Station (CPS) in Kampala and later remanded to Luzira Maximum Security Prison until May 17, when he regained his freedom.
Agaba’s stories about his incarceration, which he has shared via social media, reveal how homophobia is entrenched in Ugandan prisons, where gross human rights violations against gay inmates happen with impunity.
Gays subjected to rape and beatings in Ugandan prison
During his imprisonment, Agaba alleges that he was denied any communication with family and friends.
“My voice was silenced, my pleas unanswered. The weight of injustice bore down upon me, leaving scars that cut deeper than mere flesh,” he says.
He singled out one man named Twinamasiko, whom he described as the malevolent orchestrator of his suffering.
“He is the one who wielded the whip of pain, inflicted inhumane torment, and branded me with labels of degradation, held me captive within the cold, unforgiving walls of CPS for an agonizing five days,” Agaba stated on X (formerly Twitter) attaching the photo of his alleged tormentor.
According to Agaba, the most shocking human violations against gay inmates include forced anal fingering using cooking oil and forced oral sex by other homophobic prisoners, countless rapes, being stripped bare to see what a gay man’s anus looks like, name-calling, humiliation, and beatings.
He says these human rights abuses are normalized both at CPS and in Luzira against anyone suspected to be gay.
“I thought I would never smile or be free again. It’s a mystery,” Agaba stated in one of his posts on X.
Agaba was charged with inciting violence, but his ordeal while in prison makes one think that he was really prosecuted because he is gay.
While in Luzira, Agaba says he was offered release and huge sums of money plus other benefits, including a meeting with Anita Among, in exchange for denouncing his activism against homophobia and corruption.
“There were relentless efforts to coerce me into falsely accusing innocent individuals. They dangled promises of my release, a prestigious job within the speaker’s office, car, security, and even a meeting with the speaker,” Agaba says.
Despite being subjected to gross inhumane treatment, Agaba says he did not bark off.
“I consistently raised up these incidents, but only the Block C commander (Ssemakula) faced just transfer to another block after numerous complaints due to his inhumane treatment of gay inmates,” he stated.
Activists speak out about unjust treatment in Ugandan prisons
Stephen Kabuye, a gay rights activist, had a rare opportunity to visit Agaba at CPS before he was remanded to Luzira.
“Ronnie was highly tortured and looked like they had just whipped him 1000 that morning but their spirit hasn’t frailed; they’re still calling for the resignation of Anita Among,” he posted about Agaba’s state.
Human rights advocates condemned Agaba’s arrest and took to social media and other relevant channels to call for and secure his immediate release.
Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, a Ugandan author and political activist living in Germany defended Agaba on X.
“#FreeAgaba! @ronnieagabajr He was arrested at parliament on Thursday last week while exercising his duty as a citizen pursuant to Article 17(1)(i) of the Uganda Constitution. Mabaati thief @AnitahAmong must resign. #UgandaParliamentExhibition” he posted on X.
Davies Katabalwa Miiro posted on X, “Under the 1995 Constitution of Uganda, every person has the freedom to assemble and to demonstrate together with others peacefully and unarmed and to petition the government. Therefore @ronnieagabajr was exercising his freedom! Free our boy!”
Despite rumors that he has been re-arrested, Agaba says he is free and doing what he knows best, which is human rights activism.
“Uganda faces its most pressing challenges from those who actively seek to label people like me as problems. However, I am not the problem; they are,” Agaba posted shortly after being released.
