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Uganda’s Outlaws: Life in the LGBT Community of Kampala

February 27, 2014 | The Wall Street Journal
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Images by Daniella Zalcman

A couple embraced in Kampala, Uganda, on Jan. 18. Image by Daniella Zalcman. Uganda, 2014.

LGBT rights activist Sandra Ntebi, a researcher for Makerere University, said she does most of her work at her home to avoid harassment. Image by Daniella Zalcman. Uganda, 2014.

Activist Kasha Nabagesera with her dog, Arzu, at her home in a secure compound in Kampala on Jan. 18. Image by Daniella Zalcman. Uganda, 2014.

Neighborhood children played outside the gate of Freedom and Roam Uganda, a lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex women’s rights organization in Kampala on Jan. 20. Children occasionally approach the gate and ask to see what a lesbian looks like, says Junique Wambya, the group’s head. Image by Daniella Zalcman. Uganda, 2014.

Ms. Wambya prepared lunch at a fellow activist’s home on Jan. 18. Image by Daniella Zalcman. Uganda, 2014.

Freedom and Roam Uganda members burned paperwork, leaflets and campaign posters on Jan. 20 to destroy evidence of its work. The organization’s office was raided in December before Parliament passed the anti-homosexuality bill. Image by Daniella Zalcman. Uganda, 2014.

Frank Mugisha at a memorial service Jan. 26 for activist David Kato, who was murdered three years earlier in what some activists say was a hate crime; the man convicted in his death was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Image by Daniella Zalcman. Uganda, 2014.

A lesbian woman’s wedding dress hung on a wall after her marriage in a secret ceremony in December, a day after the anti-homosexuality bill was passed by Parliament. Image by Daniella Zalcman. Uganda, 2014.

Steven Dhont waited to give a statement on Jan. 28 at the Ntinda Police Station after his arrest on suspicion of engaging in “sexual acts which are against the order of nature.” He and a friend were held for two nights and released; they were never charged. Image by Daniella Zalcman. Uganda, 2014.

LGBT activist Moses Mulindwa, shown on Jan. 28, works at Spectrum Uganda, which provides healthcare to the LGBT community and educates local clinics about LGBT patients. Image by Daniella Zalcman. Uganda, 2014.

This article is also featured in Italian on the online publication Internazionale.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Feb. 24 signed into law a bill imposing harsh sentences on so-called homosexual acts.

Photographer Daniella Zalcman traveled to Uganda in January to document lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights activists as they prepared for life under the impending law.

The community, already living a discreet existence, had gone further underground. One group burned its paperwork and campaign posters, and many individuals toned down their online presence, changing their names or photos on Facebook or deleting Twitter or Instagram accounts. Scores of people have left the country, according to activists who remain. Many went to neighboring Kenya; though it also has antigay laws, police are far less aggressive about enforcing them. Others have gone to Rwanda, Burundi or South Africa.

Those who stayed will be forced to continue their secret double lives, or perhaps face prosecution.

To read the full article, written by Chelsea Matiash, click here.