By our Reporter:
“Serujja Isaac Solomon, a male adult aged 23 years, a Muganda by tribe, and a resident of Mengo, behind Mengo Hospital in Kampala District…” reads the first paragraph of the charge sheet issued by the Uganda Police Force at Old Kampala Police Station on February 10, 2022. The charge sheet states the offense against the suspect as UNNATURAL OFFENSES CONTRARY TO SECTION 145(a) & (b) OF THE PENAL CODE ACT CAP 120.
It is alleged that the suspect, Serujja Isaac, between October 2021 and February 2022, was in a sexual relationship with another male, Mawanda Kwagala Joshua, well aware that such acts are not permitted in Uganda. The officer preferring the charge and the magistrate hearing the case signed on behalf of the state, which is the complainant against a legitimate citizen.
However, Serujja —now living in Denmark, where he fled fearing the worst, is not the only victim of this state of affairs in Uganda. Perhaps he was just unlucky to have no one to defend him after his own family banished him, forcing him to live as an outcast. It all started in 2020 when Serujja, fresh from a tertiary institution and working in his first job as a consultant in Agro Business, met a friend—Mawanda Kwagala—who was also undertaking a similar project in Kampala. The two decided to rent a house together behind Albert Cook Hospital in Mengo.
Suddenly, Serujja’s parents, who reside in Kyengera Town Council in Wakiso District, got wind of information that their only son could be involved in acts of homosexuality. Struggling to build a life in the city with hopes of a better future, Serujja did not know that his fortunes were about to change. Being staunch Catholics and strict disciplinarians, his parents summoned a family meeting to question and rebuke their “wayward” son, urging them to abandon the practices that, in their view, led to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
The family meeting quickly escalated into a village gathering, as the parents were reminded that their son was above the age of consent. Handling such a “grave” matter alone could easily be perceived as overreach by a parent trying to dictate an adult’s choices. The village meeting was finally convened on January 21, 2022, at Kitemu Cell, Kisozi Ward, presided over by the Local Council 1 Chairman, Mr. Kyagulanyi Jackson. Serujja and Mawanda stood as the accused while the interrogation process began.
The verdict came swiftly. The accused did not spend much time denying their involvement in homosexuality. Even when they were given the choice between banishment from the village or renouncing their sexual orientation, as their parents desired, the young men refused to express remorse. The meeting concluded with a pronouncement that the duo was banished, as allowing them to stay posed the risk of them being lynched. Their behavior, according to the community, was an abomination that could not be tolerated.
News of such matters spread like wildfire in Uganda, and soon the police took action. A charge sheet was quickly drafted at Old Kampala Police Station after the suspects were arrested two days following the widely publicized village meeting in Kyengera Town Council.
Fortunately, a human rights lawyer intervened, and the suspects were granted temporary freedom after securing their release on a police bond. The next day, Serujja and his friend devised a plan to escape injustice, and four months later, they fled Uganda.
In a recent phone conversation with our reporter, Serujja expressed no regret over his decision to jump police bond, despite the risk of a harsher sentence if he were ever caught. “What difference would it have made? I would be serving a life sentence anyway, following the new law!” he said, referring to the Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA), which was enacted by the Ugandan Parliament just a year after he went into exile in Denmark.
In May 2023, the Ugandan Parliament passed one of the world’s most severe anti-gay laws, prescribing life imprisonment for anyone convicted of homosexuality. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni later signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act, despite widespread condemnation from Western governments and human rights activists. The AHA introduced even harsher penalties for LGBTQ individuals, including the death penalty for those convicted of “aggravated homosexuality”—defined as same-sex relations involving HIV-positive individuals, children, or other vulnerable groups.
Since its enactment, the AHA has further deteriorated the human rights situation in Uganda, particularly concerning the rights and freedoms of LGBTQ communities. LGBTQ individuals face severe discrimination, actively incited by conservative political, religious, and community leaders. Violent attacks and harassment are common, often carried out or encouraged by state officials seeking popularity among a largely homophobic electorate.
Serujja and Mawanda are among many Ugandans who have become exiles due to harsh legislation in their home country. In Denmark, They fortunately reunited with other Ugandans who have suffered a similar fate simply for following their hearts and belief systems. A recent victim of similar repressive laws in Uganda is the former DPC of Wandegeya Police Division SP Samuel Ebwang (the three were friends while still in Uganda), who was forced to relocate to Australia to fully enjoy his rights as a transgender individual.
While Serujja and Mawanda may not be entirely safe today since they remain on the Police radar, sometimes, such people find themselves with few choices but to endure certain hardships in order to experience freedom. That is the choice that Serujja, Mawanda and many others have made, regardless of the consequences.
