Anti-LGBTQ+ law forces climate activist to flee Uganda

When an anonymous caller threatened to rape and arrest Nyombi Morris if he did not cease “promoting homosexuality,” he realised he had to escape Uganda. The 26-year-old climate activist, who became vocal about LGBTQ+ rights after his sister was outed as a lesbian and expelled from school last year, has encountered intense backlash for his advocacy.

Things only deteriorated after his environmental non-profit organisation, Earth Volunteers, started collaborating with LGBTQ+ groups to support youth identifying as gay and at risk of persecution, ‘The Guardian’ reports.

Morris faced online accusations of leveraging the influence he gained from climate justice campaigns to “advance foreign ideologies” on gender and sexual rights and of recruiting high school students into “gay clubs” through his youth-led organisation.

“The consequences [of LGBTQ+ advocacy in Uganda] are scary,” says Morris. “Since these claims started, people are afraid of being associated with me because they risk being labeled a [gay] activist.”

The online attacks soon had real-world repercussions for Morris. Several schools withdrew from environmental projects with Earth Volunteers, and his family began facing retaliation at home and school. His mother was notified by a local residents’ association that Morris was banned from their village due to his associations with the LGBTQ+ community. Morris’s mother was later called by the police, who inquired about his whereabouts and confiscated her phone, he says. His two brothers were suspended from school because of their connection to him.

Morris reports that the threats intensified after he resumed opposition to the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), a controversial project slated to transport oil from Uganda’s Kingfisher oilfields on Lake Albert’s shores to Tanzania.

His campaigns against the pipeline led to trouble with authorities in 2022, causing him to stop publicly speaking about the project until earlier this year, when he expressed concerns after several activists were detained during EACOP protests.

Morris, who identifies as straight, began fearing for his safety only after tabloids and other news outlets claimed he was gay. While his environmental activism had already placed him at risk, allegations of being gay or “promoting homosexuality” provided authorities with legal grounds for arrest under the stringent anti-LGBTQ+ law passed last year.

The Anti-Homosexuality Act, which can result in up to 20 years in prison for the “recruitment, promotion, and funding” of same-sex “activities,” and life imprisonment or the death penalty for certain same-sex acts, has instilled fear and chilled freedom of expression, according to a report by Amnesty International released this week.

Roland Ebole, Amnesty International’s researcher for Uganda, states: “Because of the punitive nature of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, human rights defenders and political activists risk being accused of being LGBTQ+ themselves, simply to silence or intimidate them.”

The report documents extensive technology-driven attacks against LGBTQ+ individuals and rights defenders in Uganda, including doxing (exposing someone's identity or personal details online without their consent), outing (revealing someone's sexuality), blackmail, impersonation, hacking, and disinformation. It asserts that authorities not only failed to prevent or address these abuses but actively encouraged and condoned them. Many LGBTQ+ individuals and rights defenders have had to modify their online behaviour out of fear of violence, unlawful surveillance, or arbitrary arrest.

“The overzealousness of [law] enforcement to make arrests or prosecute these cases means proper investigations may not be conducted,” says Ebole. “In some instances, the police exploit the stringent laws and penalties to extort [those under investigation].”

Following escalating threats, Morris went into hiding for a few weeks and, with assistance from the Uganda-based human rights group Defend Defenders, fled to Denmark where he has applied for asylum.

Morris describes living in “congested” conditions, struggling to meet basic needs with a minimal government stipend and support from friends, after his bank account was frozen following what he describes as unusual scrutiny from the bank and tax authorities. The long, idle days awaiting a decision on his asylum status are “mentally draining,” he says.

“I cannot return to Uganda because politically I am not aligned with the government, which endangers me,” says Morris.

“It is challenging for my life to be halted in this way, but I cannot stop now. I must be part of the solution in climate justice and human rights, which keeps me motivated.”