Paper/Proposal Title

Sexuality, Homophobia and Africanness: A Rights-Based Analysis of the Contemporary Pushback of Africa’s LGBTQI+ Community

Presenter/Author Information

Mziwandile Ndlovu, African Institute For Development PolicyFollow
Sarah Wesonga, Article 19Follow

Location

M2380

Start Date

November 2023

End Date

November 2023

Keywords

Sexuality, Homophobia, Sexual Rights, Africa, Pushback

Abstract

This paper explores the topical and emotive subject of sexuality in Africa from a rights-based perspective. It analyses the growing homophobia in Africa which has manifested in prejudicial statements against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, Queer and Intersex (LGBTQI+) community by senior public officials and legislative efforts to curtail sexual rights. In April 2023, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni called on Africa to save the world from homosexuality as ruling party legislators demonstrated overwhelming support for a new anti-LGBTQI+ law. In March in Kenya, both President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga castigated the judiciary for upholding the LGBTQI+ Community’s right to freedom of association and ruled that they could establish associations and program in the country. Both leaders condemned homosexuality as an un-African practice. The paper analyses the events in Kenya leading to the seismic court ruling and considers various scenarios of how the LGBTQI+ community’s rights could be affected by the homophobic attitude of political elites and also assesses the fitness of Africa’s human rights mechanisms to protect the LGBTQI+ community. The paper further uses the review of literature and key informant interviews with relevant respondents to interrogate whether or not homosexuality is indeed un-African. The paper also explores how LGBTQI+ community activists from countries from hostile countries like Uganda have found significant allies like the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in countries with progressive LGBTQI+ legislation like South Africa and are using these alliances to push back against entrenched homophobia in their countries. Attention is also given the Kenyan LGBTQI+ community’s plans to give effect to the court ruling in a hostile environment as well as the work of not only sexual rights groups but also legislators in countries like Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Botswana to promote sexual rights who also form the nucleus of the key informants.

Author/Speaker Biographical Statement(s)

1. Dr. Mziwandile Ndlovu is a Research and Policy Analyst working with the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP). He currently works on the Africa Integrity Indicators (AII) project as Anglophone Africa Project Manager. The indicators evaluate the status quo of government systems and identify intervention points for subsequent reform efforts in Africa through the generation of quality, comprehensive & timely governance indicators on social, economic, political, & anti-corruption mechanisms to show the status of policy implementation & service provision. The indicators have a thematic cluster focusing on human rights of which one assesses governments’ protection of citizens from discrimination based on sexual orientation. He is a Zimbabwean national with significant civil society experience and worked with formations that collaborated with sexual rights groups like the Gays and Lesbians Association of Zimbabwe (GALZ), the Sexual Rights Centre and the Katswe Sisterhood that worked in a highly hostile homophobic environment in which former President Robert Mugabe frequently characterized the LGBTQI+ community as worse than pigs and dogs. His research interests and entire career trajectory have revolved around human rights in Africa. 2. Sarah Wesonga is a Programme Officer (Transparency and Access to Information) working with ARTICLE 19’s Regional Office for Eastern Africa. She leads ARTICLE 19’s work in promoting an enabling legal, policy and actual environment for freedom of expression and information in the region, with a vision that all people everywhere can freely express themselves and actively engage in public life without fear of discrimination. She is an experienced project manager with a diverse work history ranging from human rights programming, public policy research, formulation and implementation to transparency, accountability and sustainable development. She previously managed the "COVID-19 Response in Africa: Together for Reliable Information" project which focused on supporting the provision of reliable and critical information about the Covid-19 pandemic. She also serves as a Thematic Expert Reviewer for Access and Openness on AFIDEP’s Africa Integrity Indicators.