A motorbike taxi in which Usaam Mukwaya was riding was stopped by police and he was placed in a patrol car, according to the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. Mukwaya was driven to a building where he was aggressively interrogated about the Ugandan GLBT movement. He was cut around the hands and tortured with a machine that applies pressure to the body, preventing breathing and causing severe pain, IGLHRC said.
According to Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) and IGLHRC, the next day around noon, police dumped Mukwaya on a street — filthy, bruised and without shoes and some of his clothing. He telephoned SMUG colleagues who came and fetched him.
”IGLHRC calls upon its partners and friends to join us in condemning the arrest and torture of Mukwaya and the violation of LGBT human rights in Uganda by the government and its agents,” the group said. For more information, see tinyurl.com/6mj4my.
In the earlier AIDS-meeting protest, Mukwaya, Onziema Patience and Valentine Kalende were seized by the Uganda Police Force for entering the conference without permission. They were carrying posters and handed out a press release. The trio was charged with criminal trespass. The case is ongoing.
The activists were protesting a statement by Uganda AIDS Commission Director General David Kihumuro Apuuli, who allegedly had said, ”Gays are one of the drivers of HIV in Uganda, but because of meager resources we cannot direct our programs at them at this time.”
About 1,700 delegates from all over the world attended the meeting.
Uppdaterad 2016-11-21
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