{"id":6040,"date":"2026-02-27T01:47:44","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T01:47:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=6040"},"modified":"2026-02-27T01:47:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T01:47:44","slug":"two-women-arrested-in-uganda-for-allegedly-kissing-in-public-could-face-life-sentence-global-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=6040","title":{"rendered":"Two women arrested in Uganda for allegedly kissing in public could face life sentence | Global development"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Two women have been arrested and detained in Uganda after allegedly kissing in public, an act of \u201csame-sex activity\u201d which can lead to a life sentence in the east African country..<\/p>\n

Wendy Faith, a 22-year-old musician known as Torrero Bae, and Alesi Diana Denise, 21, were taken into custody after police raided their rented room in Uganda\u2019s north-west Arua City last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cInformation was received from the community that the suspects have been involved in queer and unusual acts believed to be sexual in nature, besides being allegedly seen kissing each other in broad daylight,\u201d said Josephine Angucia, a police spokesperson for the West Nile region, which borders the Democratic Republic of Congo.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s further alleged \u2026 that many ladies normally converge to stay at the suspects\u2019 residence. It is upon that information that police acted by arresting the two female suspects under the allegation of practicing homosexuality,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The pair have been in custody since their arrest and it is not clear if or when they will formally be charged.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>Uganda\u2019s president, Yoweri Museveni.<\/span> Photograph: AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Uganda\u2019s autocratic president, Yoweri Museveni, signed the<\/a> Anti-Homosexuality Act<\/a> into law<\/a> in May 2023, amid international and regional outrage. One of the world\u2019s harshest anti-LGBTQ+ laws, it includes life imprisonment for same-sex relationships and the death penalty for \u201caggravated homosexuality\u201d.<\/p>\n

Frank Mugisha, executive director, Sexual Minorities Uganda (Smug), said: \u201cWe are closely following this case and are deeply alarmed by the arrest of the two young women. This incident is unjust and deeply troubling, and it is not an isolated case.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn recent months, we have seen a sharp and disturbing increase in similar incidents across the country, where people are being reported, targeted, harassed and arrested based solely on allegations about their identity or relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n

Activists have condemned the growing wave of blackmail and extortion linked to accusations and arrests, which is placing the lives of many LGBTQ+ community members in serious danger, and fuelling fear and insecurity.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

Mugisha said: \u201cThe consequences for these two individuals are severe. They are already being judged and condemned by society, and cases like this send a chilling message to LGBTQ+ people across the country that their safety and dignity are under threat.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum reported<\/a> in January that it had handled 956 cases targeting LGBTQ+ people since the implementation of the law, which affected 1,276 individuals.<\/p>\n

Ugandan gay rights activist Hans Senfuma said: \u201cThe queer community in Uganda right now is not just afraid. We are grieving. We are grieving the freedom we never fully had. We are grieving two young women who did nothing wrong. We are grieving the Uganda we wish existed but does not yet.<\/p>\n

In April 2024, Uganda\u2019s constitutional court rejected a petition to overturn the bill<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe arrest of Wendy and Diana is not an isolated incident. It is a message, loud, deliberate and brutal, sent to every queer person in Uganda: we are watching you, and we will come for you too,\u201d said Senfuma.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>Jewellery for sale at a shelter for lesbian, bisexual and queer women in Kampala. <\/span> Photograph: Luke Dray\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThere are thousands of LGBTQI Ugandans who are silently deleting messages from their phones, moving out of shared homes, pulling away from the people they love, rehearsing how to look straight, how to laugh differently, how to survive,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Human Rights Watch in its May 2025 report<\/a>, Uganda: Anti-LGBT Law Unleashed Abuse, accused authorities in the country of perpetrating widespread discrimination and violence against LGBTQ+<\/a> people in the two years since the law was enacted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe call on the Uganda police and political leaders to immediately stop the surveillance, harassment and targeting of individuals perceived to be LGBTQ Ugandans,\u201d said Mugisha.<\/p>\n

Senfuma said: \u201cTo the international community: do not look away. Do not issue a statement and move on. The funding levers exist. Diplomatic pressure exists. Use them. Two girls are facing life imprisonment. If that does not move you to action, I genuinely do not know what will.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two women have been arrested and detained in Uganda after allegedly kissing in public, an act of \u201csame-sex activity\u201d which can lead to a life sentence…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}