Samuel Okiror

Uganda has begun distributing 9,400 tonnes of emergency food in drought-hit Karamoja after at least 19 people reportedly died from hunger and 1.5 million residents faced acute food shortages. Parliament approved 45 billion shillings for the two-month operation, launched by Disaster Preparedness Minister Sam Engola. Crop failures, severe malnutrition, environmental degradation, poverty and low agricultural productivity have compounded the crisis, while cuts to international aid have reduced assistance from organizations including the World Food Programme. Advocates welcomed government leadership but urged investment in water infrastructure, climate resilience and structural reforms rather than relying on emergency relief.

Wendy Faith and Alesi Diana Denise were arrested in Arua City after allegedly being seen kissing in public and were held for five months under Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, which allows life imprisonment for same-sex relationships and the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality. The women describe overcrowded prison conditions, alleged police beatings, community hostility, family rejection and continuing threats. A magistrate discontinued the case and discharged them, but LGBTQ+ activists say their release reflects public pressure rather than legal protection. Rights groups argue that the prosecution demonstrates how the law continues to intimidate and harm LGBTQ+ Ugandans and call for its repeal.

Wendy Faith, known as Torrero Bae, and Alesi Diana Denise were arrested in Arua City after allegedly kissing in public and were detained under Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act. The law, signed by President Yoweri Museveni in 2023, allows life imprisonment for same-sex relationships and the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality. LGBTQ+ advocates condemned the arrests, warning of increased harassment, blackmail and violence, while rights groups reported hundreds of cases targeting LGBTQ+ people since the law took effect. The women’s formal charges and legal status remain unclear.

Uganda has stopped granting asylum and refugee status to new arrivals from Eritrea, Somalia and Ethiopia, with Refugee Minister Hillary Onek blaming severe reductions in international aid. The policy threatens thousands who may be fleeing persecution, forced conscription or climate-related crises, leaving them vulnerable to legal limbo, displacement or return to danger. Uganda hosts nearly 2 million refugees, but its $968m 2025 response plan is only 25% funded; cuts by the US and European countries have already reduced food assistance. UNHCR is urging the government to preserve access to asylum procedures and its longstanding protection system.

Kenyan activists Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo were reportedly detained by heavily armed, partly masked security operatives near Kampala after attending Bobi Wine’s presidential campaign events in Uganda. Their whereabouts remained unknown, prompting condemnation from Wine and activists who described the incident as part of growing cross-border repression in East Africa. The report connects the alleged abductions to earlier detentions and torture claims involving activists in Tanzania and Uganda, while Ugandan police and the government had not provided a response.

A Human Rights Watch report says Uganda’s authorities have intensified discrimination and violence against LGBTQ+ people since the country enacted its severe anti-homosexuality law in May 2023. Reported abuses include raids on nongovernmental organizations, arbitrary arrests and detention, entrapment through social media and dating apps, extortion, evictions and violence. The law allows the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality and remains in force after Uganda’s constitutional court rejected a challenge. Activists and rights groups are urging the government to end criminalization, hate speech and impunity, while HRW says authorities must protect LGBTQ+ people and uphold human rights.

Food rations have been completely suspended for about one million refugees and asylum seekers in Uganda after severe funding shortfalls left the World Food Programme urgently seeking $50 million. The crisis follows the Trump administration’s freeze on US aid and cuts in European assistance, while Uganda is already hosting 1.8 million refugees, including tens of thousands of recent arrivals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Malnutrition has reached critical levels, and officials and activists warn that hunger could trigger violence, illegal activity and pressure for forced repatriations to countries still affected by war.

Uganda’s High Court has ordered Kampala authorities to remove colonial-era names from streets, monuments and other landmarks, following a five-year campaign and a petition signed by more than 5,800 people. Supporters say the changes will restore dignity and reflect Ugandan culture, while critics argue that erasing colonial names would revise history and that landmarks should remain as reminders of the past.

An AI-powered ultrasound pilot at Kawempe National Referral Hospital in Kampala is enabling midwives and nurses to date pregnancies without specialist sonographers. The ScanNav FetalCheck software, trained on millions of images and compatible with portable devices, is encouraging women to seek antenatal care earlier while researchers assess whether it can help identify pregnancies at risk of stillbirth. Accurate gestational dating is also central to a major aspirin trial in Kenya, Ghana and South Africa studying prevention of pre-eclampsia. Clinicians describe the technology as a useful interim solution to severe shortages of specialists and equipment, while acknowledging infrastructure problems such as unreliable electricity and the concern that poorer countries could receive a lesser standard of care.

The United States denied Ugandan MP Sarah Achieng Opendi a visa to attend the UN Commission on the Status of Women after she advocated castration for homosexuals during debate over Uganda’s severe anti-LGBTQ+ law. The US has imposed visa restrictions on hundreds of Ugandan lawmakers and their families involved in the legislation, which includes the death penalty or life imprisonment for some same-sex acts. Ugandan activists welcomed the measures as accountability for human-rights violations, while the International AIDS Society warned that criminalization undermines HIV testing, treatment and prevention across Africa.

Ugandan civil society and LGBTQ+ rights activists are preparing an appeal to the Constitutional Court challenging the country’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, which includes the death penalty and life imprisonment for certain same-sex acts. The law has been linked to rising violence, evictions, torture, discrimination and difficulties accessing healthcare. The United States has imposed visa restrictions on hundreds of Ugandan officials and sanctioned prison commissioner Johnson Byabashaija over alleged abuse of LGBTQ+ inmates. President Yoweri Museveni, parliamentary speaker Anita Annet Among and other officials rejected the pressure as an attack on Uganda’s sovereignty, while activists urged the court to nullify the law and protect LGBTQ+ people from state-sponsored violence.

The African-led PrEPVacc HIV vaccine trial in Uganda, Tanzania and South Africa was stopped a year early after an independent review found little or no chance that either experimental vaccine combination would reduce HIV acquisition. Vaccinations for the 1,500 participants have ended, although the accompanying pre-exposure prophylaxis pill study will continue and final results are expected in late 2024. The outcome leaves no HIV vaccine efficacy trials underway worldwide, but researchers stress that developing an effective vaccine remains a critical priority, particularly for sub-Saharan Africa.

Three healthcare and veterinary workers describe serving Karamoja, north-east Uganda, amid cattle rustling, tribal conflict, drought, poverty and severe shortages of services. Midwife Grace Apio Okello works through armed raids and overwhelming patient loads; ophthalmologist Gladys Atto remains the region’s only eye specialist while providing thousands of cataract operations despite burnout; and veterinarian Eric Kibwota risks ambushes while treating livestock and supporting pastoral communities. Their accounts highlight both the dangers and the vital impact of frontline services in a region serving 1.2 million people.

Uganda has forced the closure of the UN human rights office after declining to renew its host agreement, ending 18 years of UN operations in the country. Campaigners, LGBTQ+ activists and Human Rights Watch describe the move as a major blow to oversight amid reports of arbitrary detention, persecution of political opponents and journalists, and the enactment of an anti-LGBTQ+ law that permits the death penalty for some offenses. UN High Commissioner Volker Türk also warned of worsening conditions ahead of Uganda’s 2026 elections, while local rights groups called on citizens to fill the resulting accountability gap.

Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023, which allows the death penalty for certain same-sex acts, life imprisonment for other offenses, and prison terms for alleged promotion or support of same-sex activity. The law prompted condemnation from Uganda’s LGBTQ+ community, human-rights groups, the United Nations, the UK and US governments, and major HIV organizations, which warned that stigma and fear could undermine access to prevention and treatment. Parliamentary speaker Anita Annet Among and supporters portrayed the legislation as a defense of Ugandan culture and family values, while activists said they would challenge it in court and warned of increased persecution and violence.

Uganda’s parliament passed a largely unchanged anti-LGBTQ bill by a vote of 371 to one, retaining the death penalty for certain same-sex acts, a 20-year sentence for promoting homosexuality, and prison terms for knowingly allowing premises to be used for homosexual acts. The duty to report homosexual activity was narrowed to cases involving children, but a proposed rehabilitation provision was omitted. President Yoweri Museveni, who requested revisions, has 30 days to sign, veto or return the bill; it would become law if returned to parliament a second time. The legislation has drawn condemnation from the US, EU, UN, major corporations and human-rights groups, while Ugandan advocates warn it could violate constitutional and fundamental rights.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni declined to sign a bill imposing the death penalty and lengthy prison sentences for same-sex conduct, returning it to parliament for reconsideration. Although Museveni said he supported the bill, he called for provisions concerning the rehabilitation of people he described as psychologically disturbed. Human-rights advocates warned that the proposed changes could preserve vague and discriminatory offenses, while bill supporters welcomed possible amnesty and rehabilitation provisions. The legislation has drawn condemnation from the United Nations, Amnesty International, scientists and LGBTQ+ groups amid reports of arrests, forced anal examinations, sexual violence and other abuses in Uganda.

Uganda’s parliament passed a stringent anti-LGBTQ+ bill by 387 votes to two, introducing the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” and life imprisonment for same-sex acts and alleged promotion or funding of LGBTQ+ activities. The bill now goes to President Yoweri Museveni, who has expressed opposition to homosexuality and appeared supportive of the legislation. Human rights groups and LGBTQ+ activists condemned the measure as discriminatory, unconstitutional and dangerous, while activists pledged to challenge it. The bill follows a previous version that was nullified on procedural grounds and comes amid reports of arrests, violence and other abuses against LGBTQ+ people in Uganda.

Ugandan MPs have reintroduced a stringent anti-LGBTQ bill that would criminalize gay sex, the promotion or recognition of same-sex relationships, and identifying as LGBTQ. The move follows hostile statements by Speaker Anita Among and President Yoweri Museveni, despite gay sex already carrying a potential life sentence. Rights advocates say the bill is hate-based, expands persecution, and risks intensifying violence against LGBTQ people, while lawmakers frame it as protecting family values and Ugandan culture.

Uganda’s foreign affairs ministry has told the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights that it will not renew the agreement allowing the office to operate in the country, with its mandate expiring in August 2023. Rights groups condemned the decision as an attempt by President Yoweri Museveni’s government to evade scrutiny, particularly after UN concerns about torture, ill-treatment, arbitrary detention and excessive use of force. Activists warned that the closure would increase risks for local organisations and vulnerable people, while at least 38 OHCHR staff in Kampala, Gulu and Moroto could lose their jobs.