On Tuesday, Uganda’s parliament passed legislation making it a crime to identify as LGBTQ, giving authorities broad powers to target gay Ugandans who are already subjected to legal discrimination and mob violence.
According to a global review by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association, same-sex relationships are legal in only 22 of Africa’s 54 countries and are punishable by death or lengthy prison terms in some (ILGA).
According to the review, which was last updated in December 2020, Africa accounts for nearly half of the countries worldwide where homosexuality is illegal.
Here is the current status of LGBT+ rights in Africa:
- In four African countries, the maximum penalty for same-sex relationships is death: Mauritania, Nigeria (in states where Sharia law is applied), and Somalia.
- In July of last year, an Islamic sharia court in Nigeria’s northern state of Bauchi sentenced three men to death by stoning after convicting them on charges of homosexuality.
- In Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia, the maximum penalty for same-sex relationships is life imprisonment, while in Gambia, Kenya, and Malawi, jail terms of up to 14 years are possible.
- The Kenyan High Court upheld a law criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual activity in 2019, calling it “an effective method of containing the country’s HIV epidemic.”
- Chad criminalized same-sex acts in 2017, a worrying example of legal regression in the region, according to the ILGA review.
- A draft bill in Senegal that sought to toughen already harsh laws prohibiting same-sex relationships was rejected before it could be put to a vote because existing legislation was deemed sufficiently clear and the resulting penalties severe enough.
- Although homosexuality is not a crime in Egypt, there is widespread discrimination against the LGBT+ community. Gay men are frequently arrested and charged with immorality, debauchery, or blasphemy.
- Although gay sex is not illegal in Ivory Coast, there have been documented cases of detention and prosecution.
- Tanzania has prohibited the distribution of condoms and lubricants to LGBT+ health clinics and has increased the use of forced anal examinations since 2018.
- According to reports, sodomy convictions are on the rise in Tunisia.
- Three countries provide broad protection against sexual orientation discrimination: Angola, Mauritius, and South Africa. The same three countries, as well as Botswana, Cape Verde, Mozambique, and Seychelles, have employment protection.
- South Africa is the only African country where gay marriage is legal and the constitution protects against sexual orientation discrimination. The cabinet approved a bill criminalizing hate crimes and hate speech in March 2018. However, rape and homophobic crime are prevalent in South Africa.
- Botswana decriminalized homosexuality in June 2019, and the ruling was upheld by the court of appeals in November 2021.
- Gabon’s Senate voted to decriminalize homosexuality in June 2020.
