A popular Ugandan LGBTQ+ rights activist Steven Kabuye is currently in a critical condition after suffering a knife attack by some yet-to-be-identified assailants on his way to work on Wednesday, his organisation disclosed.
Kabuye was stabbed by unknown people numbering two, who attacked him on a motorbike. He was stabbed in multiple places, including his arm and stomach which has left him confined to a hospital bed.
Videos of him writhing in pain with a knife stuck in his belly, and wounds in his right arm shortly after the attack circulated on social media, particularly the X platform.
The gay rights advocate and Environmentalist described the incident as the result of growing intolerance of the LGBTQ+ community, adding that politicians were fuelling the “hate crime” to divert attention away from their shady deals in government.
He said, “politicians who are using the LGBTQ+ community as a scapegoat to move people away from what is really happening in the country.”
According to Kabuye who is the executive director of a group that advocates for gay rights, known as Coloured Voice Truth to LGBTQ, the assailants attacked intending to end his life, and may still come after him even at the hospital.
“I don’t know who to trust right know,” he cried.
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni in May, signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 into law. The new law prescribes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”. What this means is getting sexually involved with HIV-infected persons, minors, and other vulnerable groups.
Kabuye said new anti-gay legislation was setting the stage for hate crimes and discrimination against homosexuals in the country.
“This law violates basic human rights and sets a dangerous precedent for discrimination and persecution against the LGBTQ+ community. Let us stand together in solidarity and fight against bigotry and hate,” had said via his X handle.