We Are Human
Stuart Tibaweswa
Over the last few decades, several events in Uganda have impacted the human rights of individuals who are part of the LGBTQI community. Most recently in May 2018, Simon Lokodo, the Minister of Ethics and Integrity halted an event prepared by the organisation Sexual Minorities Uganda, in celebration of the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. That same year, Rebecca Kadaga, the Speaker of Parliament, banned a debate on LGBT rights at the Inter-Parliamentary Union, with several Members of Parliament applauding her over what they termed as “consistently upholding and protecting Uganda’s cultural values.”
These events have been fuelled by religion, cultural and personal beliefs, as well as judicial decisions and politics, and explain the prevailing homophobia that has over time become the norm in Uganda. This has consequently led to negative outcomes for the LGBTQI community in the country, infringing on their rights ranging from the right to equality and freedom from discrimination, freedom of expression, freedom from arbitrary arrest and prolonged detention, the right to dignity and freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment and punishment.
According to the Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF) report on human rights violations based on sexual orientation in 2018, thirteen incidents involving police raids and arbitrary arrests of suspected LGBT persons were recorded in Uganda with most of them not charged according to the law.
Many of these Ugandan LGBTQI individuals have been victims of violence, social injustice and discrimination, as well as abandonment by their families, leading them to live in fear of their lives with many of them in dire financial circumstances.
As minorities, this story seeks to project their voices and views on democracy while highlighting their experiences of injustice in a year that Uganda goes into a presidential and parliamentary election. The community in Uganda has been yearning for their voice to be heard especially by the people in power and political leaders.
Because of homophobic actions towards the community, with some of them coming from the political arena, I thought it was important for minority voices and experiences to be heard and expressed through photography, especially given the electoral panorama. This community hardly takes part in the process and as citizens they feel left out. This prompted me to include the documentation of exclusion in this long term project.
“We Are Human'' involved spending a lot of time with my collaborators in the LGBTQI community while listening and recording their voices. The experiences and stories they told me later informed the visual narrative, which included making their portraits within their safe spaces, which were mostly at their homes or housing where they turned to for safety.
I feel like this project is very significant because it puts a human face to individuals within this minority group and highlights their personal experiences of injustice and undemocratic rule. In the future, I also intend to document their health injustices, which is a major issue they are dealing with alongside social relations and access to resources.
Sheeba Ntaate (Transwoman)
Sheeba poses for portrait during a celebration of the Transgender Day of Remembrance which took place at a hostage house* in Munyonyo, Kampala.
“The political race in Uganda is one of the worst. I really don’t see meaningful youth engagement and the LGBT community does not have an open space to take up positions. I think that the government should decriminalize sex work because this is work, and work is work! Most of us trans people make a living through this, since we are not accepted in most work spaces. I for one was suffering with sexual harassment where I was working last year and my bosses let me go.”
*A ‘hostage house’ refers to a place of solitary confinement that LGBT individuals turn to due to fear and stigma. ‘Hostage houses’ can host many other individuals from the community and are sometimes owned by individuals or an LGBTQIA+ organisation.
Watson Samuel (Queer) is covered within their rainbow flag at the Ice Breakers Uganda residence in Makindye.
“The political space right now is really tense and I do not want to be part of it. I am eligible to vote, but I don’t think I will be voting because I don’t feel like anyone is worth my vote. If someone like Frank Mugisha (renown Uganda LGBT activist) said he was contesting for anything, I would go out and even rally for him because these are the people that have walked in our shoes and know what it means to be marginalised so they would definitely carry on our message. People in power need to know that we are human, if they need to implement any policy regarding our community, they need to get to the grassroots, do research about us and understand us more than just a minority.”
Kalvin (Transwoman)
Kalvin works as a masseuse in Kampala. Because of her gender identity, it has become a challenge for her to comfortably execute her job, as many of her clients feel uncomfortable when she opens up about her sex.
“After the Miss Pride event in 2016, where I was a contestant, I got randomly arrested on my way back home by the police claiming I was cross-dressing to con people. It was really tough spending two days behind bars simply because of who I am. I was lucky to make some calls and got bailed out by some of the event organisers.”
Keith Mayanja (Transwoman)
Keith poses for a portrait outside her room in a nearby suburb in Kampala. In 2019, Keith ran away from her home after threats from her parents attempting to kill her due to her sexual orientation. She now works as an office cleaner in the neighbourhood where she lives.
“I was in the bar sometime with my colleagues when the police arrested us like thieves, claiming that we were impersonating and dressed like women to scam people. The accusations were terrible as they went ahead to call the media to record us and put us on the news. It was such an embarrassing situation as one of my friend’s parents disowned them after watching it.
We lost a sense of peace during the conversations on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill (a draconian bill that criminalised gays with life imprisonment or even worse, death penalty). People would beat us, abuse us, and even deny us rights to some services. We were staying in the dark.”
Divina Lorinda (Queer)
Divina was lucky to be accepted by their mother for who they are, and expresses themselves through makeup art. They spend most of the time indoors experimenting with different makeup styles on her friends.
“Politics is one of the reasons why we don’t have peace. The people in this political game should start seeing us from a more human perspective and realise that they are only spreading hate. We are not asking to be treated in any special way, we just want equality for all. I want to feel special and proud of my country.”
Zack Asiimwe (Transman)
Zack suffered torture from his stepmother and aunt, which later forced him to run away from home in Mbale, Eastern Uganda to come to Kampala City. Since he dropped out of school six years ago, his dream is to never give up on studying.
“I surely fear matters of politics. I was almost killed during the last campaigns in Mbale while I was supporting our very own Sempijja Dalausi, a Transwoman, who was contesting for an LC4 Councilor position. From that time, I fear actively participating in campaigns or any political matters.
I was beaten by a mob because of my sexual orientation. When I reported the case to the police with hope to get assistance, one officer dismissed my case while asking me to go away saying that he would instead arrest me. I don’t feel like a Ugandan sometimes, I can’t wait till I get an opportunity to get asylum in a much fairer country.”
BIO
Stuart Tibaweswa is a Ugandan documentary photographer based in Kampala. His work, which often focuses on marginalised communities and their relationship to wider society, encourages understanding as well as bearing witness.
After graduating with a BA in Industrial Fine Art and Design from the Margaret Trowell School of Art, Makerere University, in 2017 Stuart won the Uganda Press Photo Award’s Young Photographer Award, and as a result was offered a mentorship programme the following year under the close guidance of French documentary photographer Frederic Noy. He was nominated for the 2018 Young Achievers Awards in the Film and Photography category and was a runner-up in the “Middle Income in Uganda" photography contest by Goethe-Zentrum Kampala in 2019.
Stuart believes photography is key to the telling of relatable stories because it creates memories and intimacy. His passion for documentary storytelling springs from his desire to question himself about situations and be the evidence of them through photographs.
You can find more of his work at: https://www.stuarttibaweswa.com.
FOTEA Foundation was established in 2016 and is a non-profit organisation whose mission is to provide a supportive platform for photographers in East Africa. We believe that by creating opportunities for visual storytellers and people interested in photography to connect, learn, and grow, we contribute to the cultural and artistic scene in Uganda and East Africa. We are a small team passionate about photography, photographers and photographs. We’re based in Kampala, Uganda, where we move between lots of different spaces to host our events and gatherings. Despite our small size, we’ve seen great success in helping friends and alumni to gain exposure, get published, and forge careers in international media. Through our work we provide photographic and visual literacy education and organise competitions, exhibitions, and other related activities.
FOTEA’s main product is the Uganda Press Photo Award (UPPA), which was originally developed in 2012 and was a starting point for our operations. UPPA began as a competition for Ugandan photojournalists and photographers, to fill a gap in the market and appreciate the practitioners who strive to keep the public informed of the daily news, sometimes at great risk to themselves. Over the years it has grown into a platform that not only promotes the best of today’s photojournalism and documentary photography in Uganda but also supports emerging photographers through the Young Photographer Award and Mentorship Programme (YPA). On the regional level FOTEA aims to bring together visual storytellers from East Africa by encouraging and championing viewpoints that document and engage with social change in the East African region through the East African Photography Award (EAPA).