Police raid and stop Uganda Pride event

Reports have surfaced online about police raiding and arresting people at Uganda Pride yesterday (September 24).

The pride was set to take place near the town of Kampala but was reportedly broken up by police after Uganda’s Minister of State for Ethics and Integrity, Simon Lokodo, warned last week that anyone who attended the event would get arrested.

Gay Star News reports that police arrived just before midday and told the crowd to disperse and buses that were part of the event were taken away.

Katie Nelson, a journalist at the event, said people were “afraid and upset” in a series of tweets. She also revealed that around 20-25 officers arrived at the event.

About 20 – 25 police officers arrived at second #prideuganda venue to disperse peaceful crowd. @Prideuganda2016

— Katie G. Nelson (@katiegnelson) September 24, 2016

Reporting from @Prideuganda2016 in Entebbe. People were forced out of lakeside area. Police said orders were “from above”. Would not specify

— Katie G. Nelson (@katiegnelson) September 24, 2016

People were told that the police were there to chase everyone away and that they were “from above” but wouldn’t specify.

Another Pride event was raided in August which resulted in a number of people getting arrested, attacked and one man injuring himself severely after jumping out of a window to escape. Meanwhile Ugandan police also arrested an eight-year-old girl for ‘lesbianism’.

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