A queer film festival in Uganda has been raided by police after they were tipped off about the event’s secret location.
The Queer Kampala International Film Festival (QueerKIFF) was set to take place from December 8-10 but despite careful planning, the screening of LGBT+ films from around the world was interrupted on Saturday.
“The LGBT Film Festival in Uganda which started yesterday has been raided by the Uganda police,” event organisers wrote on .
“The organisers advise all our members not to go to any of the secret venues because it’s riskier at this time because the people who informed police about our secret venues are members of Ugandan LGBT organisations who don’t want the festival.”
Festival organiser Kamoga Hassan also noted that it was an LGBT+ organisation that had tipped off police but did not name the group.
“A Ugandan LGBT organisation which is against the festival has called the police to come and shut the LGBT film Festival in Uganda,” Hassan .
“I was informed that the police was coming to arrest and beat up all the participants. Within hours the police came in.”
The first QueerKIFF was successfully , with organisers careful to include security screenings of attendees and announcing venues just hours before events were scheduled to begin.
Same-sex sexual activity is illegal in Uganda and the LGBT+ community is often targeted by authorities. For the second year in a row this year, Uganda Pride celebrations were cancelled following pressure from the then Minister of Ethics and Integrity, Simon Lokodo.
QueerKIFF aims to end discrimination against the LGBT+ community in Uganda and push for legal protections by sharing the work of queer filmmakers, despite the fact that holding such an event is considered “criminal activity”.
Before it was shut down, the festival screened a short documentary about Alexa Human, a trans man and activist who lives in western Uganda.
Organisers posted on Facebook page yesterday that it was “International Human Rights Day” but there was “nothing to celebrate here in Kampala”.
“Our Festival was raided by the police on the second day, organising a Queer Film Festival is considered criminal activity. Today was meant to be the closing of QueerKIFF 2017.”
