The plight of LGBTQ+ people in African countries such as Ghana and Uganda is well documented. Now in Uganda the government are even attacking them for trying to leave.
Clearly not content with persecuting queer people in Uganda, one government official had this to say about those seeking refuge in other countries: “These Ugandans who went out on the pretext of being homosexuals. Now their lie is catching up with them because when they settle, they ask to bring their wives and children. It is unfortunate that some people who are not gays pretend to be gays so that they get citizenship in countries which sympathise with them. Such people will make developed countries lose trust in all Africans.”
So persecute gay people and then complain about them leaving? Of course some of them will have wives and children in order to fit in, this happens in every nation in the world let alone one where being gay is against the law. Where being in the closet can save your life, it’s hardly surprising that given a chance to leave they would take it.
Even as far back as 5 years ago in 2016, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees issued a report saying 500 Ugandans had applied for asylum in neighbouring Kenya because of fears surrounding their sexuality, a number that is thought to be wildly underestimated.