We Are Here: African LGBT Activists Fighting for Freedom

These bold advocates are defying dangerous taboos.

David Kato of Uganda - The late Ugandan LGBT activist David Kato once said: “If we keep on hiding, they will say we are not here.” Throughout Africa, members of the LGBT community have taken Kato’s words to heart, defying discrimination to defend their human rights. Keep reading to meet several audacious individuals fighting to champion LGBT rights across Africa. —Patrice Peck (SOUTH AFRICA - Tags: SOCIETY)
/content/dam/betcom/images/2013/06/Global/061213-global-kuchu-david-kato-lydia-mulumba-nalongo.jpg
/content/dam/betcom/images/2012/06/Shows/BET-Awards/063012-shows-beta-bet-awards-frank-mugisha-2.jpgJohn "Long Jones" Abdallah Wambere of Uganda - As the operations coordinator for Spectrum Uganda Initiatives, Long Jones is an activist and HIV/AIDS health advocate at the forefront of Africa’s LGBT movement. “Each day is a new day and I just get more [fired up] to do what I [believe] is a calling,” he told BET.com. (Photo: Amanda Edwards/WireImage/Getty Images)

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David Kato of Uganda - As Uganda’s first openly gay man and a founding member of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), the late David Kato is often referred to as the father of Uganda’s gay rights movement. When Kato was found bludgeoned to death in his home in 2011, his brutal demise sparked an overwhelming global outcry. (Photo: Courtesy of Cinedigm)

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