Government suspends LGBTI organisation

SMUG is concerned with fighting against discrimination of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) persons in the country.

In a statement issued by the Executive Director of NGO Bureau, Stephen Okello, he said that SMUG failed to meet the standards necessary to operate legally.

“The NGO Bureau while exercising its mandate on August 3, 2022 halted the operations of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) for not registering with the NGO Bureau contrary to section 29 (1), 31 (1) and 32 (2) NGO Act 2016,” the statement reads in part.

On July 2 and July 27, 2022, the Bureau engaged SMUG with the express aim of clarifying its legal status, prior to concerns of the same.

The engagement revealed that, ten years ago, SMUG attempted to register with the Uganda Registration Service Bureau (URSB) for incorporation objectives, but failed. The name was considered as undesirable.

It was also revealed that the organisation lacked authentic records of a physical location and representatives withheld the name. When stakeholders were contacted to confirm the organisation's status, they said that they were not aware of any illegal operation.

“The NGO Bureau also engaged a number of stakeholders that SMUG was partnering with and established that the partners were not aware that SMUG was operating illegally,” Okello said.

It is against this background that the Bureau ordered SMUG to discontinue their operations.

All NGOs in the country have been urged to make sure that they abide by the law. This means that they are incorporated, registered and licensed by NGO Bureau, to avoid meeting the same fate.