KAMPALA, Uganda – The owner of Uganda’s first openly gay bar says her establishment has been shut down, the latest setback for gays and lesbians in this conservative East African nation.
Jacqueline Kasha said Thursday that her Sappho Islands bar was padlocked by the landlord on Sunday. The landlord said the bar was noisy and attracted “strange” people.
The bar’s closure comes months after parliament adjourned without acting on a bill that would mandate the death sentence for some gays and lesbians.
Last year, a tabloid newspaper in Uganda published the names and photos of men it alleged were gay. One cover included the words “Hang Them.” Shortly afterward, a prominent gay rights activist whose picture was published was bludgeoned to death.
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