A court in Burundi has charged 24 people with “homosexual practices,” as part of a crackdown on LGBTQ individuals in the country. The charges come amidst a wider campaign of repression against LGBTQ people in East Africa, where homosexuality is often stigmatized and criminalized.
According to reports, police arrested the 24 individuals on February 23rd, after members of MUCO Burundi, an NGO working to combat AIDS, were seen holding a seminar in Gitega. Neighbors alerted the authorities after seeing teenage boys and girls at the organization’s headquarters, and police subsequently found condoms and documents on gay rights on the premises.
Following ten days of interrogations, 17 men and seven women were charged with “homosexual practices and incitement to homosexual practices” by the public prosecutor. They were then imprisoned in the central prison of Gitega, where they will remain until their trial.
The charges against the 24 individuals come amidst a wider crackdown on LGBTQ people in Burundi, which has been ongoing for several years. Under the penal code promulgated in 2009 by the late President Pierre Nkurunziza, who ruled the country with an iron fist, “sexual relations with a person of the same sex” is punishable by three months to two years in prison. Since coming to power in 2020, President Évariste Ndayishimiye has continued this policy, and has even gone further in his rhetoric against LGBTQ people.
In a speech last week, Pvresident Ndayishimiye blasted “homosexuals, even those living outside the country,” and called for Burundians to “curse those who indulge in homosexuality.” He argued that LGBTQ individuals should be “banished” and “treated as pariahs in our country because they bring us the curse.”
The crackdown on LGBTQ people in Burundi has been condemned by human rights organizations and governments around the world. The United Nations has called for the immediate release of the 24 individuals who were recently charged, and has urged Burundi to end its persecution of LGBTQ people. Other countries, such as the United States, have also spoken out against the crackdown.
The consequences of the crackdown on LGBTQ people in Burundi are likely to be severe. Many individuals who are perceived to be LGBTQ already face harassment, discrimination, and violence in the country, and the crackdown is likely to further entrench these attitudes. It may also make it more difficult for LGBTQ individuals to access healthcare, including HIV prevention and treatment services, which are already scarce in the country.
Personal accounts from LGBTQ individuals in Burundi suggest that the crackdown is having a profound impact on their lives. Many report feeling isolated and fearful, and some have even gone into hiding to avoid detection by the authorities. The situation is particularly dire for transgender individuals, who are often subject to extreme forms of violence and discrimination.
Image Credit: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/O. Rupeta
