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Uganda Lesbian DeportationTomorrow; HELP free her from being Deported to certain Death

Posted by: Lez Get Real on January 27, 2011.

BrendaNamigadde

Melanie Nathan – January 27, 2011. The work on the Brenda Namigadde case- a the lesbian in the UK who is set to be deported tomorrow, first reported here on LGR and Asylum News, has taken on a viral movement across the globe. When ALLOUT.ORG heard about the case, they stepped in and worked with Melanie and Paul to effect a Petition campaign via their new activist site. GetEQUAL came on Board today and sent out this letter communication to all its members. The murder of David Kato has speaked even more focus on Brenda’s predicament. Please be sure to sign the Petition. There are 10,000 signatures which we have attained in a mere two days and the emails are landing on the desk of the U.K. Home Secretary Theresa May

We can Stop Brenda’s deportation and we must.

It may also help if we flood the US STATE Department’s Uganda and UK desks tomorrow asking them to be ensure that Secretary Clinton makes her call to the U.K. Home Secretary Theresa May.

GetEQUAl

We hadn’t intended to send this email today, but there are literally just a few hours standing between a woman’s life and her almost-assured death.

We just talked with our friends at AllOut, and they’ve asked us to help Brenda Namigadde, a young Ugandan lesbian, from being deported from the U.K. back to Uganda. She’s scared out of her mind, which is understandable — a prominent LGBT activist in Uganda was just killed yesterday and the country is doing very little to find his killer. [1]

Unless we intervene, Brenda will be heading to the airport to board a plane bound for Uganda. And we know what will happen there.

Help save Brenda — there’s no time to lose: www.getequal.org/brenda

We know that U.K. Home Secretary Theresa May is open to granting asylum to those facing great risk in their home countries due to their sexual orientation or gender identification. [2] And U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has spoken out clearly about this issue in the past. [3] We’re hoping that, by petitioning Home Secretary May and cc’ing Secretary Clinton, American pressure will have an impact on Brenda’s case.

You’ve likely heard of the “Kill the Gays” bill that will be voted on in the Ugandan Parliament this spring — it’s not an exaggeration. These religious bigots — including elected officials like David Bahati — are actively publicizing the identities of LGBT Ugandans, subsequently setting them up for murder. [4] [5]

And it doesn’t stop there. Initiatives like the “Kill the Gays” bill are being funded by right-wing extremists here in the U.S. Fundamentalist churches and secretive groups like “The Family” are funneling money to Uganda, seeking out a testing ground there for what they can get away with. [6]

We say enough is enough.

Ask U.K. Home Secretary Theresa May and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to intervene, and to save Brenda’s life.

Help save Brenda: www.getequal.org/brenda
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[1] “Tragedy as Gay Activist David Kato Murdered in Kampala, Uganda – Impact on Ugandan Lesbian Seeking UK Asylum” — http://lezgetreal.com/2011/01/tragedy-as-gay-activist-david-kato-murdered-in-kampala-uganda-impact-on-ugandan-lesbian-seeking-uk-asylum/

[2] “Two gay men win right to UK asylum” — http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jul/07/gay-men-granted-uk-asylum

[3] “Hillary Clinton Speaks Out Against ‘Oppressive’ Anti-Gay Uganda Bill” — http://www.towleroad.com/2009/12/hillary-clinton-speaks-out-against-oppressive-antigay-uganda-bill.html

[4] “Rachel Maddow Interviews David Bahati — Part 1″ — http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#40579129

[5] “Rachel Maddow Interviews David Bahati — Part 1″ — http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#40579299

[6] “Americans’ Role Seen in Uganda Anti-Gay Push” — http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/world/africa

For equality,

Heather Cronk, Managing Director