You are here: Home » Hot Topics » Activism » Brenda Namigadde, Lesbian Asylum Seeker, Released OUT of UK Detention

Brenda Namigadde, Lesbian Asylum Seeker, Released OUT of UK Detention

Posted by: Lez Get Real on February 8, 2011.

Melanie Nathan- Feb 08, 2011.

Less than a week ago Brenda Namigadde, escorted by two border control officers from the UK, was sitting on a plane about to take off for Uganda, where she could have faced a likely death sentence – either at the hands of anti-gay vigilantes or under new legislation, The Bahati Anti-Homosexuality Bill, that could be enacted at any moment in time.

Instead an injunction was obtained out of the High Court in London, and with minutes to take off, Brenda Namigadde was pulled off the airplane.

Today Brenda is safe; for now.. She has just been released from detention and is on her way to stay with an unnamed person. Brenda does not know why she has been released , however LezGetReal has learnt that this is a normal procedure for someone who is not likely to abscond.

Initially Brenda, a lesbian, whose plea for asylum was rejected because a judge did not believe she was in fact a lesbian was considered a flight risk, and her deportation back to Uganda was imminent. However since activists heard about the impending deportation, via a news article in the Ghana press, her story was published on LGBT Asylum News (UK) and LezGetReal (USA), and ad hoc advocacy began on her behalf, leading to a series of events that actually served to enhance her risk in Uganda, which ironically has contributed to the new evidence that will be presented to a Judicial review on Friday – and if successful she will be then allowed to submit her new asylum application based on the new set of facts.

This is not without controversy, as the UK anti-gay immigration newspapers have accused activists of “manipulating “ the UK asylum system – and apparently the Judges ordered a ban on mentioning Namigadde’s name in the UK press – alluding to the same sentiment. My response to that is the following:

At that time I reported Brenda’s case I believed her assertion that she was indeed a lesbian and I was horrified that a Judge would have the audacity to say she was not – give many factors of fear, and the need to protect other non-out lesbians; the Judge did not say “there is no EVIDENCE to prove she is a lesbian” Instead he determined she was “NOT a lesbian.” So the harm came from the initial judgment. We were merely reporting the facts….. I had no idea that David Bahati would call me and that it would result in the affidavit I sent to UK Courts ion Brenda’s behalf. It would be a manipulation if indeed I had planned for Bahati to call me; and then how could I manipulate his thinking – the thinking that places Brenda in direct harm and likely to lose her life, like David Kato did, if returned to Uganda.

The Judicial review is happening on Friday – where evidence will be submitted. If she wins it will allow the fresh asylum claim – so it is not over for a long while. Brenda is safe for now….