Africa Update | Senegal Prime Minister Attacks LGBTQ Rights as Western ‘Tyranny’

In our May round-up of LGBTQ+ news, Fatteh spotlights Ghana’s anti-gay bill, homophobic music in Cameroon, HIV funding in Zambia and must-read stories from Nigeria, Uganda and Sierra Leone.

በቤዛ ለዓለም

Just two months after Senegal tightened penalties for same-sex relations, LGBTQ people once again found themselves at the centre of a political firestorm.

In May, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko accused Western governments of attempting to impose homosexuality on African societies, describing such efforts as part of a broader “tyranny” to undermine national sovereignty and cultural values. His comments came after Senegal faced international criticism over its decision to double prison terms for homosexual acts, including condemnation from the United Nations and leaders in France, the country’s former colonial power.

Sonko’s remarks echoed language that has become increasingly common among political and religious leaders across Africa, who portray LGBTQ rights not as a universal question of dignity and citizenship, but as an immoral agenda imported from the West. The prime minister’s outburst shows that Senegal’s anti-gay crackdowns did not end with legislation. Instead, LGBTQ people continue to serve as symbols in wider debates about nationalism, religion and post-colonial identity. By portraying homosexuality as un-African, political leaders can cast themselves as defenders of culture, faith and nationhood, while turning sexual and gender minorities into convenient scapegoats.

A similar dynamic was visible elsewhere on the continent. In Ghana, parliament approved a controversial bill that would significantly expand restrictions on LGBTQ people and those accused of supporting them. The legislation has not yet become law because it still requires presidential assent, but its passage through parliament marks another major milestone. LGBTQ advocates in Ghana and abroad have urged President John Mahama not to sign it, but he faces intense domestic pressure from religious leaders, conservative groups and politicians across the political spectrum to allow it to become law.

Questions around sexuality also surfaced in public health debates last month. In Zambia, activists warned that cuts to international HIV/AIDS funding are having serious consequences for vulnerable communities that already struggle to access healthcare and support services. The concerns highlighted how decisions made far beyond the continent — in this case in the US under the Trump administration — continue to affect the health, wellbeing and prospects of people most at risk of being left behind.

Yet May’s headlines were not entirely defined by hostility. Ugandan activist Frank Mugisha received international recognition for his decades-long human rights advocacy, while a Pride celebration in Pretoria offered a reminder that LGBTQ joy and community continue to flourish in parts of South Africa despite mounting pressures elsewhere on the continent. Another encouraging development came from Ghana, where advocates are renewing calls for constitutional protections and greater recognition of the rights of intersex children.

የፋጤ የወሩ ተሟጋች

Each month, Fatteh celebrates the people who stand up for LGBTQ communities across Africa. Our latest honouree is someone whose tireless activism has helped advance transgender rights in her home country, Kenya.

Audrey Mbugua is Fatteh’s Defender of the Month for her decades-long campaign to advance the rights of transgender people in Kenya, most recently capped by another important legal victory. Last month, a Kenyan court ruled in her favour, reaffirming the rights of people seeking changes to names and gender markers on official documents. The judge indicated that attempts to obstruct these changes through delay or inaction would not be tolerated. The Kenya Human Rights Commission described the ruling as “an important step forward for the rights, dignity, equality, privacy and recognition of transgender persons in Kenya.”

This latest decision adds to a long list of legal wins that Mbugua has helped secure. In 2014, she won a landmark case compelling the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) to change her name on academic certificates and remove a male gender marker that no longer reflected who she was. Yet other official documents remained unchanged, forcing Mbugua to continue challenging bureaucratic barriers. Accurate identity documents affect everything from education and employment to healthcare, travel and personal safety.

As early as 2008, Mbugua founded Transgender Education and Advocacy (TEA), a pioneering transgender rights organisation, and later fought a legal battle to secure its registration after Kenyan authorities initially refused to recognise the organisation. Her persistence has helped expand the space for transgender people to live openly and assert their rights in Kenya, at a time when transgender people remain among the most targeted and misunderstood communities across Africa.

Mbugua’s fight has always centred on something profoundly ordinary: the right to move through everyday life safely, honestly and with dignity. As she once said at a human rights conference, “We want a society where people respect people’s gender identity. We want a society where transgender people can compete on a level playing field without stigma, discrimination and violence.”

Explore our complete round-up of May headlines.

Senegal prime minister claims the West is trying to impose homosexuality on Africa