UGANDAN LESBIAN GRANTED UK ASYLUM

A Ugandan woman who was nearly killed in her home country for being a lesbian has been granted asylum in the UK.

Prossy Kakooza claimed that she had fled to the UK after she was raped and tortured by police officers when she was found in bed with another woman.

Britain’s Home Office had rejected Kakooza’s request for asylum. The office accepted evidence that she had been brutalised but said that this was a random act and suggested that she move to another town in Uganda.

With an openly anti-gay government and repressive legislation, Uganda has been recognised by international human rights organisations as one of the most homophobic countries in the world.

A judge has now ruled that Kakooza can stay in the UK. The Home Office has said that it will not appeal the ruling.

“There are no appropriate words I can use to say thank you. All I can do is pray to my God to bless you all. You have changed my life and for that I will forever be grateful,” Kakooza said in an e-mail to supporters.

Last month, the Home Office deported two gay asylum seekers despite widespread criticism and claims that its actions were illegal.

The Home Office was earlier this year named as one of the 2008 inductees into Human Rights Watch’s ‘Homophobia Hall of Shame’ for denying people asylum when they face abuses based on sexual orientation and gender identity.