Rights defender Ivan Mukwaya Escapes To Canada

Mukwaya Ivan was born on the 25th day of January 1996. He comes from Nakaseke district and is a Ugandan citizen by birth. He went to Uganda Christian University where he graduated with a bachelor of law. He started working as a professional in 2018 at the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative where he did his internship for one year.

Later he joined a law firm in Kampala he met a friend called Asiimwe Gerald whom he studied with in primary school, he connected him to his other friend Kimbugwe who was a managing partner of a law firm called Prime Advocates.

Kimbugwe offered him a job to work as a legal assistant at his firm. It is said that started working with Kimbugwe and he became a close friend, and he would give him good allowances as his legal assistant. He used to give him a lot of favors, like paying for his rent and tuition at the law development centre.

As time went by as close friends and it was with this attachment that he started influencing him that a man can love another man. He disclosed to him how he had developed sexual feelings for him also, and it was during this particular time that he asked him to be his lover.

At first, It sounded awkward as he had never fathomed how a man could love a fellow man, so it was at that moment that he realised that his close friend was bisexual. It was through long and continuous discussions with him that homosexuality sounded and became human and normal to him.

“It was finally during our dinner at the Sheraton Hotel in Kampala that he told him how wanted him to be his lover and to intimately be with him. As a young man who was in a serious relationship with his girlfriend, I didn’t take it lightly and declined his offer and started avoiding him sometimes,” Mukwaya narrates.

He adds; “..but because he was a close friend and a reliable person, I didn’t shun away from him as an associate in a law firm he connected him to was not giving him enough to satisfy his needs, and it was because of his hospitality background and as a gentleman who had helped and also to whom I expected much more that I revised my decision and later accepted because he intimately continued asking me to give him a chance.”

Mukwaya says he accepted to be his lover and as time went on developed feelings for him too as he had already gained knowledge. He also affirmed to him that their homosexual acts would not affect him in anything even his health, so as time went on they became intimate lovers but also he remained in a relationship with his girlfriend.

As time went on suspicion and rumours started spreading that he had become too close to Mr Kimbugwe John and the girlfriend suspected him to be homosexual as she complained that he was no longer affectionate and that his love and care for her had reduced. The girl lover also said that he was not giving her enough time.

Some community members where he stayed also came to suspect his bisexual status as Mr Kimbugwe used to visit him regularly and even sleep around when his girlfriend was not around.

Since community members and most especially his neighbours came to know about his homosexual status, they started harassing him and all other community members, family members, friends and some relatives including the police also started harassing him because rumours of him being bisexual started to spread in the community where he lived.

At that time, he was already in love with Kimbugwe and he joined him in going to secret homosexual and lesbian clubs and other homosexual activities in Uganda where he had many friends who were also homosexuals and he would freely associate with them.

At the beginning of 2022, Kimbugwe resigned from his job in Uganda, and he told him that he was leaving Uganda and going to America. The Police arrested him after coming with his neighbour broke their door and started taking photos of of them together in the room and sharing them with some people.

They were taken to cells where they were tortured after several days of incarceration, they were released on police bond after paying 500.000 Uganda shillings. Ever since that time, Mukwaya’s life has never been the same.