Zurich, Switzerland — At Zurich Pride 2025, amidst the rainbow colors, roaring applause, and thunderous chants of liberation, one voice cut through with raw truth, pain, and power — the voice of Frank Fabian Kagimu, a proud Black trans woman and Executive Director of PRISM Uganda, a grassroots initiative serving trans and displaced persons in Uganda.
Standing on the Community Stage, Frank delivered one of the most moving and urgent speeches of the event, reminding the global queer community that while Pride is a celebration in Zurich, it is a risk in Uganda.
“I come from Uganda, and I’m a proud Black trans woman, human rights defender, and the Executive Director of PRISM Empowerment and Development Initiative,” she began. “Today, I do not stand here alone. I carry with me the voices of hundreds of trans women who cannot speak.”
Her words turned the celebration into a moment of global reflection. Behind the vibrant parade lies a harsh truth: Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2023 has not only criminalized LGBTQ+ identities but has unleashed a wave of violence, persecution, and fear across the country. For trans women in particular, this has meant arrests, torture, evictions, and shutdowns of critical health services.
“In Uganda, Pride is not a parade. It’s a whisper behind locked doors,” Frank told the crowd. “It’s a shelter with no funding, filled with women who have been beaten, raped, rejected — and yet are still alive. Still loving. Still proud.”
She didn’t just recount the horrors — she embodied survival. Frank herself was arrested, tortured, and forced into exile, leaving behind her home, her work, and her community. Yet, she stood proudly on that stage, defiant in her truth.
The 2025 Zurich Pride theme, “Together for Our Health,” carried a deeper resonance in her address. For Uganda’s trans community, health is not just about medicine — it’s about survival in the face of criminalization and structural violence.
“How do you stay healthy when the law tells you that your body is illegal?” she asked. “How do you take HIV medication when the clinic has been shut down for ‘promoting homosexuality’?”
Through PRISM Uganda, Frank and her team have offered lifelines — a shelter, HIV care, and spaces for trauma healing. But today, the organization faces increasing strain due to lack of funding, international neglect, and a regime growing more repressive by the day.
In her heartfelt plea, Frank turned the spotlight toward international queer allies:
“I’m here to ask. To ask for solidarity, not sympathy. To ask for support, not silence. To ask you — as a community here in Switzerland and across Europe — to see us, fund us, protect us.”
Her call was not one of desperation but of conviction — rooted in shared humanity and the belief that queer freedom must cross borders.
As Zurich celebrated diversity and inclusion, Frank reminded the world that true Pride includes the voices of the persecuted, the exiled, and those who are still fighting just to exist. Her speech closed with a message of courage to those still in Uganda and those scattered across the diaspora:
“Even in exile, I carry my flag. Even in silence, we remain a song. Even in fear, we remain proud.”
The crowd erupted in applause — not just for her bravery, but for the resilience of all those she represents.
In a world where Pride is too often reduced to glitter and parades, Frank Fabian Kagimu’s voice reminded us what Pride truly means: a protest, a lifeline, a declaration of life against death, of love against hate.
