ABSTRACT

Uganda gained international notoriety in 2009 for introducing one of the world’s harshest bills proposing the death penalty for homosexuality. Against the backdrop that the Ugandan LGBT+ community has enjoyed moral and financial support from international partners for more than a decade, this chapter examines and discusses the potential unintentional consequences of external and prolonged support of LGBT+ activism. Furthermore, unintended and unintentional consequences are likely to have fluctuated over time depending on domestic politics and international priorities. Through historical sources, the first part of the chapter traces the emergence of organized resistance against state-sanctioned homophobia in Uganda, as well as the entrance of international support to the community. The gala provided examples of how international funding has unintended consequences and potentially distorts intra-community relations. It is, however, also important to highlight that despite prolonged and pronounced donor dependency, Pride 2022 signaled a significant degree of community agency.