5TH EDITION OF BOMBASTIC MAGAZINE 17th July 2020

We are ecstatic to finally be able to share the fifth and latest edition of our annual publication, Bombastic Magazine. This particular edition is very special because it focused on LGBTIQ refugees and asylum seekers- a category of people within our community whose existence we continue to acknowledge without necessarily addressing the dire issues they continue to face.

Shortly before the passing of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in 2014, the Ugandan LGBT community experienced an influx in the number of people that fled to Nairobi, in particular, Kakuma camp to seek refuge from the persecution that had become an everyday occurrence at home. These numbers further increased after the bill was passed into law and are expected to rise more as government continues to threaten sexual and gender minorities with having the bill re-introduced to Parliament.

Since then, a number of people have been granted asylum in western countries where they have started their lives from scratch. However, an even bigger number remain in Nairobi uncertain of when their asylum seeking processes will come to an end.

Currently, there are over 700 LGBTQ+ Ugandans living as refugees and asylum seekers in the camps of Kakuma and as urban refugees in Kenya. The largest number from Uganda have spent more than 3 years in this processes without sight or the slightest knowledge to how soon they may be relocated or granted asylum.

It is upon this background that the Kuchu Times team visited Nairobi to get direct information from LGBTI refugees as well as to experience, first hand, the issues that this doubly marginalized community face. What they found was not only devastating but also traumatic and we hope that in sharing the stories of these refugees, we speak to the hearts of the multitudes that will read this magazine and change perception as well as start the conversation on how best our brothers and sisters can be assisted.

The launch and distribution of this magazine is also very timely as we have in the recent weeks experienced an increase in the attacks aimed at the LGBTI community within Kakuma Camp in Nairobi. With concerned bodies somewhat laying blame on the victims of these attacks, we hope that this magazine will only open more doors for solutions to be reached and effected.

Whilst the distribution of the magazine will take place on Thursday 16th July 2020, its launch will be held via an e-conference on Friday 17th July 2020 starting at 17:00hrs EAT. The event will be broadcast live on our Facebook page, as well as website, https://www.kuchutimes.com. Please join in the conversation as we forge a way forward and uphold the rights of all LGBTIQ refugees.