In the latest sad story coming from BLOCK 13, a gay man was set on ablaze while he slept. Severely burnt, Criton Atuhwera known by their chosen name Trinidad ended up in the hostile hands of a doctor who insisted Trinidad’s most urgent issue was his mental state, otherwise “why would he be interested in men?” and not the burns suffered.

This is not the first loss suffered by tenants of BLOCK 13. Many stories from the LGBTQ+ refugees in Kakuma and those currently living as urban refugees around Nairobi starting 2017 have been sad, characterized by loss and other times painting victims of a broken community and its oligarchy politics not often spoken of because why speak when I too can recreate.

Many of the refugees on this block are from Uganda, victims of the under reported impact of the now scraped Anti-Gay Act 2014.With its provisions taken literally as promoted by ignorant and populist agents, LGBTQ persons lost family, home, care and support from parents and friend fearful of homosexuals as spoken of – “gay for money” _ “out to recruit your children”.

So before we ask, why don’t they come back home, have we taken the time to understand that many have not been any safer here. Ask Brain Waswa, who was murdered in his home in Lugazi in October 2019 with a hoe to his head or Fahad Kawere murdered by a known boda boda rider in Nansana “afraid for his safety” because she- Fahad spoke with a feminine voice contrary to how they presented.

Maybe as a community we are currently immune to pain of brutal death by reason of our sexuality, and numbing our grief is what we do now.

We were a lot angrier when we  lost David Kato to the same violence and hate in 2011, why don’t the losses we suffer now conjure forth collective reaction to what may soon or later show up on each of our personal door steps? For it starts with those who are easy to isolate and demonize but it eventually - and history is full of examples - it eventually catches up with everyone. We are asleep to the need for our collective waking up to why we organize as a Uganda movement/community and how much more is at stake in Kakuma and here at home if we continue to be passive on efforts to #Freeblock13.