Interview with Tom Twongyeirwe, Universal Coalition of Affirming Africans

Tom Twongyeirwe is the National Coordinator at the Universal Coalition of Affirming Africans, in Uganda. In this interview with Adriaan van Klinken, he tells about the work that he and his organisation are doing, the challenges they face, and the change that is happening.

Good afternoon Tom. It’s such a privilege to meet you and talk about your work. Could you please introduce yourself and the organisation you are part of?

Thank you so much, for giving me this opportunity. It is really my great pleasure to have this interview.  My name is Tom Twongyeirwe, and I am the National Coordinator at the Universal Coalition of Affirming Africans.

UCAA is a faith-based institution in Uganda that is independent and non-partisan, human rights organization which seeks to advocate for the respect of human rights of LGBT+ persons using a faith-based approach. The organization is duly incorporated under the Companies Act, Cap 110 as a body corporate.  We bring together LGBT+ faith leaders, affirming faith leaders and faith based communities for a common cause which is a transformed and all-inclusive society that is knowledgeable and applies the biblical norms and principles of love.

UCAA was founded in 2017 after the realization that LGBT+ persons in Uganda are discriminated and castigated in faith based spaces using religion as a justification. The coalition which was therefore founded as a safe space for LGBT+ faith leaders, affirming faith leaders and faith-based communities, seeks to empower the members of the coalition, and LGBT+ persons and to advocate for respect of their rights using a faith based approach.

LGBT+ advocacy excluding Religious based advocacy is a problem in a country such as Uganda, where there is a lot of homophobia inspired by religious belief and fuelled by religious leaders. After all, we are a predominantly Christian country, and there also is a sizeable Muslim minority. Religious leaders are influential opinion leaders and when they stand up and raise their voices, they can really be heard. That’s why we focus our work on them, to educate and sensitise them, and make them gatekeepers for change in society. We are non-denominational, working with both Christian and Muslim leaders, impacting them with positive teachings about LGBT+ persons so that worship spaces and religious communities will become welcoming and affirming, hence creating safe spaces for LGBT+ persons in the Ugandan communities.

What kind of activities do you organize to bring about this change?

We implement activities under five (5) different programs which are; Research and Advocacy, Capacity Building, Economic Empowerment, Pastoral Care and Networking. The key activities that we implement include;

One on one dialogues with Religious leaders. Especially those who identify with the  LGBT+ community, Many of them find themselves in very difficult circumstances, often in a heterosexual marriage but unhappy and struggling. We have heard so many tragic stories! Because of religious values and the expectations from their communities, these religious leaders may not feel able to speak about their sexual orientation. Sometimes, they even internalise this homophobia. Which is a problem because they are likely to have LGBT+ persons in their own flock, who also need support. So we provide one on one counselling to these religious leaders, helping them to accept themselves, and negotiate the space in which they operate. They usually have never met somebody who really understands their situation. And we’ve been able to put them on a journey towards self-affirmation, and when they are ready, we invite them to social support groups where they can meet others in similar situations.

Another activity is capacity building workshops to fully equip and ground inclusive Religious leaders with knowledge and skills on the interpretation of the Bible and Quran, specifically the scriptures that are often used to speak against same-sex relationships. We provide historical context and alternative interpretations, so that they gradually grow in understanding and change their minds.  So, for instance, recently we run a workshop about religion and human sexuality. We had religious leaders together from a wide range of denominations, Anglican, Catholic, free churches, and Muslims. When we sit with them, we do not discuss what is wrong with the Quran and what is wrong with the Bible, but we look at specific scriptures that speak about the topic of same sex relationships. What do these holy books actually say about LGBT persons? Not much, as it turns out. And what are the core teachings of these scriptures that should shape our attitudes towards sexual and gender minorities? Love, acceptance and inclusion. So, we make religious leaders aware of the disparity between current attitudes in their communities, and how it is supposed to be.

On top of that, we also engage in economic empowerment for both Religious leaders, LGBT persons and other marginalized communities with the aim of fostering economic independency which supports collaborative advocacy. We believe that an empowered community is an influencing one.

Other activities include media based advocacy, solidarity and partnership visits to members of UCAA and internal capacity building initiatives.

That sounds like really important work – thank you for doing that! Can you tell something about the challenges that you face in this work?

The main challenge is conservatism, especially from the religious fraternity. People do not take into consideration where the modern translations of the Bible came from, and why the word homosexual is in the Bible, how it came into play. The problem is, very few people really want to read and research about things, so they just accept what has been given to them.

Even in the political fraternity, these policies that are being passed and the abuse that has been legalised are often driven by conservative religious politics. Because every political leader and every policy maker in Uganda has connections with the church or the mosque, and they want to gain the conservative religious vote. And as a result of the hatred preached by religious and political leaders, when a family discovers that one of their children is gay, they will not welcome it.

Another major challenge is that many donors do not really want to fund religious work. They will tell us that we do amazing work, but because they come from a secular background, they cannot support it. So, we have very limited funding, and without funding we can't do anything. Of course, we can do something, like social media outreach, and I can meet people one on one, but without funding we cannot hold the workshops that are so critical to bring about change among religious leaders. We are busy building connections with organisations across the world that share our vision for faith-based activism, and that can support us.

How do you see things develop in Uganda, in relation to LGBT rights?

There is homophobia, of course. But compared to the situation ten years ago, I think that things are changing. Security issues still exist, but especially in the urban centres LGBT folk are often able to lead their lives with some level of freedom. There even are some churches that accept LGBT persons, and some pastors who openly come out in support. Imagine, on the board of our organisation, we have twenty-five religious leaders who are affirming and inclusive, and who are open about that. I’ve personally even seen some politicians change their mind and come out in support of the rights of sexual minorities. That would have been unheard of, just ten years ago. It is a slow process, but change is happening, and I believe that we have to trust the process and be hopeful while working for change.

That’s really encouraging to hear. Thanks for the amazing work you do, and all the best with making social change happen!