By Nimi Princewill, CNN
(CNN) — When 22-year-old Wendy Faith shared a Valentine’s Day kiss with 21-year-old Alesi Diana Denise in Uganda — a country infamous for enforcing some of the world’s strictest anti-LGBTQ laws — the lives of both women were about to take a complicated turn.
Faith and Denise, residents of Arua, a commercial hub in the northwest, have been charged with offenses related to homosexuality and indecency, according to a charge sheet obtained by CNN.
In the East African nation, like in some others on the continent, being LGBTQ also means being at risk of being jailed.
Consensual same-sex relations between adults can lead to life imprisonment in Uganda. A law, implemented in 2023, also carries the death penalty for those found guilty of “aggravated homosexuality,” which includes sexual acts involving minors, the elderly or disabled people.
If Faith and Denise are convicted, they could each receive a sentence of up to seven years in prison.
Douglas Mawadri, one of the lawyers representing Faith and Denise, said they were arrested on February 18 and their apartment was searched after a photo of the two kissing surfaced online.
The women had been under police surveillance before their arrest, according to Frank Mugisha, who heads Sexual Minorities Uganda, an LGBTQ advocacy group working to secure their release.
Mugisha told CNN that one of the women was a content creator who organized a female dance group that frequently met at her apartment. He said the women’s neighbors informed police of their alleged relationship.
A regional police spokesperson, Josephine Angucia, did not respond to CNN’s request for comment. But she told Britain’s The Guardian newspaper the two “have been involved in queer and unusual acts believed to be sexual in nature besides being allegedly seen kissing each other in broad daylight.”
Mugisha, whose organization has been in contact with the women, said he was unable to verify Angucia’s claim, describing it as “hearsay.”
Their lawyer Mawadri said Faith and Denise entered not guilty pleas at their court appearance on March 4. The two were refused bail, and the case was scheduled for a hearing later this month, he said.
The case is a stark example of the environment that many people accused of being LGBTQ in Africa face.
While attitudes vary, the majority of African nations criminalize same-sex relations. On top of that, a host are tightening rules further. The reasons why are complex. But activists and analysts say one factor is attitudes in the United States, something that has only worsened during the second term of Donald Trump’s presidency.
A difficult climate
In late February, Senegal joined the growing number of countries on the continent whose leaders were advocating for stricter anti-LGBTQ laws. In this largely Muslim West African nation, often regarded as one of Africa’s most stable and progressive democracies, same-sex relationships have been illegal for more than six decades.
Last week, Senegal’s parliament approved a bill that doubles the penalty for same-sex relations, increasing the maximum prison sentence to 10 years. The legislation also imposes three to seven-year sentences for those advocating for LGBTQ rights.
In Ghana, also in West Africa, lawmakers are reviving a similar bill that seeks to impose up to three years of imprisonment for identifying as LGBTQ, with advocates facing potential sentences of up to 10 years.
Although this bill was first introduced in 2021 and initially passed in 2024, it was not signed into law by