Ugandan LGBT Rights Activist Now Allowed UK Entry

LGBT rights activist Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera will be able to enter the UK in order to speak at a Northern Ireland Pride festival, it has been announced. She was previously refused entry over reported concerns relating to her financial status.

Nabagesera reapplied on Monday and, according to Pink News, her application was approved within minutes. Nabagesera is scheduled to attend Foyle Pride Festival in Derry this weekend for a speaking engagement.

However, as we reported last week, Nabagesera was initially refused entry into the UK with border control authorities reportedly citing her financial status as a potential immigration risk.

Given the fact that Nabagesera has traveled the world in the course of her human rights work and has never before encountered such problems, this was especially perplexing to Foyle Pride Festival organizer Shay Gillespie who was quoted on the Foyle Pride blog as saying, “Foyle Pride has invested heavily in bringing Kasha to Derry despite having a very limited budget and relying on donations and the support of local businesses, money and resources that will now be lost. I can’t understand why the UK is the only country to deny her entry and deny the opportunity for the people of Derry and Northern Ireland as a whole the chance to hear this inspirational woman speak.

Border control authorities stated at the time that, while they could not comment on specific cases, all applicants are able to reapply when they have fulfilled those criteria that were lacking in their previous applications.

A petition calling on border control to reconsider this decision was set up by Foyle Pride organizers and has attracted over 700 signatures .

Ahead of this weekend’s events, Nabagesera will also deliver a speech to Amnesty International.

Nabagesera may be known to readers as the most recent recipient of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders. As an out lesbian campaigner in Uganda, she has fought for the rights of others in her country at great personal risk.

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