More than 20,000 individuals participated in a Pride parade in Johannesburg on Saturday to show their support for LGBTQ+ communities in Africa who are unable to openly express their identities due to the criminalization of their relationships. The parade, which was estimated to have 24,000 participants, was led by Mandela Swali, a 25-year-old Ugandan gay man who had recently arrived in South Africa.
Swali, adorned with glitter and wrapped in a Ugandan flag, revealed that he had fled his home country in 2021 while on bail, following his arrest after his landlady discovered him engaging in sexual activities with his boyfriend.
“Being here feels like I am part of a family and in a space that I deserve to be in right now. I feel at home,” expressed Swali, reflecting on his experience during the 6 km march through affluent neighborhoods in Johannesburg, embellished with blooming purple jacaranda trees.
In May, Uganda passed one of the world’s strictest anti-gay legislations, which includes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.” Same-sex relationships were already deemed illegal in Uganda, as is the case in over 30 other African nations.
In contrast, South Africa legalized same-sex marriage in 2006 and remains the sole African country to do so.
Kaye Ally, the organizer of Johannesburg Pride, stated, “Our motive today is to march for Uganda and the LGBT communities in Africa who are unable to march for themselves.”
Last year’s Pride event in the city was subdued due to concerns of a potential terrorist attack as warned by the United States. This heightened the LGBTQ+ community’s desire for this year’s Pride parade, held 34 years after the inaugural event, according to Ally.
“This year, we are going all out,” Ally asserted. “The yearning for Pride, combined with the current happenings in Africa, has intensified the need for us to take to the streets, embrace our flamboyance, and assert our true identities.”
(Reporting by Rachel Savage and Shafiek Tassiem; editing by Giles Elgood)
