LGBT rights in Rwanda

In the old Kingdom of Rwanda, male homosexual relations were common among young Hutus and Tutsis. In 1986, a 19-year-old Tutsi man was recorded as saying that "traditionally, in his tribe, there was an extended period during which boys lived apart from the rest of the village while they are training to be warriors, during which very emotional, and often sexual, relationships were struck up... Sometimes these relationships lasted beyond adolescence into adulthood. Watusi still have a reputation for bisexuality in the cities of East Africa." Tutsi boys training at court would often be made sexually available to guests. Homosexuals were referred to as umuswezi or umukonotsi, which literally translate to "sodomite". Several terms exist for male homosexuality: kuswerana nk'imbwa, kunonoka, kwitomba, kuranana inyuma and ku'nyo. In addition, there were traditions of "cross-dressing priests", known as ikihindu or ikimaze, first described by the colonialists as "hermaphrodites", who would play the role of shamans and healers. Sexual relations are believed to have included mutual masturbation, intercrural sex and anal intercourse.[4][5][6]

Societal acceptance quickly disappeared after the arrival of the European colonialists and Christianity.[7]

On 16 December 2009, the Parliament of Rwanda debated whether to make homosexuality a criminal offense, with a punishment of 5–10 years imprisonment.[8] This legislation was similar to the controversial anti-homosexuality bill in the neighboring country of Uganda.[9] Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama, however, condemned and refuted reports that the government intended to criminalize homosexual acts, saying that sexual orientation is a private matter, not a state business.[10]

Under Rwandan electoral laws, most of the political parties are aligned with, if not an extension of, the ruling party. The four Rwandan political parties that are not a part of the ruling coalition, the Liberal Party, the Social Democratic Party, the Social Party Imberakuri and the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, have not taken an official position on LGBT rights.

In September 2016, speaking in San Francisco, President Paul Kagame said that "it (homosexuality) hasn't been our problem. And we don't intend to make it our problem".[14]

Since 2005, the Horizons Community Association of Rwanda has been doing some public advocacy on behalf of LGBT rights, although its members have often been harassed by the government.[15]