Legacy Pulse with Pepe Onziema

Episode 5 : Strategic Litigation II : Our successes, shortcomings and hope in the courts.

In the second part of our conversation on strategic litigation, we discuss what our successes and shortcomings have been over the years and where we go from here.

Episode 4 : When we look back, do we see our freedom in court?

"Strategic litigation." It sounds like a "sexy" term , but for the queer community in Uganda, it’s been a high-stakes rollercoaster of survival, resistance, and bold defiance. In this episode of The Legacy Pulse, our host Pepe Onziema takes us behind the scenes of the legal battles that defined a movement . We’re moving past the "passion" of just hanging out in bars and straight into the courtrooms where history was written in rainbow ink . * Colonial Receipts: Why are we still carrying laws from 1894? Pepe breaks down how pre-colonial freedom was swapped for criminalization . * The 2008 "Christmas Present": Remember when Justice Stella Arach-Amoko gave the community a win that shook the country? . * Tabloid Wars & Heartbreak: The harrowing story of the Rolling Stone "Hang Them" headline, the emergency injunction, and the heavy price paid by the late, legendary David Kato . * Exporting Justice: Did you know SMUG took the fight all the way to Springfield, Massachusetts? We’re talking about holding Scott Lively accountable for "crimes against humanity" on his own turf . * The Big Question: Are we just winning on "technicalities," or is the courtroom actually the door to our liberation? . From raiding workshops in Entebbe to nullifying the 2014 Anti-Homosexuality Act , this episode is a deep dive into what happens when you refuse to be a "second-class citizen" . "We rise, you beat us, we rise." — Pepe Onziema

Episode 3 : What does it mean to care when the world stops caring? / Josephine Mukwaaya

"Love in the Time of Scarcity: HIV, Care & Survival" What does it mean to care when the world stops caring? In this deeply moving episode, host Pepe Onziema welcomes Josephine Mukwaaya, executive director of COPTEC, for an intimate conversation about love, survival, and service in Uganda's HIV advocacy movement. Josephine opens up about: * Living with HIV and caring for others living with HIV—what love looks like when you're both caregiver and community member * Growing up and coming into her truth: The journey that led her to this work * Leading COPTEC in crisis: How organizations continue providing life-saving care and support when funding dries up and resources disappear * The reality of service provision now: What happens to communities when the world moves on but the needs remain urgent * Finding joy and purpose in spaces of scarcity and struggle This is a conversation about resilience, about the labor of love that keeps communities alive, and about what thriving looks like when survival itself requires collective care. "Care is not charity. Care is how we keep each other alive." The Legacy Pulse continues interrogating liberation—one story at a time.

Episode 2 : Leading with Heart: Building Liberation Together / Godiva Akullo

What does liberation look like for queer lives in Uganda? In this compelling second episode, host Pepe Onziema sits down with lawyer, feminist, and fiery lesbian Godiva Akullo to explore the complexities of thriving—not just surviving—as LGBTIQ+ people in a hostile society. From teaching law to fighting back in courtrooms, from chosen family to the power of love, Godiva and Pepe dig deep into: * Feminism as lesbian ideology and reconciling multiple identities in the fight for liberation * The law as a tool: Can courts ever truly protect us when they're built on colonial legacies? * The transformative power of chosen family and the bonds that hold us when blood relations fail us * Leading with heart in activist spaces—and what it takes to build collective resistance * Living freely now: What queer liberation really means when the future feels uncertain This is a raw, unflinching conversation about heartbreak and healing, courage and rage, and the radical act of claiming your right to exist fully, unapologetically, and joyfully. "I want my legacy to be that I have managed to live my life as a free lesbian." — Godiva Akullo Listen in as The Legacy Pulse continues interrogating liberation.

Episode 1 : The Journey

From Whispers to Roaring: 20+ Years of Queer Organizing in Uganda What does queer liberation actually look like? Join Pepe Onziema as we embark on a profound journey through two decades of LGBTIQ+ organizing in Uganda—a story of courage forged in shadows, visibility claimed against all odds, and joy that refused to be silenced. In this first episode, Pepe takes us from the fragile, coded whispers of the late 1990s and early 2000s—when queer community meant meeting in backyards and bars, earning trust one friend at a time—to the revolutionary moment of August 16, 2007, when masked faces dared to speak the words: Gay Ugandans exist. We'll witness the movement's evolution through pivotal moments: from the iconic first pride march at Lake Victoria in 2012, to courtroom battles against tabloids and oppressive laws, to the personal costs paid by community members like David Cato. Along the way, we'll explore how external support transformed grassroots collective care into professionalization, and how survival organizing became a dream of freedom. This is a story of whispers becoming roars, of fear transforming into fierce joy, and of a community refusing to disappear. Listen in to understand: Where did we come from? How far have we come? And what does liberation truly mean? The Legacy Pulse returns with stories, lessons, and a heartbeat that refuses to stop.