Gay man refuses deportation to Uganda
source: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-8998.html
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A gay Ugandan man has refused to board his flight back to his country of origin.
John “Bosco” Nyombi, 38, was due to be deported back to Uganda, where he fears he will be persecuted on the grounds of his sexuality.
Homosexuality is currently illegal in Uganda, and gays caught by the police can face a life sentence in prison.
Mr Nyombi, who has been employed in the UK as a mental health worker since 2002, refused to get on his plane at Gatwick Airport at 6.40am, and remains with immigration services.
A group of his supporters had gathered at Gatwick to protest at his deportation.
Neil Pugmire, a spokesman from the Diocese of Portsmouth, told The Daily Echo:
“We received a telephone call from John on a landline in Gatwick Airport telling me he had refused to get on the plane and that they had accepted that decision.
“He’s still being held at Gatwick Airport. I imagine that the immigration services are looking for a detention centre that they can take him to.
“That, we hope, will buy us some time for his solicitor to take some legal action; an injunction or a judicial review.”
Whilst Mr Nyombi’s case goes on, anti-gay campaigns in Uganda continue to gather momentum.
John “Bosco” Nyombi, 38, was due to be deported back to Uganda, where he fears he will be persecuted on the grounds of his sexuality.
Homosexuality is currently illegal in Uganda, and gays caught by the police can face a life sentence in prison.
Mr Nyombi, who has been employed in the UK as a mental health worker since 2002, refused to get on his plane at Gatwick Airport at 6.40am, and remains with immigration services.
A group of his supporters had gathered at Gatwick to protest at his deportation.
Neil Pugmire, a spokesman from the Diocese of Portsmouth, told The Daily Echo:
“We received a telephone call from John on a landline in Gatwick Airport telling me he had refused to get on the plane and that they had accepted that decision.
“He’s still being held at Gatwick Airport. I imagine that the immigration services are looking for a detention centre that they can take him to.
“That, we hope, will buy us some time for his solicitor to take some legal action; an injunction or a judicial review.”
Whilst Mr Nyombi’s case goes on, anti-gay campaigns in Uganda continue to gather momentum.
