Lesbian Mothers Flee Uganda Violence Only to Face New Trauma in Kenya's Kakuma Refugee Camp
Kakuma, 28 March 2026
LGBTQ refugee mothers who escaped persecution in Uganda now confront fresh challenges in Kenya’s Kakuma camp, where their children suffer bullying and discrimination. One mother’s three-year-old son battled depression for three years after relentless stigmatisation.
From Arson Attacks to Camp Persecution
Esther’s journey to Kenya began in terror. The 35-year-old mother fled Uganda after surviving an arson attack in Kampala’s Nansana neighbourhood, where bodaboda riders had accused her of practising satanism for identifying as lesbian [1]. “They were baying for my blood. They wanted to kill my child and me,” Esther recalled of the harrowing experience that forced her to seek refuge with her three-year-old son [1]. Her story mirrors that of Nelima, another LGBTQ mother who escaped Uganda’s anti-homosexuality laws and found herself transferred to Kakuma Refugee Camp alongside Esther after initially meeting in Nairobi [1].
Children Bear the Brunt of Intergenerational Trauma
The hopes these mothers held for safety in Kenya have been cruelly dashed. Nelima’s son has endured a particularly devastating ordeal, battling depression for three years due to relentless bullying within the camp [1]. The situation became so dire that in 2023, the child disappeared from Kakuma camp for two weeks, highlighting the severe psychological toll of discrimination [1]. “I had hoped for an environment that would guarantee peace to my son, but unfortunately, we met rejection and homophobia we were running away from,” Nelima explained [1]. Paul Kanyamu, an LGBTQIA+ refugee representative, captures the broader crisis: “Children of queer refugees are stigmatised not because of who they are, but because of who their parents are. This creates an intergenerational trauma that is hard to escape” [1].
Desperate Measures and Continued Vulnerability
The discrimination within Kakuma became so unbearable that in 2024, Nelima made the difficult decision to move out of the camp to Kakuma town to protect her son [1]. However, this attempt at escape proved short-lived, as she was evicted after four months due to unpaid rent, forcing the family back into the cycle of displacement [1]. Kakuma Refugee Camp, which houses over 200,000 asylum seekers and refugees including hundreds of LGBTI people, has been documented by Amnesty International as a place where LGBTI residents face extreme discrimination and violence [1]. The camp’s troubled history includes a devastating 2021 arson attack on Block 13 that resulted in one death and several injuries [1].
New Hope Through Government Integration Plan
A glimmer of hope emerged in March 2025 when the Kenyan government introduced the Shirika plan, an ambitious initiative to integrate over 830,000 refugees and asylum seekers into Kenyan society [1]. The programme offers access to public services and crucially, the right to live outside designated camps [1]. For mothers like Esther, whose prospects for European resettlement grow increasingly dim, this represents a lifeline. “Our hopes of getting resettlement in Europe are growing slimmer by the day. Shirika plan is a better option for those of us who do not want to go back to our mother countries,” she noted [1]. Nelima’s aspirations remain heartbreakingly simple: “All I want is an environment where my son can go to school, play with his friends, and just be a child like others” [1]. Despite the ongoing challenges, these resilient mothers have found strength in community, creating support circles with other queer mothers to pool resources and provide emotional support [1].