Sexual and Gender Minorities in Post-Genocide Rwanda: LGBTI politics between 2009 and 2022

This doctoral thesis examines the politics of sexual and gender minorities in Rwanda. It is positioned at the intersection of two broad bodies of literature: the politics of sexual and gender minorities in Africa and the post-genocide politics of Rwanda. While extensive research has been conducted on these politics in neighbouring countries such as Uganda, this topic has received relatively limited scholarly attention in the Rwandan context. Moreover, although there is substantial research on human rights and civil society restrictions in Rwanda, the specific challenges and activist strategies of individuals with non-normative sexualities or genders remain under-researched. Drawing from 180 interviews, focus groups, participant observation, and media analysis, the research covers the period from 2009—when Rwanda debated its first draft law criminalising homosexuality—to 2022. Through examining different narratives about Rwanda’s decision not to criminalise homosexuality, the thesis argues that Rwandan politics regarding homosexuality can best be described as a politics of ambiguity. This ambiguity manifests not only between international and local contexts but also within different dimensions of the local sphere itself. I argue that by employing this strategy, the Rwandan government addresses conflicting demands and navigates understandings of historical same-sex sexuality, privacy, international LGBTI rights discourses, and notions of un-African homosexuality. The study further analyses how individuals who identify as sexual and gender minorities and engage with supportive organisations understand themselves, their challenges, and their societal context. It examines how this ambiguity affects activists’ lives and strategies, arguing that it both enables discrimination in state institutions and offers hope. Additionally, the thesis explores how historical narratives about same-sex intimacy and capitalist and racial structures in international LGBTIQ+ rights organising shape activists’ self-perceptions and strategies, with activists often avoiding historical narratives in public while employing a strategy termed ‘homocapitalism’.