Freedom Fighter Denied access to the UK

Freedom Fighter denied access to UK...

Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesra, the 2011 winner of the prestigious Martin Ennals award for Human Rights has been denied a Visa to enter the UK. Kasha was due to open the Foyle Gay Pride festival in Derry on 24th August but this recent development has left her struggling to fulfil that promised commitment.
Despite travelling throughout the world and being recognised for her continued commitments for human rights in Uganda, the founder and Executive Director of Freedom and Roam Uganda, was refused entry into the UK over concerns over her financial status at home in Uganda, a query which has never arisen before, making the UK the only country in her international tour to deny this inspirational character entry.
Sha Gillespie, chairperson of Foyle Pride in LDerry has expressed an overwhelming sense of disappointment at the Embassys decision. Last year saw the first gay pride parade on the streets of Derry and proved to be a great success with over 5000 people taking part in the parade and 6400 in the week long festival. This proved to be a huge step forward for the newly crowned inaugural UK city of culture 2013, as previous press reports had been focussed on homophobic attacks within the city. Derry has changed and last year saw the visual representation of acceptance of the LGBTQ community within our society. As a city still evolving and dealing with the legacy of the past, Kashas message and story is of particular importance and relevance and inspirational for our wider community to hear. Foyle Pride has invested heavily in bringing Kasha to Derry despite having a very limited budget and relying on donations and the support of local businesses, money and resources that will now be lost. I cant understand why the UK is the only country to deny her entry and deny the opportunity for the people of Derry and Northern Ireland as a whole the chance to hear this inspirational woman speak. We intend to publish an online petition on our facebook page and urge everyone to go and register their disgust. Gay Rights have come a long way in this country but actions like this demonstrate how far they need to come. Despite this setback, I and the rest of the Foyle Pride committee remain committed to putting on a fantastic festival and welcome everyone to attend.
Further information on Foyle Pride festival can be found on their website www.foylepride.org