Ugandan LGBT activist Adebayo Katiiti drops new singles
Six years after fleeing to Canada, Ugandan athlete, musician and transgender rights activist Adebayo Katiiti has released two singles aimed at giving people hope and a sense of belonging.
The two jams, ‘Still Here’ and ‘One Love', are an amalgam of pumping Afrobeats and hip hop guaranteed to uplift the listener. They were released last month and are available on leading streaming and download platforms.
The singer, who was forced to flee Uganda due to the authorities’ clampdown on the LGBT community, is an outspoken advocate for those who continue to face persecution.
He currently resides in Edmonton where besides music he works with NGOs that support LGBT refugees and other migrants. Adebayo has dedicated himself to helping newcomers like himself navigate the complex processes needed to reside legally in Canada.
The artist was granted refugee status in Canada after participating in the International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics Championships in Edmonton in 2016. During the event he participated in a panel discussion where LGBT swimmers from around the world shared stories of the discrimination, brutality and hate they faced due to their sexual orientation.
Adebayo said he and his friends were assaulted by the Ugandan police during a gay pride event in Kampala and that on arriving in Canada in 2016, he received threatening messages from his family who were unhappy with him after they discovered he had come out.
Today, he is a regular performer at Edmonton Pride Fest and the Afro-Latin Sundays event.
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