Erasmus Irumba
Erasmus Irumba was the coordinator of the activities of Twerwaneho Listeners Club (TLC) in Ntoroko District. TLC is a non-governmental organisation based in Fort Portal, in the Rwenzori Region of western Uganda. TLC carries out human rights advocacy through weekly radio programmes centred on human rights education, capacity building of human rights defenders, civic education, the monitoring and documentation of human rights violations and the challenging of unlawful government actions in court. TLC radio programmes generally aim at holding public leaders and corporations more accountable. Erasmus Irumba was particularly active in TLC’s Village Budget Clubs, a project that sought to scrutinise the allocation and implementation of district budgets and ensure proper management of public funds at the local level.
Human rights defenders (HRDs) in Uganda have faced threats and harassment in recent years as the government continued to limit freedom of expression and association. Human rights defenders advocating for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people have been particularly at risk. The government has clamped down on independent media and enacted legislation restricting civil and political rights and constraining the functioning of non governmental organizations (NGOs).
