Gabi

I’m called Gabi. I’m a gay Rwandan man aged 33 years.

I arrived in Kakuma Camp in 2021 after escaping persecution.

About me and my truck driving

In my life, I knew I was gay since the day I started feeling a desire for sexual pleasure with the same sex gender. In Rwanda, since my teen life, I liked truck driving. I managed to get a job with a truck-driving company called Pan Africa Impex Uganda Ltd. We transferred produce from one country to another but majored in East Africa. Among the products we transported were maize, beans, cotton, coffee, etc. All the drivers had days of rest based on the number of times they had delivered.

I used to travel from Rwanda to Uganda, Sudan and Kenya. I didn’t have time for dating because it was a tiresome job. Most drivers would buy the services of prostitutes on country borders. But for me, I would buy the same from transgenders. I found one called Ken, and we fell in love. When Ken was free, I used to pick her up, and she would travel with me.

Then the day that changed it all

All the trucks were being weighed on a scale, so we had to queue. Ken started showing love to me. Tempted, I responded.

(Regularly the company check and monitors trucks to catch smugglers. From nowhere, the security of the place abruptly entered the truck and saw we were the same gender and having sex. The security officer immediately raised the alarm. I put on my clothes, got out of my truck and took off on foot.

Reaching my place, I discovered the company’s owner had put everything on television and radio in search of me. Anyone knowing where I was could receive a reward of two million Ugandan Shillings.

How I arrived in Kakuma

Escaping persecution is why I left Uganda for Kenya. The Red Cross in West Kenya got me to Kakuma Camp. I have been here for two years. My colleagues and I in block 12 face a lot of homophobia every day.

I’m grateful to you for reading my story. Thanks.