In a heightened ramp-up of persecution of gay Ugandans, a young man named Kabuye Najibu was arrested in Uganda a few hours ago, while visiting his co-worker who had been arrested just before the new year.

The O-blog-dee-O-blog-da blog broke the story of Joseph Kwesi’s arrest.

KAMPALA, Uganda – The universally condemned “Kill The Gays” bill appears to be on a fast-track pace toward passage in December.

Speaker Rebecca Kadaga vows that the much-maligned Anti-Homosexuality Bill will be overwhelmingly passed by Parliament because she claims that most Ugandans are demanding the law. She told reporters that the bill’s passage would be the perfect “Christmas gift” for Ugandans.

Police in Kampala, Uganda on Monday raided a gay rights meeting and arrested several LGBT activists gathered at the Essela Hotel in Najjeera, a Kampala suburb, accusing the participants of “propagating gay issues in Uganda.”

East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project, the organization behind the workshop, said that police interrupted the meeting and began questioning attendees at the event, including activists from Canada, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda.

(Editor’s note: Melanie Nathan is a frequent contributor to San Diego Gay & Lesbian News. This opinion piece first ran at LGBTQ Nation, a content-sharing partner with SDGLN.com.)