Benon Kabale, a prominent Ugandan disability rights advocate, has been named the 2024 recipient of the Human Rights Watch Marca Bristo Fellowship for Courageous Leadership in Disability Rights. This announcement coincides with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
Kabale has long been at the forefront of fighting for the rights of people with psychosocial disabilities (mental health conditions). As a person with lived experience, he has sought justice for the abuse he endured while being secluded and restrained in a mental health hospital. In 2018, Kabale founded the Mental Health Recovery Initiative, where he serves as the executive director. The initiative works to raise awareness of human rights in mental health, promote respect for the autonomy of people with psychosocial disabilities, and ensure the protection of their rights.
“Benon Kabale has showed incredible resilience advancing rights in mental health, guided by his experiences of having his rights violated in a mental health setting,” said Elizabeth Kamundia, the disability rights director at Human Rights Watch. “His exceptional fight for justice constitutes a beacon of hope for people with disabilities, a group that remains highly stigmatized in Uganda and around the world.”
In 2015, Kabale, alongside the Center for Human Rights and Development (CEHURD), the Validity Foundation, and Mental Health Uganda, filed a lawsuit against the government for the unlawful restraint and confinement of people with psychosocial disabilities in seclusion rooms at mental health facilities. They argued that such practices violated the fundamental human rights guaranteed by Uganda’s constitution. Although the case is still on appeal, it highlights the ongoing fight against abusive treatment in mental health settings.
Kabale’s personal experience in Butabika Hospital, Uganda’s national mental health facility, forms the foundation of his advocacy. In 2005 and again in 2010, he was subjected to restraint and isolation at the hospital. During his first experience, he was forcibly restrained, injected with an unknown substance, and left naked in a sealed, dark, cold room for over 24 hours without ventilation or basic facilities. In 2018, a high court ruling dismissed Kabale’s testimony, further perpetuating the stigma against individuals with psychosocial disabilities by deeming them unreliable witnesses.
Kabale views the Marca Bristo Fellowship as a crucial step towards realizing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Uganda ratified in 2008. He aims to use his lived experience to amplify the voices of persons with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities globally.
The fellowship, named in honor of disability rights icon Marca Bristo, founder of Access Living and a key advocate for the Americans with Disabilities Act, provides Kabale with training in research, advocacy, communications, and fundraising. It also allows him to strengthen his connections with other disability rights organizations and advocates, particularly in the mental health field.
Previous fellows of the Marca Bristo Fellowship have made significant contributions to advancing disability rights. For instance, 2023/2024 fellow Mariana Lozano briefed states on the rights of young people with intellectual disabilities, and 2022/2023 fellow Benafsha Yaqoobi was honored with the International Women of Courage Award by the US Department of State.
“Benon Kabale embodies the passion and purpose needed to advance disability rights and mental health care reform globally,” said Karen Tamley, president and CEO at Access Living. “We look forward to seeing the important impact his work will make this year and for years to come.”
