The Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence at Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio, USA) has announced that they will award Frank Mugisha the 2026 Inamori Ethics Prize.
Mugisha is a Ugandan LGBTI human rights advocate and Executive Director of SMUG (Sexual Minorities Uganda) & SMUG International. He has dedicated his work to promoting fundamental human rights for all, both in Uganda and internationally.
The Inamori Ethics Prize is an international award presented by the Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence at Case Western Reserve University. The Prize has been awarded since 2008 to honor outstanding international ethical leaders whose actions and influence have greatly improved the condition of humankind. The Center was established with an endowment from the Inamori Foundation and conducts educational and research activities with the goal of promoting ethical leadership throughout the world.
In announcing the 2026 prize recipient, Dr. Eric W. Kaler, President of Case Western Reserve University, said that Mugisha is dedicated to and advocates for human rights, which is inspiring, and that, driven by impact and propelled by purpose, he is changing lives around the world.
Mugisha will receive the prize, deliver a free public lecture, and participate in a symposium panel discussion during the 2026 Inamori Ethics Prize events September 17-18, 2026, on the Case Western Reserve campus.
Profile of Frank Mugisha (Reference: announcement by Case Western Reserve University )
Mugisha has led the grassroots movement to save thousands of LGBTI Ugandans from persecution, imprisonment, and death. In 2004, he founded Icebreakers Uganda, a support network for LGBTI people who are out or coming out to family and friends, offering counseling, suicide-prevention, and education in a country—because being openly LGBTI is considered a crime by law and some public opinion in Uganda.
He later expanded his efforts while at SMUG, an umbrella organization of over 40 groups, including Uganda’s first LGBTI health center. In addition to promoting equality for Uganda’s LGBTI community, Mugisha and SMUG have long fought legal and ideological battles with Ugandan Parliament and anti-LGBT activists in U.S. District Court.
He has led movements against Uganda’s anti-homosexuality and sexual-offense legislation, which criminalizes queer identities, considers same-sex conduct as nonconsensual, and allows the death penalty in certain cases. In 2024, most of the law was upheld, but advocacy efforts convinced legislators to eliminate sections restricting healthcare, housing, and mandatory reporting of alleged acts of homosexuality. Efforts continue toward full annulment in Uganda’s Supreme Court.
Mugisha came out to his brother at 14. Raised in a strict Catholic family in suburban Kampala, the capital of Uganda, coming out in the East African country carries risks of violence, imprisonment, or death.
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