Uganda said on Thursday it had arrested 16 LGBT+ activists on suspicion of gay sex - punishable with life in jail - in what campaigners called an escalating campaign against sexual minorities in the east African nation.

The 16 men, believed to be aged from 22 to 35, were taken into custody late on Monday at the office of a sexual health charity where they all worked and lived, fellow activists said.

It was not clear if the men had been formally charged or when they might appear in court.

A police spokesman said officers had found lubricants, condoms and anti-retroviral drugs at the charity, and had conducted anal examinations on all 16.

"Based on the medical examination report, it was established that the suspects were involved in sexual acts punishable under the penal code," police spokesman Patrick Onyango told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Fred Enanga, Uganda's national police spokesman, said the state attorney was considering the case before any court appearance. Read more via Reuters