By Chris Kiwawulo
and Edward Anyoli
PASTOR Solomon Male of Arise for Christ Ministry was arrested yesterday over reports that Pastor Robert Kayanja sodomised young boys.
Plain clothes detectives stormed Male’s office on the second floor of Span House in Kampala at around 1:30pm and asked him to go with them to Central Police Station (CPS).
Male’s pleas that he was busy attending to his clients, who needed counselling services, fell on deaf ears.
He was later driven to CPS in a Saloon car with private registration numbers.
At CPS, the detectives informed Male that he was heading to Buganda Road Court to be charged. That is when he demanded to notify his lawyers.
His arrest followed advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecution that Male, together with seven others, be charged for reportedly making false allegations against Pastor Robert Kayanja.
In a letter to the director of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), principal state attorney Margaret Nakigudde said pastors Male, Martin Ssempa, Bob Kayira, Michael Kyazze, their lawyers, Henry Ddungu and David Kaggwa, together with David Mukalazi and Deborah Kyomuhendo face charges of conspiring to injure Pastor Kayanja’s reputation.
The two lawyers were included for allegedly commissioning false affidavits.
Nakigudde said four sodomy files opened against Kayanja at CPS were closed for lack of evidence to warrant prosecution, and that Robson Matovu, together with all the alleged sodomy victims were medically examined but no evidence of anal penetration was found.
When the cops whisked Male from CPS to Buganda Road Court at around 3:20pm, he was instead locked up in a cell up to 5:00pm when the Resident State Attorney Baxter David Bakibinga informed them that his (Male’s) file had not been sanctioned.
Male’s lawyer, Ddungu, who earlier responded to Police summons, was also locked up in the cell until Bakibinga broke the news.
The cops then took Male and Ddungu to CPS. Ddungu was released immediately since he had earlier been granted Police bond. Male spent about an hour with the Police as they processed his bond papers.
Male kept on chanting: “We shall stand firm against sodomy.”
Unconfirmed reports indicated that Police had earlier in the day been hunting for Pastor Ssempa, but he reportedly eluded them.
SIU head Grace Akullo said Male was arrested because he had failed to honour several Police summons.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Buturo blasts human rights body over film
By Anne mugisa
ETHICS minister Dr. Nsaba Buturo has accused the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) of promoting homosexuality using a human rights documentary.
The commission attacked Buturo after he banned the documentary titled Do not Discriminate. Buturo insisted the documentary contained controversial material.
In a press conference yesterday, the minister scoffed at the UHRC, saying the organisation that should protect Ugandans’ interests had fallen by allowing themselves to be used by those promoting western vices.
He said the people showing the documentary at the National Theatre had refused to divulge its contents or allow the officials to have a preview.
About 500 people, including school children, had been invited to watch it.
Buturo observed that when UHRC realised that the Government would not allow them to show the documentary, they reluctantly allowed an official and the theatre management to view it.
Those who viewed it, he said, reported offensive material in the documentary. He said worthy themes like women’s rights were added to justify the documentary.
“We told them that if they wanted to show that documentary, they had to edit it and remove the controversial material. We also took offence that young people were invited to watch.”
ETHICS minister Dr. Nsaba Buturo has accused the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) of promoting homosexuality using a human rights documentary.
The commission attacked Buturo after he banned the documentary titled Do not Discriminate. Buturo insisted the documentary contained controversial material.
In a press conference yesterday, the minister scoffed at the UHRC, saying the organisation that should protect Ugandans’ interests had fallen by allowing themselves to be used by those promoting western vices.
He said the people showing the documentary at the National Theatre had refused to divulge its contents or allow the officials to have a preview.
About 500 people, including school children, had been invited to watch it.
Buturo observed that when UHRC realised that the Government would not allow them to show the documentary, they reluctantly allowed an official and the theatre management to view it.
Those who viewed it, he said, reported offensive material in the documentary. He said worthy themes like women’s rights were added to justify the documentary.
“We told them that if they wanted to show that documentary, they had to edit it and remove the controversial material. We also took offence that young people were invited to watch.”
Sunday, December 19, 2010
In a historic vote, the Senate overturns ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’
After years of contentious debate, the Senate on Saturday voted to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that blocked gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.
While critics, including Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain, said the repeal would cause a deadly distraction on the battlefield at a time of war, the lawmakers backing repeal equated the vote to other historic moments including the end of racial segregation among troops in the 1950s and the decision to allow women to attend military service academies in the 1970s.
"It is time to close this chapter in our history," President Obama said in a statement hailing the vote's passage. "It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed."
Yet the repeal is far more than just a single policy shift. The overturning of "don't ask, don't tell" is likely to create a ripple effect in addressing other gay-rights issues, as many states continue to debate issues including same-sex marriage and the right of gay partners to share benefits the same way legally married couples do. With gay service members serving openly, it will become difficult for policy makers to justify, say, withholding visitation rights or survivor benefits to the same-sex spouse of a wounded or fallen soldier.
Still, such questions will surface over the longer term. For now, the Pentagon will address the shorter-term issue of how to go about implementing repeal. Obama is expected the sign the repeal into law this week, but the actual lifting of the ban doesn't yet have a timetable. Under the bill, the repeal will go into effect at the discretion of top military leaders, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who has been previously supportive of overturning the ban.
But per NBC's Jim Miklaszewski, Defense Department officials said Saturday that the repeal could take in upwards of a year to be fully implemented.
Logistics aside, however, opponents of the gay ban called Saturday's vote a historic victory. Since 1993, when President Bill Clinton signed the ban into law, more than 13,000 troops have been discharged under the policy.
But there's been a dramatic shift in public attitudes toward gays in the military over the last 17 years. In 1993, a Washington Post poll found just 44 percent of the public thought gays should have the right to serve openly in the military. Now 77 percent of Americans believe gays and lesbians should have that right, according to a Washington Post-ABC poll released last week.
In 2008, Obama campaigned on overturning the ban, but he was slow to push that policy in his first year in office, a move that angered the gay rights community and many of his liberal supporters.
While Obama will get some credit for overturning the ban—especially when it comes to wooing moderate Republicans on the issue—Democrats in Congress were the people who really led the charge.
The Senate vote was 65-31, with eight Republicans—Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, John Ensign of Nevada, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mark Kirk of Illinois and George Voinovich of Ohio—voting "yes."
"We righted a wrong," Sen. Joe Lieberman, who led the fight to overturn the ban, told reporters afterward. "Today we've done justice."
While critics, including Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain, said the repeal would cause a deadly distraction on the battlefield at a time of war, the lawmakers backing repeal equated the vote to other historic moments including the end of racial segregation among troops in the 1950s and the decision to allow women to attend military service academies in the 1970s.
"It is time to close this chapter in our history," President Obama said in a statement hailing the vote's passage. "It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed."
Yet the repeal is far more than just a single policy shift. The overturning of "don't ask, don't tell" is likely to create a ripple effect in addressing other gay-rights issues, as many states continue to debate issues including same-sex marriage and the right of gay partners to share benefits the same way legally married couples do. With gay service members serving openly, it will become difficult for policy makers to justify, say, withholding visitation rights or survivor benefits to the same-sex spouse of a wounded or fallen soldier.
Still, such questions will surface over the longer term. For now, the Pentagon will address the shorter-term issue of how to go about implementing repeal. Obama is expected the sign the repeal into law this week, but the actual lifting of the ban doesn't yet have a timetable. Under the bill, the repeal will go into effect at the discretion of top military leaders, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who has been previously supportive of overturning the ban.
But per NBC's Jim Miklaszewski, Defense Department officials said Saturday that the repeal could take in upwards of a year to be fully implemented.
Logistics aside, however, opponents of the gay ban called Saturday's vote a historic victory. Since 1993, when President Bill Clinton signed the ban into law, more than 13,000 troops have been discharged under the policy.
But there's been a dramatic shift in public attitudes toward gays in the military over the last 17 years. In 1993, a Washington Post poll found just 44 percent of the public thought gays should have the right to serve openly in the military. Now 77 percent of Americans believe gays and lesbians should have that right, according to a Washington Post-ABC poll released last week.
In 2008, Obama campaigned on overturning the ban, but he was slow to push that policy in his first year in office, a move that angered the gay rights community and many of his liberal supporters.
While Obama will get some credit for overturning the ban—especially when it comes to wooing moderate Republicans on the issue—Democrats in Congress were the people who really led the charge.
The Senate vote was 65-31, with eight Republicans—Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, John Ensign of Nevada, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mark Kirk of Illinois and George Voinovich of Ohio—voting "yes."
"We righted a wrong," Sen. Joe Lieberman, who led the fight to overturn the ban, told reporters afterward. "Today we've done justice."
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Maddow Confronts Author of Ugandan “Kill the Gays” Bill
The Ugandan Parliament member appeared on The Rachel Maddow Show [video below] this week to defend his “kill the gays” bill.
Maddow set up the segment by recounting America’s long slide down the slippery slope of anti-gay rhetoric pushed by such religious right figures as Anita Bryant and Jerry Falwell. The thrust of the argument made against gays and lesbians in this country is that “they do not reproduce, so they must recruit.”
That argument against gay and lesbian rights has been quashed by medical and psychological professionals who have long studied the issue and found that no such thing happens. Gays and lesbians are who they are and no one “recruits” them to a “lifestyle.” But, good propaganda never dies—it simply moves to a new location when it’s no longer welcome in its old home.
David Bahati channeled Anita Bryant as he patiently answered Maddow’s probing questions, insisting that there is a “huge problem” in Uganda from foreigners who are spending money to “recruit” children into homosexuality. He says his bill, that includes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” is simply a way to “protect the children” from those recruiters. He also insisted, like anti-gay propagandists before him, that homosexuality is a “learned behavior that can be unlearned.” His rationale is based, not on facts, but religion.
“We believe that man was created to marry woman and that is the purpose for which God created us. The purpose for procreation, and that’s the higher purpose we believe in. Children should not be recruited into something they don’t believe in. […] I am not in a hate campaign. I do not hate gays. I love them but at the same time I must protect children who are being recruited into this practice.”
Bahati has claimed that people outside Uganda are recruiting school children to be gay by paying them. Yet despite promising to send Maddow video proof of this practice she has yet to receive a single piece of evidence. While Maddow did an excellent job of asking Bahati tough questions, it was clear that he had little but his own propaganda to go on—as well as a bit of a persecution complex. At one bizarre moment, after Maddow asked about the fate of gays and lesbians in the country should the bill pass he told her that he was “not a Hitler, Saddam Hussein, or Idi Amin.”
“I’m just a simple young man who lost both parents at the age of three years, grew up as an orphan, I have a passion for children and this is what is really motivating me. I am a God fearing person. I want to make sure this law is consistent with God’s law.”
Perhaps he doesn’t know what gays and lesbians will do if this bill becomes law, and perhaps he doesn’t care, but it’s clear he’s tired of being attacked for supporting something he sees as “God’s law.” He even took issue with Maddow when she referred to the death penalty part of the bill as “execution” but later continued to clearly advocate for such a measure:
“God’s law is always clear that the wages of sin is death whether that is implemented through legislation like mine or by a mechanism of a human being whatever happen is the end result that we need to turn to God if we have sinned.”
What makes me almost sorry for Bahati is how sincerely he believes his own propaganda, even pleading at one point with Maddow for people outside of Uganda to respect their laws and opinions just as they respect the laws and opinions of others.
But, when lives are on the line, and lies are being told to terrorize and perhaps euthanize an entire minority within a country, the law and opinions of the country pursuing such actions cannot simply be “respected.” This is what Bahati doesn’t understand. He’s proposing a law that has the potential to put many people to death—and even if that clause is removed, as Bahati says he’s open to—it would still sentence many people to life in prison for something that they simply are, not that they were “recruited” into. In addition, how does one prove that a person is engaged in homosexuality other than catching them in the act? It seems that the law could be abused further and used to imprison those falsely accused.
There is no way to “respect” that kind of law or opinion, no matter how sincere the motivation behind it. That doesn’t mean that Bahati should be attacked as promoting hatred for gay people. He sincerely does not see his actions as motivated by hatred; and to use my dad’s old phrase, “He’s sincere, but he’s sincerely wrong.” He has been so blinded by propaganda against gays and lesbians that he is unable to see any other side. Many religious right figures in the U.S., including The Call’s Lou Engle and former American Family Association leader Scott Lively, who have traveled to Uganda to fan the anti-gay flames, have convinced people like Bahati that they are doing God’s work, even if it means that people will die.
What gives me hope is that, unlike homosexuality, bigotry is a learned behavior that can be unlearned.
Maddow set up the segment by recounting America’s long slide down the slippery slope of anti-gay rhetoric pushed by such religious right figures as Anita Bryant and Jerry Falwell. The thrust of the argument made against gays and lesbians in this country is that “they do not reproduce, so they must recruit.”
That argument against gay and lesbian rights has been quashed by medical and psychological professionals who have long studied the issue and found that no such thing happens. Gays and lesbians are who they are and no one “recruits” them to a “lifestyle.” But, good propaganda never dies—it simply moves to a new location when it’s no longer welcome in its old home.
David Bahati channeled Anita Bryant as he patiently answered Maddow’s probing questions, insisting that there is a “huge problem” in Uganda from foreigners who are spending money to “recruit” children into homosexuality. He says his bill, that includes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” is simply a way to “protect the children” from those recruiters. He also insisted, like anti-gay propagandists before him, that homosexuality is a “learned behavior that can be unlearned.” His rationale is based, not on facts, but religion.
“We believe that man was created to marry woman and that is the purpose for which God created us. The purpose for procreation, and that’s the higher purpose we believe in. Children should not be recruited into something they don’t believe in. […] I am not in a hate campaign. I do not hate gays. I love them but at the same time I must protect children who are being recruited into this practice.”
Bahati has claimed that people outside Uganda are recruiting school children to be gay by paying them. Yet despite promising to send Maddow video proof of this practice she has yet to receive a single piece of evidence. While Maddow did an excellent job of asking Bahati tough questions, it was clear that he had little but his own propaganda to go on—as well as a bit of a persecution complex. At one bizarre moment, after Maddow asked about the fate of gays and lesbians in the country should the bill pass he told her that he was “not a Hitler, Saddam Hussein, or Idi Amin.”
“I’m just a simple young man who lost both parents at the age of three years, grew up as an orphan, I have a passion for children and this is what is really motivating me. I am a God fearing person. I want to make sure this law is consistent with God’s law.”
Perhaps he doesn’t know what gays and lesbians will do if this bill becomes law, and perhaps he doesn’t care, but it’s clear he’s tired of being attacked for supporting something he sees as “God’s law.” He even took issue with Maddow when she referred to the death penalty part of the bill as “execution” but later continued to clearly advocate for such a measure:
“God’s law is always clear that the wages of sin is death whether that is implemented through legislation like mine or by a mechanism of a human being whatever happen is the end result that we need to turn to God if we have sinned.”
What makes me almost sorry for Bahati is how sincerely he believes his own propaganda, even pleading at one point with Maddow for people outside of Uganda to respect their laws and opinions just as they respect the laws and opinions of others.
But, when lives are on the line, and lies are being told to terrorize and perhaps euthanize an entire minority within a country, the law and opinions of the country pursuing such actions cannot simply be “respected.” This is what Bahati doesn’t understand. He’s proposing a law that has the potential to put many people to death—and even if that clause is removed, as Bahati says he’s open to—it would still sentence many people to life in prison for something that they simply are, not that they were “recruited” into. In addition, how does one prove that a person is engaged in homosexuality other than catching them in the act? It seems that the law could be abused further and used to imprison those falsely accused.
There is no way to “respect” that kind of law or opinion, no matter how sincere the motivation behind it. That doesn’t mean that Bahati should be attacked as promoting hatred for gay people. He sincerely does not see his actions as motivated by hatred; and to use my dad’s old phrase, “He’s sincere, but he’s sincerely wrong.” He has been so blinded by propaganda against gays and lesbians that he is unable to see any other side. Many religious right figures in the U.S., including The Call’s Lou Engle and former American Family Association leader Scott Lively, who have traveled to Uganda to fan the anti-gay flames, have convinced people like Bahati that they are doing God’s work, even if it means that people will die.
What gives me hope is that, unlike homosexuality, bigotry is a learned behavior that can be unlearned.
MP Bahati ordered out of USA
Written by URN Reporter
Friday, 10 December 2010 06:12
Ndorwa West MP, David Bahati, who authored the Anti- Homosexual Bill in Uganda, calling for the death sentence of gays and their allies, has been ordered out of the United States of America.
Bahati obtained a single event visa to the USA to attend the International Consortium of Governmental Financial Management conference.
But on Tuesday he was denied entry into the conference venue, despite the fact that other MPs from Uganda had been allowed to participate.
The conference organizers cited the fact that they would not associate themselves with the author of what became known as the Kill Gays Bill, officially The Anti-Homosexual Bill; which Bahati hopes will pass.
Reports from the US state that Bahati, who was taped for Thursday’s Rachel Maddow TV Show, was told to get out of the USA by the authorities Thursday.
Bahati who had planned on staying in the USA and to leave over the weekend, was asked to leave right away by department of State officials.
The US authorities informed Bahati that he was no longer welcome and nor was he legally entitled to remain in the USA. He was put on a plane for Paris and is probably on his way back home.
A large group of activists were planning to protest today - Friday. But now that Bahati has left , the protests have been called off and the activists assert they are happy he is gone.
Friday, 10 December 2010 06:12
Ndorwa West MP, David Bahati, who authored the Anti- Homosexual Bill in Uganda, calling for the death sentence of gays and their allies, has been ordered out of the United States of America.
Bahati obtained a single event visa to the USA to attend the International Consortium of Governmental Financial Management conference.
But on Tuesday he was denied entry into the conference venue, despite the fact that other MPs from Uganda had been allowed to participate.
The conference organizers cited the fact that they would not associate themselves with the author of what became known as the Kill Gays Bill, officially The Anti-Homosexual Bill; which Bahati hopes will pass.
Reports from the US state that Bahati, who was taped for Thursday’s Rachel Maddow TV Show, was told to get out of the USA by the authorities Thursday.
Bahati who had planned on staying in the USA and to leave over the weekend, was asked to leave right away by department of State officials.
The US authorities informed Bahati that he was no longer welcome and nor was he legally entitled to remain in the USA. He was put on a plane for Paris and is probably on his way back home.
A large group of activists were planning to protest today - Friday. But now that Bahati has left , the protests have been called off and the activists assert they are happy he is gone.
Buturo blocks documentary
By Andrew Bagala
Kampala
Ethics Minister James Nsaba Buturo yesterday blocked the showing of a documentary, saying the organisers wanted to indoctrinate the youth on homosexuality.
The programme was organised by United Nation Human Rights office of the High Commissioner (UNHR), Uganda Human Rights Commission and Human Rights Centre Uganda at the National Theatre. But when organisers arrived at the theatre, it was locked.
The UNHR representative in Uganda, Ms Birgit Gerstenberg, described the ban as a pity but said they were intending to meet Mr Buturo over the issue today. The show was aimed at highlighting what human rights defenders go through while stopping discrimination in Uganda.
Mr Buturo told Daily Monitor that the organisers refused to delete homosexual contents in the documentary. “Some people are determined to change the morals of our country and are using all tactics. We shall put up resistance because Uganda doesn’t believe in homosexuality,” he said, adding that 40 pupils were invited to watch the documentary.
“This is terrible. I told those people to shut up because they are supposed to defend our country,” Mr Buturo said.
Kampala
Ethics Minister James Nsaba Buturo yesterday blocked the showing of a documentary, saying the organisers wanted to indoctrinate the youth on homosexuality.
The programme was organised by United Nation Human Rights office of the High Commissioner (UNHR), Uganda Human Rights Commission and Human Rights Centre Uganda at the National Theatre. But when organisers arrived at the theatre, it was locked.
The UNHR representative in Uganda, Ms Birgit Gerstenberg, described the ban as a pity but said they were intending to meet Mr Buturo over the issue today. The show was aimed at highlighting what human rights defenders go through while stopping discrimination in Uganda.
Mr Buturo told Daily Monitor that the organisers refused to delete homosexual contents in the documentary. “Some people are determined to change the morals of our country and are using all tactics. We shall put up resistance because Uganda doesn’t believe in homosexuality,” he said, adding that 40 pupils were invited to watch the documentary.
“This is terrible. I told those people to shut up because they are supposed to defend our country,” Mr Buturo said.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Anti-Homosexual MP from Uganda, David Bahati Booted out of USA
Melanie Nathan – Dec 09-2010 Bye- Bye Bahati. Sources have informed LGR that David Bahati ,who was taped for yesterday and today’s Rachel Maddow Show, was told to get out of the USA by authorities Thursday.
Bahati had planned on staying in the USA; he could leave over the weekend, but he was asked to leave right away by Department of State officials. He had been banned and refused entry to the conference which was the basis for his his single event VISA to enter the USA. When he showed up for the Conference he was asked by Organizers to leave and refused entry, despite the fact that other MP’s from Uganda had been allowed to participate.
The organizers cited the fact that they would not associate themselves with the Author of what became known as the Kill Gays Bill, officially The Anti-Homosexual Bill; which Bahati hopes will pass in Uganda in the Spring.
Authorities informed Bahati that he was no longer welcome and nor was he legally entitled to remain in the USA. He was put on a plane for Paris and is probably in the sky as we speak. So while you are watching him on Maddow, he is gone! A large group of activists were planning to protest tomorrow. However now that he is gone – protests have been called off and the activists assert they are happy he is gone.
Now perhaps our protests will be with our US dollars. Did you know that we use a great deal of Ugandan coffee. Nest time you are in Starbucks ask what Coffeee they use.
GOOD MORNING UGANDA
By the way Dear – Ugandan Readers – we love the people of Uganda – I have two beautiful children and I am a lesbian – I will never hurt my children or yours. American society accepts me, its only the fringe like the Fellowship that Bahati Belongs to that put out false information about people like me. None of it is true. Bahati spent the entire say shopping in the most expensive part of DC USA today. Whose money is he using. Do not vote for BAHATI he is spending your money on luxury in the USA. If the anti homosexual bill passes, I expect Uganda will be isolated by the International community and it will loose all friends. Because Bahati says that Gay people have no human rights. That is against the International Declaration of Human Rights
Bahati had planned on staying in the USA; he could leave over the weekend, but he was asked to leave right away by Department of State officials. He had been banned and refused entry to the conference which was the basis for his his single event VISA to enter the USA. When he showed up for the Conference he was asked by Organizers to leave and refused entry, despite the fact that other MP’s from Uganda had been allowed to participate.
The organizers cited the fact that they would not associate themselves with the Author of what became known as the Kill Gays Bill, officially The Anti-Homosexual Bill; which Bahati hopes will pass in Uganda in the Spring.
Authorities informed Bahati that he was no longer welcome and nor was he legally entitled to remain in the USA. He was put on a plane for Paris and is probably in the sky as we speak. So while you are watching him on Maddow, he is gone! A large group of activists were planning to protest tomorrow. However now that he is gone – protests have been called off and the activists assert they are happy he is gone.
Now perhaps our protests will be with our US dollars. Did you know that we use a great deal of Ugandan coffee. Nest time you are in Starbucks ask what Coffeee they use.
GOOD MORNING UGANDA
By the way Dear – Ugandan Readers – we love the people of Uganda – I have two beautiful children and I am a lesbian – I will never hurt my children or yours. American society accepts me, its only the fringe like the Fellowship that Bahati Belongs to that put out false information about people like me. None of it is true. Bahati spent the entire say shopping in the most expensive part of DC USA today. Whose money is he using. Do not vote for BAHATI he is spending your money on luxury in the USA. If the anti homosexual bill passes, I expect Uganda will be isolated by the International community and it will loose all friends. Because Bahati says that Gay people have no human rights. That is against the International Declaration of Human Rights
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
College Student Assaulted for Using the “Wrong” Bathroom
by Jordan Rubenstein November 26, 2010 12:15 PM
Figuring out which bathroom to use is often a difficult problem for transgender people. Gender-specific bathrooms are sometimes unsafe for transgender people, who can face harassment regardless of which bathroom they use.
On a college level, more and more universities are installing gender-neutral bathroom facilities, in an attempt to make life safer for transgender students. But that certainly isn’t the case for Michelle Rayner, a student at St. Thomas University in New Brunswick, Canada.
Rayner is a female, but he identifies as transgender and often passes as a guy. He has been carded in public bathrooms and treated with disrespect because of his gender presentation. And he’s found that using the bathroom on campus is just as troubling and dangerous as it is off campus.
One particular incident solidified the need for the university to address transgender bathroom access. Recently, Rayner was called a “faggot” and punched in the lower lip in a women’s bathroom after class.
Some may ask: why was Rayner in the women’s bathroom if he’s coming out as transgender? This question implies that society should be able to enforce specific gendered bathroom use on a transgender person, without regard for their own preferences or safety. Rayner is a female; why shouldn’t he be able to use a women’s bathroom?
Rayner said: “It simply comes down to a basic question of safety rather than which gender I identify with... by having washrooms clearly marked by gender lines it becomes a safety issue for those who fall between.”
Transgender people -- including Rayner -- have a right to equal, safe access to bathrooms. St. Thomas University should ensure that they have safe bathrooms for transgender students by making some of their bathrooms gender-neutral. Please ask St. Thomas University to take action to prevent future harassment against transgender students by educating students on transgender issues and improving the restroom options.
Photo credit: Gregg O'Connell
Figuring out which bathroom to use is often a difficult problem for transgender people. Gender-specific bathrooms are sometimes unsafe for transgender people, who can face harassment regardless of which bathroom they use.
On a college level, more and more universities are installing gender-neutral bathroom facilities, in an attempt to make life safer for transgender students. But that certainly isn’t the case for Michelle Rayner, a student at St. Thomas University in New Brunswick, Canada.
Rayner is a female, but he identifies as transgender and often passes as a guy. He has been carded in public bathrooms and treated with disrespect because of his gender presentation. And he’s found that using the bathroom on campus is just as troubling and dangerous as it is off campus.
One particular incident solidified the need for the university to address transgender bathroom access. Recently, Rayner was called a “faggot” and punched in the lower lip in a women’s bathroom after class.
Some may ask: why was Rayner in the women’s bathroom if he’s coming out as transgender? This question implies that society should be able to enforce specific gendered bathroom use on a transgender person, without regard for their own preferences or safety. Rayner is a female; why shouldn’t he be able to use a women’s bathroom?
Rayner said: “It simply comes down to a basic question of safety rather than which gender I identify with... by having washrooms clearly marked by gender lines it becomes a safety issue for those who fall between.”
Transgender people -- including Rayner -- have a right to equal, safe access to bathrooms. St. Thomas University should ensure that they have safe bathrooms for transgender students by making some of their bathrooms gender-neutral. Please ask St. Thomas University to take action to prevent future harassment against transgender students by educating students on transgender issues and improving the restroom options.
Photo credit: Gregg O'Connell
KENYA'S PRIME MINISTER SAYS GAY SHOULD BE ARRESTED
Kenya's Prime Minister Raila Odinga has told a large crowd in Nairobi that gays and lesbian should be arrested.
"Any man found engaging in sexual activities with another man should be arrested," he was quoted as saying at a rally on Sunday.
"This kind of behaviour will not be tolerated in this country. Men or women found engaging in those acts deserve to be arrested and will be arrested."
His comments were reportedly greeted with approval by the crowd.
Odinga, who assumed office in 2008, also denied suggestions that the country's newly adopted constitution supports LGBT equality.
"Those were lies from leaders who wanted to confuse Kenyans to reject the new law. The Constitution is very clear on that matter. It does not state anywhere that same sex marriage is legal in Kenya," he said.
Last month, the country’s Special Programmes Minister, Esther Murugi, said that Kenyans should learn to co-exist with gay men.
“We need to learn to live with men who have sex with other men… we are in the 21st century and things have changed,” she told delegates at an HIV/AIDS conference.
Her statement led to religions leaders calling for her to be sacked.
Homosexuality, referred to as "carnal knowledge against the order of nature", is illegal in Kenya with penalties of up to 14 years' imprisonment.
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URL: www.faruganda.org
"Any man found engaging in sexual activities with another man should be arrested," he was quoted as saying at a rally on Sunday.
"This kind of behaviour will not be tolerated in this country. Men or women found engaging in those acts deserve to be arrested and will be arrested."
His comments were reportedly greeted with approval by the crowd.
Odinga, who assumed office in 2008, also denied suggestions that the country's newly adopted constitution supports LGBT equality.
"Those were lies from leaders who wanted to confuse Kenyans to reject the new law. The Constitution is very clear on that matter. It does not state anywhere that same sex marriage is legal in Kenya," he said.
Last month, the country’s Special Programmes Minister, Esther Murugi, said that Kenyans should learn to co-exist with gay men.
“We need to learn to live with men who have sex with other men… we are in the 21st century and things have changed,” she told delegates at an HIV/AIDS conference.
Her statement led to religions leaders calling for her to be sacked.
Homosexuality, referred to as "carnal knowledge against the order of nature", is illegal in Kenya with penalties of up to 14 years' imprisonment.
--
COMMUNICATIONS DESK
Freedom and Roam Uganda
Tel:+256(0) 31229 4863
Hotline: +256 (0) 771840 233
URL: www.faruganda.org
Monday, December 6, 2010
Gays petition Clinton to stop Bahati
By Risdel Kasasira (email the author)
Send Cancel
Posted Monday, December 6 2010 at 00:00
Kampala
Gay activists have petitioned US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to stop Ndorwa West MP David Bahati from attending a conference in Washington.
In a statement issued yesterday on Lez Get Real website, gays said Mr Bahati should not be allowed to enter the US because of his anti-homosexuality bill that seeks life imprisonment, and in certain cases, death by hanging for homosexuals.
“…As it is within the Secretary of State’s lawful discretion to deny entry to the United States to any person who represents a threat to internal security and orderly administration, it is our respectful request that Mr Bahati be denied permission to enter the United States, and that a visa for that purpose, if already issued, be withdrawn,” the statement said.
Convening tomorrow
Mr Bahati and five other MPs are scheduled to attend a financial management conference of practitioners in the US starting tomorrow. The gays also want to demonstrate at the venue of the meeting to show their distaste of the Bill and Mr Bahati. But Mr Bahati said he would continue with his trip.
“I know US as a defender of democracy in the world and can differentiate between the efforts of a legislator in a democratic parliament from acts of dictatorship,” he said. Unlike other MPs, the American mission in Kampala gave him a single-entry visa specifically for the event.
COMMUNICATIONS DESK
Freedom and Roam Uganda
Tel:+256(0) 31229 4863
Hotline: +256 (0) 771840 233
URL: www.faruganda.org
Send Cancel
Posted Monday, December 6 2010 at 00:00
Kampala
Gay activists have petitioned US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to stop Ndorwa West MP David Bahati from attending a conference in Washington.
In a statement issued yesterday on Lez Get Real website, gays said Mr Bahati should not be allowed to enter the US because of his anti-homosexuality bill that seeks life imprisonment, and in certain cases, death by hanging for homosexuals.
“…As it is within the Secretary of State’s lawful discretion to deny entry to the United States to any person who represents a threat to internal security and orderly administration, it is our respectful request that Mr Bahati be denied permission to enter the United States, and that a visa for that purpose, if already issued, be withdrawn,” the statement said.
Convening tomorrow
Mr Bahati and five other MPs are scheduled to attend a financial management conference of practitioners in the US starting tomorrow. The gays also want to demonstrate at the venue of the meeting to show their distaste of the Bill and Mr Bahati. But Mr Bahati said he would continue with his trip.
“I know US as a defender of democracy in the world and can differentiate between the efforts of a legislator in a democratic parliament from acts of dictatorship,” he said. Unlike other MPs, the American mission in Kampala gave him a single-entry visa specifically for the event.
COMMUNICATIONS DESK
Freedom and Roam Uganda
Tel:+256(0) 31229 4863
Hotline: +256 (0) 771840 233
URL: www.faruganda.org
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Report from the African Commission on Human and people’s Rights
Banjul
24 years after its inception, the African Commission on Human and People’s rights had its 48th 0rdinary session in Banjul the Gambia on 10th November 2010. The commission was started in October 1986.
The countries under review in this session were the Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar.
As is the custom, the NGO forum took place before the commission, starting 7th to 9th November 2010.
The issue of denying the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL) observer status at the commission was the most contentious issue with NGOs demanding an explanation from the commission for their decision. In line with this, a demonstration by African LGBTI activists was held on 8th at the forum, this prompted the forum to give five minutes of their time for the activists to make their case. It is within this time that Fikile Vilakazi and Kasha Jacqueline asked for the continued support of the NGO forum to the LGBTI community in Africa – it should be noted that this forum has been supportive and provided space for dialogue on LGBTI issues.
Ironically some people were still asking about procreation in the context of same sex relations with someone suggesting that since LGBT issues are so un-African, they (LGBT) should be shipped to Europe where it all came from.
On the morning of November 9th 2010, there was a meeting to discuss how best the LGBTI people of Africa could benefit from the newly formed HIV/AIDS working group at the commission. This meeting was attended by Commissioner Malila who is also the focal point for Uganda at the ACHPR and is one of the three commissioners on this working group.
This working group was established to bring HIV/AIDS to the fore at the ACHPR hence we wanted to find ways of maximizing benefits to the LGBT community from this working group and it was agreed that we come up with a working paper which we will use to initiated dialogue with the commissioners and committee members on this working group.
A taskforce was formed to draft a document and work plan for dealing with the working group and a list serve was started for consultations around this document.
The NGO steering committee on 9th November 2010 decided against homophobia and homophobic attacks in response to repeated attacks from some individuals on the flour. A copy of the code of conduct of the NGO forum will now be given to every participant to ensure that participants are respectful of others and diversity.
On 10th November 2010, the 48th ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights was opened by the chairperson commissioner Gansur Alapini in the presence of the attorney general of the Gambia and several government and NGO representatives from all over Africa. The NGO report was read and it twice mentioned LGBT issues.
The NGO report indicated that the NGO forum had passed a couple of resolutions which included resolutions on children, disability, death penalty, freedom of association, human rights defenders, indigenous people, torture prevention, refugees, sexual orientation, African court and the SADC tribunal.
Meddy Kagwa of the Uganda Human Rights Commission represented national Human Rights organizations but said nothing about LGBT issues.
Hon. Freddie Ruhindi represented the Ugandan government and tried rather unconvincingly to defend the government actions in different aspects.
As far as NGO statements are concerned, almost all of them stated their disappointment at the commission’s refusal to grant the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL) observer status without giving any reason. It overwhelming support for LGBT people from the NGOs.
A book about LGBT issues and suffering in Cameroon was launched on 11th November 2010.
On 12th November 2010, there was a ceremony to Commemorate of 30 years of the African Charter on Human and Peoples rights which came into effect in 1970.
There after it was straight to private sessions.
From Banjul the Gambia, aluta continua.
Prepared by Dennis Wamala
Icebreakers Uganda
24 years after its inception, the African Commission on Human and People’s rights had its 48th 0rdinary session in Banjul the Gambia on 10th November 2010. The commission was started in October 1986.
The countries under review in this session were the Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar.
As is the custom, the NGO forum took place before the commission, starting 7th to 9th November 2010.
The issue of denying the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL) observer status at the commission was the most contentious issue with NGOs demanding an explanation from the commission for their decision. In line with this, a demonstration by African LGBTI activists was held on 8th at the forum, this prompted the forum to give five minutes of their time for the activists to make their case. It is within this time that Fikile Vilakazi and Kasha Jacqueline asked for the continued support of the NGO forum to the LGBTI community in Africa – it should be noted that this forum has been supportive and provided space for dialogue on LGBTI issues.
Ironically some people were still asking about procreation in the context of same sex relations with someone suggesting that since LGBT issues are so un-African, they (LGBT) should be shipped to Europe where it all came from.
On the morning of November 9th 2010, there was a meeting to discuss how best the LGBTI people of Africa could benefit from the newly formed HIV/AIDS working group at the commission. This meeting was attended by Commissioner Malila who is also the focal point for Uganda at the ACHPR and is one of the three commissioners on this working group.
This working group was established to bring HIV/AIDS to the fore at the ACHPR hence we wanted to find ways of maximizing benefits to the LGBT community from this working group and it was agreed that we come up with a working paper which we will use to initiated dialogue with the commissioners and committee members on this working group.
A taskforce was formed to draft a document and work plan for dealing with the working group and a list serve was started for consultations around this document.
The NGO steering committee on 9th November 2010 decided against homophobia and homophobic attacks in response to repeated attacks from some individuals on the flour. A copy of the code of conduct of the NGO forum will now be given to every participant to ensure that participants are respectful of others and diversity.
On 10th November 2010, the 48th ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights was opened by the chairperson commissioner Gansur Alapini in the presence of the attorney general of the Gambia and several government and NGO representatives from all over Africa. The NGO report was read and it twice mentioned LGBT issues.
The NGO report indicated that the NGO forum had passed a couple of resolutions which included resolutions on children, disability, death penalty, freedom of association, human rights defenders, indigenous people, torture prevention, refugees, sexual orientation, African court and the SADC tribunal.
Meddy Kagwa of the Uganda Human Rights Commission represented national Human Rights organizations but said nothing about LGBT issues.
Hon. Freddie Ruhindi represented the Ugandan government and tried rather unconvincingly to defend the government actions in different aspects.
As far as NGO statements are concerned, almost all of them stated their disappointment at the commission’s refusal to grant the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL) observer status without giving any reason. It overwhelming support for LGBT people from the NGOs.
A book about LGBT issues and suffering in Cameroon was launched on 11th November 2010.
On 12th November 2010, there was a ceremony to Commemorate of 30 years of the African Charter on Human and Peoples rights which came into effect in 1970.
There after it was straight to private sessions.
From Banjul the Gambia, aluta continua.
Prepared by Dennis Wamala
Icebreakers Uganda
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Uganda's Rolling Stone paper told to stop outing gays
Man holding copy of the Rolling Stone The two-month-old newspaper says it will continue printing the photos in a "diplomatic" way
A judge in Uganda has ordered the local Rolling Stone newspaper to stop publishing the names and photographs of people it says are homosexual.
The judge granted a request by gay rights group Sexual Minorities Uganda (Smug).
The group says some homosexual people were attacked after a previous issue.
Homosexual acts are illegal in Uganda but last year an MP introduced a bill which would mean some gay people could face the death penalty.
Continue reading the main story
Related stories
* Outed gay Ugandans 'are attacked'
* Petition opposes Uganda gay bill
Giles Muhame, editor of the two-month-old Rolling Stone paper, told the AFP news agency that he would defy the ban.
"We will publish more pictures but in a diplomatic way, so that we can dodge the law," he said.
He says he is trying to protect Ugandans from those seeking to "recruit children to homosexuality".
On Monday, it published a further 14 names and photographs, after saying last month it would reveal 100 homosexual Ugandans.
Fifteen names were identified last month, next to a headline which read: "Hang them".
High Court judge Vincent Musoke-Kibuuka said the publication was "an infringement or invasion of the right to privacy" of those identified, AFP reports.
Smug said several of its members were attacked or harassed after the first issue.
The group's Frank Mugisha said one woman was almost killed after her neighbours started throwing stones at her house.
The proposed Anti-homosexuality Bill sparked an international outcry after it was introduced to Uganda's parliament a year ago.
It has not been formally debated, amid reports the government is trying to quietly get it shelved.
Man holding copy of the Rolling Stone The two-month-old newspaper says it will continue printing the photos in a "diplomatic" way
A judge in Uganda has ordered the local Rolling Stone newspaper to stop publishing the names and photographs of people it says are homosexual.
The judge granted a request by gay rights group Sexual Minorities Uganda (Smug).
The group says some homosexual people were attacked after a previous issue.
Homosexual acts are illegal in Uganda but last year an MP introduced a bill which would mean some gay people could face the death penalty.
Continue reading the main story
Related stories
* Outed gay Ugandans 'are attacked'
* Petition opposes Uganda gay bill
Giles Muhame, editor of the two-month-old Rolling Stone paper, told the AFP news agency that he would defy the ban.
"We will publish more pictures but in a diplomatic way, so that we can dodge the law," he said.
He says he is trying to protect Ugandans from those seeking to "recruit children to homosexuality".
On Monday, it published a further 14 names and photographs, after saying last month it would reveal 100 homosexual Ugandans.
Fifteen names were identified last month, next to a headline which read: "Hang them".
High Court judge Vincent Musoke-Kibuuka said the publication was "an infringement or invasion of the right to privacy" of those identified, AFP reports.
Smug said several of its members were attacked or harassed after the first issue.
The group's Frank Mugisha said one woman was almost killed after her neighbours started throwing stones at her house.
The proposed Anti-homosexuality Bill sparked an international outcry after it was introduced to Uganda's parliament a year ago.
It has not been formally debated, amid reports the government is trying to quietly get it shelved.
Rollingstone Court update
Since it first published names, addresses and pictures of people it perceived as homosexuals in Uganda, many people have been hurt physically and emotionally.
It is against this background and many more publications in the redpepper, the onion, etc that three individuals (names withheld) decided to sue the rolling stone in miscellaneous cause 163/2010 before Justice Kibuuka Musoke.
After apologizing for the delay in listening to this case (he said he gave a time and date before looking at his schedule hence he postponed the hearing from 10 AM on 01/11/2010 to 3 PM on the same date).
The court found that the newspaper breached the right to privacy of the individuals named and shown and that it had (the court) to intervene immediately or else these individuals might suffer physical or emotional harm.
The court also found that if it did not act immediately, this publication might continue with this very disastrous act (the Judge was afraid that anyone including himself can be implicated in the press as being homosexual).
The court found that even if someone is actually a confessed homosexual, they should not be published in the press as this.
Hence the court allowed application 163/2010 and gave a restraining order for ROLLING STONE or any other publications by the respondents , their agents or servants, the identities by name or pictures or any relevant implication of the person or person perceived by the respondents to be gay, lesbian or homosexual in general from being published.
This order stands until the case is disposed off. Hearing is scheduled for 23rd November 2010 at 9 AM.
The court decided that the respondents pay costs for the injunction.
Till 23rd November 2010
Wamala Dennis Mawwejje
It is against this background and many more publications in the redpepper, the onion, etc that three individuals (names withheld) decided to sue the rolling stone in miscellaneous cause 163/2010 before Justice Kibuuka Musoke.
After apologizing for the delay in listening to this case (he said he gave a time and date before looking at his schedule hence he postponed the hearing from 10 AM on 01/11/2010 to 3 PM on the same date).
The court found that the newspaper breached the right to privacy of the individuals named and shown and that it had (the court) to intervene immediately or else these individuals might suffer physical or emotional harm.
The court also found that if it did not act immediately, this publication might continue with this very disastrous act (the Judge was afraid that anyone including himself can be implicated in the press as being homosexual).
The court found that even if someone is actually a confessed homosexual, they should not be published in the press as this.
Hence the court allowed application 163/2010 and gave a restraining order for ROLLING STONE or any other publications by the respondents , their agents or servants, the identities by name or pictures or any relevant implication of the person or person perceived by the respondents to be gay, lesbian or homosexual in general from being published.
This order stands until the case is disposed off. Hearing is scheduled for 23rd November 2010 at 9 AM.
The court decided that the respondents pay costs for the injunction.
Till 23rd November 2010
Wamala Dennis Mawwejje
Does Oral Roberts University Support Killing Gays in Uganda?
Does Oral Roberts University Support Killing Gays in Uganda?
by Michael A. Jones
You've probably heard of Oral Roberts University before. The school, located in Oklahoma, was founded and named after one of the 20th century's most prominent evangelical leaders. Back in the day, Oral Roberts was a force to be reckoned with, having been one of the first ministers to make it big using television as a form of evangelism. His success led him to found the university in 1963, and though the school has gone through some major financial scandals in recent years, it still boasts a student population of close to 4,000 students.
Given the political beliefs of Roberts himself, it probably doesn't come as much of a surprise that Oral Roberts University's identity is closely wrapped up in social conservatism. Students are required to attend religious services at least twice a week, and there are chaplains for each floor of on-campus housing. Roberts himself used to say that he was told by God to build the school.
"Raise up your students to hear my voice, to go where my light is seen dim, where my voice is heard small, and my healing power is not known, even to the uttermost bounds of the earth. Their work will exceed yours, and in that I am well pleased," Roberts documented as the message he received from on High.
Of course, one has to wonder if the God that Oral Roberts was speaking to would be pleased today, given that Oral Roberts University champions a minister in Uganda who wants to slaughter LGBT people. That minister? His name is Martin Ssempa, and he's one of the leading pastors in Uganda pushing the country to enact a harsh Anti-Homosexuality Bill that would criminalize homosexuality with life prison sentences, and in many cases, the death penalty.
Oral Roberts University recognizes Pastor Ssempa as a member of the school's Board of Reference. The position seems rather symbolic, but those who are recognized as members of the Board of Reference are considered by Oral Roberts University to be among the most influential and respectable figures in the world. These are folks who help spread word about Oral Roberts University, and according to a school spokesperson, are used "for the purpose of credibility, for reputation, and for influence."
It's kind of odd, to say the least, that Oral Roberts University would want their reputation tied to a man like Martin Ssempa. Here is a person who advocates violence against LGBT people in Uganda. A person who shows pornographic images to families and even children, in order to stir outrage over homosexuality. A person who travels from community to community in Uganda arguing that homosexuality is an import from the west, and that anybody who is gay should be murdered or jailed. And a person who is pastor to the editor of a local paper, Rolling Stone, which continues to publish the names, faces and locations of people they believe are LGBT, with a call for these people to be hung.
Now that's some figure to have on your Board of Reference, Oral Roberts University.
Ssempa's work to demonize LGBT people has been condemned by many religious organizations, including some of his former partners. Pastor Rick Warren has distanced himself from Ssempa for the work Ssempa is doing to harm LGBT people. The Philadelphia Biblical University, which had previously awarded Ssempa an honorary degree, also blasted his anti-gay work as dangerous and harmful. And one Las Vegas megachurch, Canyon Ridge Christian Church, has continued to come under fire for their financial support of Martin Ssempa. Recently, they too have expressed concern about Ssempa's work.
That's a lot of international condemnation for the work of Pastor Ssempa. Yet Oral Roberts University continues to celebrate the guy. Reached earlier this year to comment on why they have someone like Ssempa on their Board of Reference, the university issued nothing but deafening silence.
Let's fix that. Send Oral Roberts University a message that by having someone like Martin Ssempa on a prominent university board, the school is sending a message that it supports his work to criminalize homosexuality in Uganda, and murder and imprison LGBT people. Ssempa has been completely transparent about what he wants to accomplish: he wants to see police round up LGBT people, he wants to see community members report people who are LGBT, and he wants to see straight people who support gay rights punished.
Now let's see if Oral Roberts University can be transparent. Will they condemn the work of Martin Ssempa, and remove him from their Board of Reference? Or will they lend credence, and their name, to the work that Ssempa is doing in Uganda to imprison and/or kill gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people?
by Michael A. Jones
You've probably heard of Oral Roberts University before. The school, located in Oklahoma, was founded and named after one of the 20th century's most prominent evangelical leaders. Back in the day, Oral Roberts was a force to be reckoned with, having been one of the first ministers to make it big using television as a form of evangelism. His success led him to found the university in 1963, and though the school has gone through some major financial scandals in recent years, it still boasts a student population of close to 4,000 students.
Given the political beliefs of Roberts himself, it probably doesn't come as much of a surprise that Oral Roberts University's identity is closely wrapped up in social conservatism. Students are required to attend religious services at least twice a week, and there are chaplains for each floor of on-campus housing. Roberts himself used to say that he was told by God to build the school.
"Raise up your students to hear my voice, to go where my light is seen dim, where my voice is heard small, and my healing power is not known, even to the uttermost bounds of the earth. Their work will exceed yours, and in that I am well pleased," Roberts documented as the message he received from on High.
Of course, one has to wonder if the God that Oral Roberts was speaking to would be pleased today, given that Oral Roberts University champions a minister in Uganda who wants to slaughter LGBT people. That minister? His name is Martin Ssempa, and he's one of the leading pastors in Uganda pushing the country to enact a harsh Anti-Homosexuality Bill that would criminalize homosexuality with life prison sentences, and in many cases, the death penalty.
Oral Roberts University recognizes Pastor Ssempa as a member of the school's Board of Reference. The position seems rather symbolic, but those who are recognized as members of the Board of Reference are considered by Oral Roberts University to be among the most influential and respectable figures in the world. These are folks who help spread word about Oral Roberts University, and according to a school spokesperson, are used "for the purpose of credibility, for reputation, and for influence."
It's kind of odd, to say the least, that Oral Roberts University would want their reputation tied to a man like Martin Ssempa. Here is a person who advocates violence against LGBT people in Uganda. A person who shows pornographic images to families and even children, in order to stir outrage over homosexuality. A person who travels from community to community in Uganda arguing that homosexuality is an import from the west, and that anybody who is gay should be murdered or jailed. And a person who is pastor to the editor of a local paper, Rolling Stone, which continues to publish the names, faces and locations of people they believe are LGBT, with a call for these people to be hung.
Now that's some figure to have on your Board of Reference, Oral Roberts University.
Ssempa's work to demonize LGBT people has been condemned by many religious organizations, including some of his former partners. Pastor Rick Warren has distanced himself from Ssempa for the work Ssempa is doing to harm LGBT people. The Philadelphia Biblical University, which had previously awarded Ssempa an honorary degree, also blasted his anti-gay work as dangerous and harmful. And one Las Vegas megachurch, Canyon Ridge Christian Church, has continued to come under fire for their financial support of Martin Ssempa. Recently, they too have expressed concern about Ssempa's work.
That's a lot of international condemnation for the work of Pastor Ssempa. Yet Oral Roberts University continues to celebrate the guy. Reached earlier this year to comment on why they have someone like Ssempa on their Board of Reference, the university issued nothing but deafening silence.
Let's fix that. Send Oral Roberts University a message that by having someone like Martin Ssempa on a prominent university board, the school is sending a message that it supports his work to criminalize homosexuality in Uganda, and murder and imprison LGBT people. Ssempa has been completely transparent about what he wants to accomplish: he wants to see police round up LGBT people, he wants to see community members report people who are LGBT, and he wants to see straight people who support gay rights punished.
Now let's see if Oral Roberts University can be transparent. Will they condemn the work of Martin Ssempa, and remove him from their Board of Reference? Or will they lend credence, and their name, to the work that Ssempa is doing in Uganda to imprison and/or kill gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people?
Monday, October 25, 2010
Statement: Canyon Ridge Christian Church does not support efforts to pass Anti-Homosexuality Bill
Posted on October 24th, 2010 by Warren Throckmorton
This afternoon, Mitch Harrison at Canyon Ridge Christian Church sent me a statement about church support for Martin Ssempa. The statement, in full, reads:
Canyon Ridge Christian Church began work in Uganda with the intent of helping address the HIV/AIDS pandemic that was wiping out generations of people in that country and other parts of Africa. Our partnership with Pastor Martin Ssempa began in response to this intent.
Because of the current controversy in Uganda over the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, and because of Pastor Ssempa’s involvement in the support of the bill, we have been in regular communication with him to clarify his positions and opinions. While we have come to understand that Pastor Ssempa advocates for an amended version of the Anti-Homosexuality bill that removes the death penalty and reduces other severe penalties, he is still supports passage of this bill.
We, however, do not support him in this effort.
We are in the process of determining how we can redirect our support in Uganda to activities specifically related to addressing HIV/AIDS issues.
Further, we condemn acts of violence against any person regardless of sexual orientation.
Our desire is to see God’s purposes lived out in Uganda, and for the redemption and abundant life he gives to be experienced by everyone.
While CRCC is not directly acknowledging the errors in their earlier statement (still up but probably not for long), they do so implicitly by condemning acts of violence which the AHB would lead to and which has been recently incited by Uganda’s Rolling Stone.
Background for this story is here, here, here, here, and here (all of my articles at Salon.com)
UPDATE: CRCC has replaced their former statement with the one above on their website. The Ssempas are no longer referenced as mission partners but rather a link to this statement has replaced their page. The former page is archived here (page 1, page 2, page 3).
This afternoon, Mitch Harrison at Canyon Ridge Christian Church sent me a statement about church support for Martin Ssempa. The statement, in full, reads:
Canyon Ridge Christian Church began work in Uganda with the intent of helping address the HIV/AIDS pandemic that was wiping out generations of people in that country and other parts of Africa. Our partnership with Pastor Martin Ssempa began in response to this intent.
Because of the current controversy in Uganda over the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, and because of Pastor Ssempa’s involvement in the support of the bill, we have been in regular communication with him to clarify his positions and opinions. While we have come to understand that Pastor Ssempa advocates for an amended version of the Anti-Homosexuality bill that removes the death penalty and reduces other severe penalties, he is still supports passage of this bill.
We, however, do not support him in this effort.
We are in the process of determining how we can redirect our support in Uganda to activities specifically related to addressing HIV/AIDS issues.
Further, we condemn acts of violence against any person regardless of sexual orientation.
Our desire is to see God’s purposes lived out in Uganda, and for the redemption and abundant life he gives to be experienced by everyone.
While CRCC is not directly acknowledging the errors in their earlier statement (still up but probably not for long), they do so implicitly by condemning acts of violence which the AHB would lead to and which has been recently incited by Uganda’s Rolling Stone.
Background for this story is here, here, here, here, and here (all of my articles at Salon.com)
UPDATE: CRCC has replaced their former statement with the one above on their website. The Ssempas are no longer referenced as mission partners but rather a link to this statement has replaced their page. The former page is archived here (page 1, page 2, page 3).
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Attacks reported on Ugandans newspaper 'outed' as gay
BBC REPORT
The Rolling Stone says it will continue to publish the names of homosexuals
Several people have been attacked in Uganda after a local newspaper published their names and photos, saying they were homosexual, an activist has told the BBC.
Frank Mugisha said one woman was almost killed after her neighbours started throwing stones at her house.
He said most of those whose names appeared in Uganda's Rolling Stone paper had been harassed.
Last year, a local MP called for the death penalty for some homosexual acts.
The proposed Anti-homosexuality Bill sparked an international outcry and a year later has not been formally debated by parliament.
Homosexual acts are already illegal in Uganda and activists say the gay community still lives in fear.
"We have got people who have been threatened to be thrown out of work, people who have been threatened by their own family members, who want to throw them out of their own houses," said Mr Mugisha of the Sexual Minorities Uganda.
In the past, the government has accused homosexual groups of using claims of harassment to seek attention and funding, but this was strongly denied by Mr Mugisha.
Moral fabric
Giles Muhame, editor of the two-month-old Rolling Stone paper, denied that he had been inciting violence by publishing the names next to a headline which read "Hang them".
He said he was urging the authorities to investigate and prosecute people "recruiting children to homosexuality", before executing anyone found guilty.
He also said he was acting in the public interest, saying Ugandans did not know to what extent homsexuality was "ravaging the moral fabric of our nation", and he vowed to continue to publish the names and photographs of gay Ugandans.
It has so far identified 15 of the 100 names it said it would reveal.
The BBC's Joshua Mmali in Kampala says a newspaper that was barely known in a country with a poor reading culture, has now grabbed international headlines, while attracting wide condemnation from gay and human rights groups.
Mr Mugisha said he had written to both the Ugandan Media Council and police asking them to take action against the Rolling Stone but had not had any response.
The police said they had not received any formal complaints of any attacks.
The Rolling Stone says it will continue to publish the names of homosexuals
Several people have been attacked in Uganda after a local newspaper published their names and photos, saying they were homosexual, an activist has told the BBC.
Frank Mugisha said one woman was almost killed after her neighbours started throwing stones at her house.
He said most of those whose names appeared in Uganda's Rolling Stone paper had been harassed.
Last year, a local MP called for the death penalty for some homosexual acts.
The proposed Anti-homosexuality Bill sparked an international outcry and a year later has not been formally debated by parliament.
Homosexual acts are already illegal in Uganda and activists say the gay community still lives in fear.
"We have got people who have been threatened to be thrown out of work, people who have been threatened by their own family members, who want to throw them out of their own houses," said Mr Mugisha of the Sexual Minorities Uganda.
In the past, the government has accused homosexual groups of using claims of harassment to seek attention and funding, but this was strongly denied by Mr Mugisha.
Moral fabric
Giles Muhame, editor of the two-month-old Rolling Stone paper, denied that he had been inciting violence by publishing the names next to a headline which read "Hang them".
He said he was urging the authorities to investigate and prosecute people "recruiting children to homosexuality", before executing anyone found guilty.
He also said he was acting in the public interest, saying Ugandans did not know to what extent homsexuality was "ravaging the moral fabric of our nation", and he vowed to continue to publish the names and photographs of gay Ugandans.
It has so far identified 15 of the 100 names it said it would reveal.
The BBC's Joshua Mmali in Kampala says a newspaper that was barely known in a country with a poor reading culture, has now grabbed international headlines, while attracting wide condemnation from gay and human rights groups.
Mr Mugisha said he had written to both the Ugandan Media Council and police asking them to take action against the Rolling Stone but had not had any response.
The police said they had not received any formal complaints of any attacks.
Friday, October 22, 2010
SHAPE UP OR CLOSE SHOP- ANTI GAY TABLOID TOLD
Rolling Stone, a Ugandan Tabloid which recently published images and personal details of alleged top 100 homosexuals in Uganda, has been ordered stop publishing by the Ugandan Media Council which said that it has contravened section 5 of the Press and Journalist Act, prohibiting any publication which improperly infringes on the privacy of an individual or which contains false information.
This, after the newspaper, in its 02 October article “Hang them, they are after our kids” named and shamed alleged homosexuals in the country, following on the footsteps of The Red Pepper, another Ugandan tabloid infamous for previously running the same campaign against Ugandan homosexuals.
In a letter signed by Secretary Paul Mukasa and addressed to The Rolling Stone’s Managing Editor Giles Muhame, the Ugandan Media Council said “The requirements of the law must be adhered to, before you [The editor] can publish a newspaper and orders you to stop publishing The Rolling Stone until all requirements of the law are met.
Meanwhile gay rights activists have strongly condemned the tabloids’ alleged apparent homophobic stance of naming and shaming Ugandan homosexuals saying, “It is disturbing that in Uganda homosexuals continue to be subjected to such degrading and inhumane treatment.”
In a statement endorsed by delegates from all over the world who were attending the 4th Gender and Media Summit in Boksburg, South Africa recently, The Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL) said “The actions of the Rolling Stone tabloid have grossly violated the privacy and dignity of the individuals concerned and therefore violate the constitution of Uganda and various International Human Rights Instruments to which the state of Uganda is subscribed including Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 2 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Banjul Charter) of 1981 and Article 1(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966.”
Article 2 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Banjul Charter) of 1981 states that “every individual shall be entitled to the enjoyment of rights and freedoms recognized and guaranteed in the present charter without distinction of any kind such as race, ethnic group, colour, sex, language, religion, political or any other opinion, national and social origin, fortune, birth or other status.”
CAL further argued that this “outing of homosexuls” is happening in the context of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, tabled on 14, October 2009 in the Ugandan parliament which makes provisions for life imprisonment of homosexual crimes, a death sentence for repeated crimes of homosexuality and about 5 to 7 years in prison for failing to report such crimes to the authorities.
“This Bill is an expression of prejudice, intolerance, discrimination and violence. It has promoted hate speech in churches, schools and the media. It has led to defamation, blackmail, evictions, intimidation, arbitrary arrests and unlawful detention, physical assault, emotional and mental assault of LGBT activists, our families and allies”, Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) said.
A Ugandan source who is also Programmes Coordinator for Kuchus [Homosexuals] Living with HIV/Aids (Kulhas), whose picture was also featured in newspapers said, “When my neighbours saw my picture in the paper, they were furious. They threw stones at me while I was in my house. I was so terrified but somehow I managed to flee my home to safety.”
CAL has called on media regulators to counter the “impunity and detest” in which minority groups are portrayed in media in that continent, particularly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people.
According to media reports the Ugandan tabloid may have obtained some of the photos from Facebook profiles of ordinary LGBT people in Uganda and abroad.
“The sad truth is that most evil in Uganda is done by people who end up never being held accountable for their deeds. The Rolling Stone publication has incited violence against a group of minorities making them seem like less of human beings”, Gerald Sentongo of SMUG.
CAL has welcomed the decision of the Uganda Media Council to stop the operations of the Rolling Stone tabloid in terms of section 5 of the Press and Journalist Act of Uganda.
SMUG has also acknowledged the support from Human Rights Institutions, activists and civil society all over the world for the “enormous” support to the Ugandan LGBTI community and requested for continued support calling for African governments to repeal the ‘sodomy laws.”
COMMUNICATIONS DESK
Freedom and Roam Uganda
Tel:+256(0) 31229 4863
Hotline: +256 (0) 771840 233
URL: www.faruganda.org
This, after the newspaper, in its 02 October article “Hang them, they are after our kids” named and shamed alleged homosexuals in the country, following on the footsteps of The Red Pepper, another Ugandan tabloid infamous for previously running the same campaign against Ugandan homosexuals.
In a letter signed by Secretary Paul Mukasa and addressed to The Rolling Stone’s Managing Editor Giles Muhame, the Ugandan Media Council said “The requirements of the law must be adhered to, before you [The editor] can publish a newspaper and orders you to stop publishing The Rolling Stone until all requirements of the law are met.
Meanwhile gay rights activists have strongly condemned the tabloids’ alleged apparent homophobic stance of naming and shaming Ugandan homosexuals saying, “It is disturbing that in Uganda homosexuals continue to be subjected to such degrading and inhumane treatment.”
In a statement endorsed by delegates from all over the world who were attending the 4th Gender and Media Summit in Boksburg, South Africa recently, The Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL) said “The actions of the Rolling Stone tabloid have grossly violated the privacy and dignity of the individuals concerned and therefore violate the constitution of Uganda and various International Human Rights Instruments to which the state of Uganda is subscribed including Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 2 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Banjul Charter) of 1981 and Article 1(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966.”
Article 2 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Banjul Charter) of 1981 states that “every individual shall be entitled to the enjoyment of rights and freedoms recognized and guaranteed in the present charter without distinction of any kind such as race, ethnic group, colour, sex, language, religion, political or any other opinion, national and social origin, fortune, birth or other status.”
CAL further argued that this “outing of homosexuls” is happening in the context of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, tabled on 14, October 2009 in the Ugandan parliament which makes provisions for life imprisonment of homosexual crimes, a death sentence for repeated crimes of homosexuality and about 5 to 7 years in prison for failing to report such crimes to the authorities.
“This Bill is an expression of prejudice, intolerance, discrimination and violence. It has promoted hate speech in churches, schools and the media. It has led to defamation, blackmail, evictions, intimidation, arbitrary arrests and unlawful detention, physical assault, emotional and mental assault of LGBT activists, our families and allies”, Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) said.
A Ugandan source who is also Programmes Coordinator for Kuchus [Homosexuals] Living with HIV/Aids (Kulhas), whose picture was also featured in newspapers said, “When my neighbours saw my picture in the paper, they were furious. They threw stones at me while I was in my house. I was so terrified but somehow I managed to flee my home to safety.”
CAL has called on media regulators to counter the “impunity and detest” in which minority groups are portrayed in media in that continent, particularly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people.
According to media reports the Ugandan tabloid may have obtained some of the photos from Facebook profiles of ordinary LGBT people in Uganda and abroad.
“The sad truth is that most evil in Uganda is done by people who end up never being held accountable for their deeds. The Rolling Stone publication has incited violence against a group of minorities making them seem like less of human beings”, Gerald Sentongo of SMUG.
CAL has welcomed the decision of the Uganda Media Council to stop the operations of the Rolling Stone tabloid in terms of section 5 of the Press and Journalist Act of Uganda.
SMUG has also acknowledged the support from Human Rights Institutions, activists and civil society all over the world for the “enormous” support to the Ugandan LGBTI community and requested for continued support calling for African governments to repeal the ‘sodomy laws.”
COMMUNICATIONS DESK
Freedom and Roam Uganda
Tel:+256(0) 31229 4863
Hotline: +256 (0) 771840 233
URL: www.faruganda.org
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Uganda newspaper publishes 'gay list,' calls for their hanging
By Faith Karimi, CNN
October 20, 2010 --
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Next to the list was a yellow strip with the words "hang them"
* "We are all terrified," an activist says
* Homosexuality is illegal in most African countries
(CNN) -- A Ugandan newspaper published a story featuring a list of the nation's "top" gays and lesbians with their photos and addresses, angering activists who say the already marginalized group risks facing further attacks.
Earlier this month, Rolling Stone newspaper -- not affiliated with the U.S. magazine with the same name -- featured 100 pictures of Uganda's gays and lesbians. Next to the list was a yellow strip with the words "hang them."
The story comes about a year after a Ugandan lawmaker introduced a measure that calls for the death penalty or long jail terms for those who engage in some homosexual activities.
The proposal was shelved after an international outcry.
"For me, the first thing that crossed my mind was, 'how can this country allow such things to happen?" said Julian Pepe, who was also named in the story.
"They were calling for our hanging, they are asking people to take the law into their hands. We are all terrified."
The 29-year-old said she's a lesbian.
"I came out when I was 12, I have supportive parents who have been there for me," said Pepe, a program coordinator for Sexual Minorities Uganda.
Those named in the story are living in fear, she said. Some have had to change jobs and move to new places.
Video: Gay activists fear for their lives
They were calling for our hanging, they are asking people to take the law into their hands. We are all terrified.
--Juilan Pepe
"We are providing some with psychological support," she said. "People have been attacked, we are having to relocate others, some are quitting their jobs because they are being verbally abused. It's a total commotion."
Uganda's ethics and integrity minister Nsaba Buturo dismissed the activists' accusations.
"They [the activists] are always lying," Buturo said. "It's their way of mobilizing support from outside, they are trying to get sympathy from outside. It's part of the campaign."
Buturo said the anti-gay measure will be addressed and passed "in due course."
"Of course I hope it passes," he said.
Calls to David Bahati, the member of parliament who introduced the anti-gay bill, went unanswered Wednesday.
The paper's editor, Giles Muhame, defended the list and said he published it to expose gays and lesbians, so authorities could arrest them. The weekly paper has been publishing for about six weeks.
After the list was published, the federal Media Council sent a warning to Muhame and ordered the newspaper to cease operating.
But the warning was "not related to the list at all," said Paul Mukasa, secretary of the Media Council. Rather, he said, the letter warned the paper that it was publishing without required permits.
"Until they fill in the required paperwork, they are breaking the law," Mukasa said.
The secretary said the newspaper has initiated the process "to put their house in order."
"Some rights groups have complained that the newspaper is inciting people, but the council is focusing on its lack of paperwork," Mukasa said.
Homosexuality is illegal in most countries in the region, including in nearby Kenya, where sodomy laws were introduced during colonialism.
In Uganda, homosexual acts are punishable by 14 years to life, Pepe said.
"Half the world's countries that criminalize homosexual conduct do so because they cling to Victorian morality and colonial laws," said Scott Long, director of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights program for Human Rights Watch. "Getting rid of these unjust remnants of the British empire is long overdue."
The role religion plays in Africa has a lot to do with the ban, others say.
Olatune Ogunyemi, a professor at Grambling State University in Louisiana, has said that some African constitutions are based on religion, making it possible to justify criminalizing homosexuality.
A post-apartheid constitution bans discrimination against gays in South Africa, the first African nation to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Journalist Tom Walsh in Kampala, Uganda, contributed to this report.
October 20, 2010 --
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* Next to the list was a yellow strip with the words "hang them"
* "We are all terrified," an activist says
* Homosexuality is illegal in most African countries
(CNN) -- A Ugandan newspaper published a story featuring a list of the nation's "top" gays and lesbians with their photos and addresses, angering activists who say the already marginalized group risks facing further attacks.
Earlier this month, Rolling Stone newspaper -- not affiliated with the U.S. magazine with the same name -- featured 100 pictures of Uganda's gays and lesbians. Next to the list was a yellow strip with the words "hang them."
The story comes about a year after a Ugandan lawmaker introduced a measure that calls for the death penalty or long jail terms for those who engage in some homosexual activities.
The proposal was shelved after an international outcry.
"For me, the first thing that crossed my mind was, 'how can this country allow such things to happen?" said Julian Pepe, who was also named in the story.
"They were calling for our hanging, they are asking people to take the law into their hands. We are all terrified."
The 29-year-old said she's a lesbian.
"I came out when I was 12, I have supportive parents who have been there for me," said Pepe, a program coordinator for Sexual Minorities Uganda.
Those named in the story are living in fear, she said. Some have had to change jobs and move to new places.
Video: Gay activists fear for their lives
They were calling for our hanging, they are asking people to take the law into their hands. We are all terrified.
--Juilan Pepe
"We are providing some with psychological support," she said. "People have been attacked, we are having to relocate others, some are quitting their jobs because they are being verbally abused. It's a total commotion."
Uganda's ethics and integrity minister Nsaba Buturo dismissed the activists' accusations.
"They [the activists] are always lying," Buturo said. "It's their way of mobilizing support from outside, they are trying to get sympathy from outside. It's part of the campaign."
Buturo said the anti-gay measure will be addressed and passed "in due course."
"Of course I hope it passes," he said.
Calls to David Bahati, the member of parliament who introduced the anti-gay bill, went unanswered Wednesday.
The paper's editor, Giles Muhame, defended the list and said he published it to expose gays and lesbians, so authorities could arrest them. The weekly paper has been publishing for about six weeks.
After the list was published, the federal Media Council sent a warning to Muhame and ordered the newspaper to cease operating.
But the warning was "not related to the list at all," said Paul Mukasa, secretary of the Media Council. Rather, he said, the letter warned the paper that it was publishing without required permits.
"Until they fill in the required paperwork, they are breaking the law," Mukasa said.
The secretary said the newspaper has initiated the process "to put their house in order."
"Some rights groups have complained that the newspaper is inciting people, but the council is focusing on its lack of paperwork," Mukasa said.
Homosexuality is illegal in most countries in the region, including in nearby Kenya, where sodomy laws were introduced during colonialism.
In Uganda, homosexual acts are punishable by 14 years to life, Pepe said.
"Half the world's countries that criminalize homosexual conduct do so because they cling to Victorian morality and colonial laws," said Scott Long, director of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights program for Human Rights Watch. "Getting rid of these unjust remnants of the British empire is long overdue."
The role religion plays in Africa has a lot to do with the ban, others say.
Olatune Ogunyemi, a professor at Grambling State University in Louisiana, has said that some African constitutions are based on religion, making it possible to justify criminalizing homosexuality.
A post-apartheid constitution bans discrimination against gays in South Africa, the first African nation to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Journalist Tom Walsh in Kampala, Uganda, contributed to this report.
Friday, October 15, 2010
One Year of the draft Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2009
by Pepe Julian Onziema on Thursday, October 14, 2010 at 5:07pm
October 14, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
KAMPALA - UGANDA
On October 14, 2009 the draft Anti Homosexuality Bill was introduced to the Parliament of Uganda by Ndoorwa West MP David Bahati. Mr Bahati’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill stipulates the death penalty for repeated same-sex relations and life imprisonment for all other homosexual acts. A person in authority who fails to report an offender to the police within 24 hours will face 3 years in jail. Likewise, the promotion of homosexuality carries a sentence of 5 to 7 years in jail.
This Bill is an expression of prejudice, intolerance, discrimination and violence. The bill abuses the dignity, privacy and equality of people with a different sexual orientation and identity other than heterosexual. If passed into law, it will further legitimize public and private violence, harassment and torture.
It has promoted hate- speech in churches, schools and the media. It has led to defamation, blackmail, evictions, intimidation, arbitrary arrests and unlawful detention, physical assault, emotional and mental assault of LGBT activists, our families and allies.
The bill has further led to increased violence incited by local media, particularly The Red Pepper tabloid and recently launched Rolling Stone newspaper. The headline of the Rolling Stone viciously screamed “100 pictures of Ugandan’s top homos leak- Hang them” in their Vol. 1 No. 05 October 02-09, 2010. They published pictures, names, residences and other details of LGBT activists and allies.
“When my neighbors saw my picture in the paper, they were furious. They threw stones at me while I was in my house. I was so terrified somehow I managed to flee my home to safety.” said Stosh [Programme Coordinator- Kulhas Uganda]
“The sad truth is that most evil in Uganda is done by people who end up never being held accountable for their deeds. The Rolling Stone publication has incited violence against a group of minorities making them seem like less of HUMAN BEINGS” Gerald [Admin – SMUG].
The bill constitutes a violation of the right to freedom of privacy, association, assembly and security of the person as enshrined in Constitution of Uganda’s and International Human Rights Law.
The impact of such legal and social exclusion is being felt in the lives of LGBTI Ugandans. Sexual Minorities Uganda strongly condemns such laws and media witch-hunt of homosexuals.
We would like to acknowledge Human Rights institutions and activists, local, regional and international Civil Society, Development partners and friends around the world for the enormous support to the Uganda LGBTI community and request for your continued call to African governments to repeal the ‘sodomy laws’.
Issued by: Sexual Minorities Uganda - SMUG
Contacts:
1.Frank Mugisha
fmugisha@sexualminoritiesuganda.org
2. Pepe Julian Onziema
jpepe@sexualminoritiesuganda.org
October 14, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
KAMPALA - UGANDA
On October 14, 2009 the draft Anti Homosexuality Bill was introduced to the Parliament of Uganda by Ndoorwa West MP David Bahati. Mr Bahati’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill stipulates the death penalty for repeated same-sex relations and life imprisonment for all other homosexual acts. A person in authority who fails to report an offender to the police within 24 hours will face 3 years in jail. Likewise, the promotion of homosexuality carries a sentence of 5 to 7 years in jail.
This Bill is an expression of prejudice, intolerance, discrimination and violence. The bill abuses the dignity, privacy and equality of people with a different sexual orientation and identity other than heterosexual. If passed into law, it will further legitimize public and private violence, harassment and torture.
It has promoted hate- speech in churches, schools and the media. It has led to defamation, blackmail, evictions, intimidation, arbitrary arrests and unlawful detention, physical assault, emotional and mental assault of LGBT activists, our families and allies.
The bill has further led to increased violence incited by local media, particularly The Red Pepper tabloid and recently launched Rolling Stone newspaper. The headline of the Rolling Stone viciously screamed “100 pictures of Ugandan’s top homos leak- Hang them” in their Vol. 1 No. 05 October 02-09, 2010. They published pictures, names, residences and other details of LGBT activists and allies.
“When my neighbors saw my picture in the paper, they were furious. They threw stones at me while I was in my house. I was so terrified somehow I managed to flee my home to safety.” said Stosh [Programme Coordinator- Kulhas Uganda]
“The sad truth is that most evil in Uganda is done by people who end up never being held accountable for their deeds. The Rolling Stone publication has incited violence against a group of minorities making them seem like less of HUMAN BEINGS” Gerald [Admin – SMUG].
The bill constitutes a violation of the right to freedom of privacy, association, assembly and security of the person as enshrined in Constitution of Uganda’s and International Human Rights Law.
The impact of such legal and social exclusion is being felt in the lives of LGBTI Ugandans. Sexual Minorities Uganda strongly condemns such laws and media witch-hunt of homosexuals.
We would like to acknowledge Human Rights institutions and activists, local, regional and international Civil Society, Development partners and friends around the world for the enormous support to the Uganda LGBTI community and request for your continued call to African governments to repeal the ‘sodomy laws’.
Issued by: Sexual Minorities Uganda - SMUG
Contacts:
1.Frank Mugisha
fmugisha@sexualminoritiesuganda.org
2. Pepe Julian Onziema
jpepe@sexualminoritiesuganda.org
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
MPs should take a stand on gays
AS the term of the 8th Parliament comes to an end, I would like to
raise an issue that Parliament did not handle well. I was surprised by
the utterances of some MPs who were quoted as saying “the
anti-homosexuality Bill is not a priority to Uganda”.
A few weeks ago, we had a meeting with a diplomat from Eritrea. He
told us that when their lawmakers enacted a law against homosexuality
with the highest penalty being a death sentence, the human rights
fellows from the West confronted their president.
But the president was firm. He told them that they can keep
homosexuality to themselves and Eritrea will only allow what it needs.
Our lawmakers need to emulate Eritrea.
George Oduch
Kampala
raise an issue that Parliament did not handle well. I was surprised by
the utterances of some MPs who were quoted as saying “the
anti-homosexuality Bill is not a priority to Uganda”.
A few weeks ago, we had a meeting with a diplomat from Eritrea. He
told us that when their lawmakers enacted a law against homosexuality
with the highest penalty being a death sentence, the human rights
fellows from the West confronted their president.
But the president was firm. He told them that they can keep
homosexuality to themselves and Eritrea will only allow what it needs.
Our lawmakers need to emulate Eritrea.
George Oduch
Kampala
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Uganda May Pass Portions of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill On The Downlow
Jim Burroway
September 8th, 2010
According to Afrik News, outgoing Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo has announced that the Ugandan Cabinet is reviewing an Anti-Pornography Bill, with an eye toward curbing “the vice of homosexuality”:
While addressing the press in Kampala on Wednesday, the Minister of Uganda for Ethics and Integrity, Dr. James Nsaba Buturo said that Pornography is the mother of vice and so there is need to stop it immediately.
“Pornography breeds homosexuality. I am happy that finally a bill to curb pornography in Uganda is out to punish the promoters of the vice. The draft bill is already in cabinet for discussion” Nsaba Buturo said.
According to the bill, any person found guilty of dealing in pornographic materials risks paying heavy fines or a 10-year jail sentence or both.
“The days of the homosexuals are over. The bill is good news to all morally upright Ugandans saying that pornography has contributed to moral decay and increased crimes among Ugandans,” he added.
[Update: Daily Monitor has some more details on the proposed legislation:
A proposed anti-pornography law could see journalists and Internet service providers jailed for terms ranging from five to 10 years and their businesses closed, Ethics Minister James Nsaba Buturo said yesterday.
...Under the proposed Bill, pornography is defined as any form of communication from literature to fashion or photography that depicts unclothed or under-clothed parts of the human body (such as breasts, thighs, buttocks or genitalia), that narrates or depicts sexual intercourse or that describes or exhibits anything that can lead to erotic stimulation.
According to the proposed Bill, pornography includes ‘fashion’, implying that women could be arrested for wearing short skirts and skimpy dresses. Mr Buturo said children should also be protected from pornographic materials.
...Only teaching aides, spouses and sportsmen will get exemptions of punishment from the new law. However, analysts say the flaws of the proposed law, lies in the broad definition of pornography.
Daily Monitor quotes Buturo as saying that the new law would extensively expand the definition of pornographic material and the accompanying sanctions. Depending on what those expanded definitions contain, this could be worrisome for LGBT advocates. it is not unusual for African police and prosecutors to take an extremely expansive view of what constitutes "pornography" where homosexuality is concerned. Even mentioning LGBT people can be viewed as "pornography" in Africa's deeply conservative climate.]
Of particular concern is the possible resurgence of Clause 13 of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill that was placed before Parliament last year. That clause, which would prohibit “promotion of homosexuality,” was cited in a Cabinet Reportas having “some merit.” That Cabinet report, compiled in response to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s call for a study following international condemnation over the bill, suggested that portions of the bill could be enacted under other bills, preferably with titles that are not “stigmatizing and appears to be targeting a particular group of people.” The Anti-Pornography bill could be seen as a convenient vehicle for passing a measure similar to Clause 13 without rousing suspicions in the international community.
Clause 13 of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, reads:
13. Promotion of homosexuality.
(1) A person who –
(a) participates in production. procuring, marketing, broadcasting, disseminating, publishing pornographic materials for purposes of promoting homosexuality;
(b) funds or sponsors homosexuality or other related activities;
(c) offers premises and other related fixed or movable assets for purposes of homosexuality or promoting homosexuality;
(d) uses electronic devices which include internet, films, mobile phones for purposes of homosexuality or promoting homosexuality and;
(e) who acts as an accomplice or attempts to promote or in any way abets homosexuality and related practices;
commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of five thousand currency points or imprisonment of a minimum of five years and a maximum of seven years or both fine and imprisonment.
(2) Where the offender is a corporate body or a business or an association or a non-governmental organization, on conviction its certificate of registration shall be cancelled and the director or proprietor or promoter shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for seven years.
If this clause is being recycled for the Anti-Pornography Bill, it could be very worrisome for free speech and advocacy in Uganda. Not only would it criminalize pro-LGBT speech and advocacy, it would also hinder medical workers, since providing advice on safe-sex practices to reduce the chance of becoming infected with HIV, for example, could be seen as “promoting homosexuality.” Since it is unclear what the provisions of the new Anti-Pornography Bill would include, Buturo’s characterizing it as a weapon against the country’s LGBT people warrants serious scrutiny.
September 8th, 2010
According to Afrik News, outgoing Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo has announced that the Ugandan Cabinet is reviewing an Anti-Pornography Bill, with an eye toward curbing “the vice of homosexuality”:
While addressing the press in Kampala on Wednesday, the Minister of Uganda for Ethics and Integrity, Dr. James Nsaba Buturo said that Pornography is the mother of vice and so there is need to stop it immediately.
“Pornography breeds homosexuality. I am happy that finally a bill to curb pornography in Uganda is out to punish the promoters of the vice. The draft bill is already in cabinet for discussion” Nsaba Buturo said.
According to the bill, any person found guilty of dealing in pornographic materials risks paying heavy fines or a 10-year jail sentence or both.
“The days of the homosexuals are over. The bill is good news to all morally upright Ugandans saying that pornography has contributed to moral decay and increased crimes among Ugandans,” he added.
[Update: Daily Monitor has some more details on the proposed legislation:
A proposed anti-pornography law could see journalists and Internet service providers jailed for terms ranging from five to 10 years and their businesses closed, Ethics Minister James Nsaba Buturo said yesterday.
...Under the proposed Bill, pornography is defined as any form of communication from literature to fashion or photography that depicts unclothed or under-clothed parts of the human body (such as breasts, thighs, buttocks or genitalia), that narrates or depicts sexual intercourse or that describes or exhibits anything that can lead to erotic stimulation.
According to the proposed Bill, pornography includes ‘fashion’, implying that women could be arrested for wearing short skirts and skimpy dresses. Mr Buturo said children should also be protected from pornographic materials.
...Only teaching aides, spouses and sportsmen will get exemptions of punishment from the new law. However, analysts say the flaws of the proposed law, lies in the broad definition of pornography.
Daily Monitor quotes Buturo as saying that the new law would extensively expand the definition of pornographic material and the accompanying sanctions. Depending on what those expanded definitions contain, this could be worrisome for LGBT advocates. it is not unusual for African police and prosecutors to take an extremely expansive view of what constitutes "pornography" where homosexuality is concerned. Even mentioning LGBT people can be viewed as "pornography" in Africa's deeply conservative climate.]
Of particular concern is the possible resurgence of Clause 13 of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill that was placed before Parliament last year. That clause, which would prohibit “promotion of homosexuality,” was cited in a Cabinet Reportas having “some merit.” That Cabinet report, compiled in response to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s call for a study following international condemnation over the bill, suggested that portions of the bill could be enacted under other bills, preferably with titles that are not “stigmatizing and appears to be targeting a particular group of people.” The Anti-Pornography bill could be seen as a convenient vehicle for passing a measure similar to Clause 13 without rousing suspicions in the international community.
Clause 13 of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, reads:
13. Promotion of homosexuality.
(1) A person who –
(a) participates in production. procuring, marketing, broadcasting, disseminating, publishing pornographic materials for purposes of promoting homosexuality;
(b) funds or sponsors homosexuality or other related activities;
(c) offers premises and other related fixed or movable assets for purposes of homosexuality or promoting homosexuality;
(d) uses electronic devices which include internet, films, mobile phones for purposes of homosexuality or promoting homosexuality and;
(e) who acts as an accomplice or attempts to promote or in any way abets homosexuality and related practices;
commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of five thousand currency points or imprisonment of a minimum of five years and a maximum of seven years or both fine and imprisonment.
(2) Where the offender is a corporate body or a business or an association or a non-governmental organization, on conviction its certificate of registration shall be cancelled and the director or proprietor or promoter shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for seven years.
If this clause is being recycled for the Anti-Pornography Bill, it could be very worrisome for free speech and advocacy in Uganda. Not only would it criminalize pro-LGBT speech and advocacy, it would also hinder medical workers, since providing advice on safe-sex practices to reduce the chance of becoming infected with HIV, for example, could be seen as “promoting homosexuality.” Since it is unclear what the provisions of the new Anti-Pornography Bill would include, Buturo’s characterizing it as a weapon against the country’s LGBT people warrants serious scrutiny.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Uganda’s homosexual debate has gone viral but only one voice is being heard. Does it speak for you?
Ugandans are well familiar with Western popular culture. Television shows like Gossip Girl and Desperate Housewives find their way onto television screens in Ugandan homes; Christopher Nolan’s Inception is in Ugandan theatres, and CNN and the BBC World Service are never more than a channel click away.
But what does the West know of Ugandan popular culture? Stories of riots, elections and international conferences are ubiquitous, but they rarely provide any insight into Ugandan culture itself – that is, into the sort of things that the people of Uganda find funny, surprising, outrageous, or important.
Recently, however, Westerners have been learning more than usual about Ugandan culture. The reason for this is a YouTube video named “EAT DA POO POO,” which has been spreading virally over the internet. The video documents a series of anti-gay tirades by Ugandan Pastor, Dr. Martin Ssempa. Armed with explicit visual aids, Ssempa argues that what homosexuals do in the privacy of their bedrooms is simply far too disgusting to be protected by the law. Homosexual men, he claims, lick each other’s anuses like, “ice cream and even poo poo comes out...This one smears the poo poo all over the other one’s face.”
To date, the video has almost three million hits on YouTube, has spawned an auto-tune remix with some four-hundred-thousand hits, and is listed on Ebaum’s World, a popular archive of internet curiosities.
Westerners watch this video because they find Ssempa’s antics comical, but what few of them realize is how un-comical his views are to many native Ugandans. Homosexuality is outlawed in as many as thirty-eight African countries, including Uganda. In Mauritania, Nigeria, and neighbouring Sudan, it is currently punishable by death. And Ugandan MP David Bahati’s recent effort to push through a comprehensive “Anti Homosexuality Bill” – which would include capital punishment for “aggravated” offences – has received considerable popular support.
With Bahati’s bill still under consideration in parliament, Uganda is one of the few African countries to currently be on the verge of tightening its regulation against homosexuals. Already under Uganda’s Penal Code Act of 1950, those who engage in the “unnatural offence” of gay sex may be imprisoned for life, and those who merely attempt to do so can be imprisoned for up to seven years. But this new piece of legislation expands on the current law to include lengthy prison sentences for anyone who as much as “promotes,” funds, disseminates, or provides a venue for homosexual activities, as well as anyone who fails to publicly disclose their knowledge of a homosexual offense.
With six African countries having decriminalized homosexuality as recently as 2008, nd with South Africa having become the fifth country in the world to recognize same-sex marriage in 2006, why is Uganda moving in the opposite direction?
The short answer is that in contrast to other African nations, powerful people in Uganda have taken collective initiative on anti-gay legislation. In an interview with The Independent, MP David Bahati cited his membership in a Ugandan chapter of “The Fellowship” or “The Family”, a U.S.-based Christian political organization, as the key impetus behind the new bill. Every Thursday the members of the local division of The Fellowship, which include a close circle of Ugandan MPs and religious leaders (led by Ssempa), meet to discuss “how to use godly principles to influence public policy.” About a year and a half ago, Bahati reveals, it was decided in one such meeting that the legal framework as it stands was incapable of addressing the urgency of the problem of homosexuality in Uganda. Bahati was chosen and happily volunteered to be at the forefront of developing new legislation.
http://webmail.icebreakersuganda.org/imp/themes/graphics/spacer_red.pngFor Bahati, the 2009 “Anti Homosexuality Bill” is both a personal and political imperative. It is personal because he is convinced that homosexuality is a sin and that “sin must be fought:” “Though I love homosexuals, I hate the sin in them. I believe that they can be rehabilitated, that they can be counselled and come back to normality.” On the political front, he says, the bill is critical to stop homosexuality from taking over the world. “As a country, Uganda should be able to really provide leadership at this time when the world needs leadership.”
However, the genesis of this new bill cannot be explained solely by the raw initiative of Bahati and The Fellowship. In order to have any chance of passing into law, the bill needs considerable support from parliamentarians, other members of government, and ideally from the public. According to Bahati, it has all of these. Despite strong international pressure to shelve the bill, including threats by some Western governments to cut off aid to Uganda should it finally pass, Bahati believes that the “government supports what I’m doing.” The cause of legislative hesitation over the bill so far, he believes, is strictly political; key government officials remain caught between whether to “stand for what is right, or to compromise and get donor money.” Moreover, for its part, 95% of the population of Uganda, according to Bahati, believes that “homosexuality is a sin and shouldn’t be supported.” A public petition in support of the bill has already gathered four million signatures. Even foreign governments like Canada, which have been very active in expressing criticism of the bill, secretly support it, claims Bahati: “Deep in their hearts, [Canadians] don’t support homosexuality.”
In Kampala, opinions about homosexuality vary: Aida, who owns an inconspicuous hair salon in central Kampala, supports the new bill and claims that homosexuality, “is not part of African culture...It’s a disease and you kill a disease.” At Masala Chat House restaurant, Manager Joseph Onen Bakiti says that he would not fire an employee if he or she was discovered to be a homosexual, but he still believes that all homosexuals should be jailed. If a police officer were found out to be a homosexual, by contrast, not only would they be immediately fired and prosecuted for the crime, they would be subject to additional punitive action under the Police Force’s disciplinary code, explains Uganda Police Force’s Deputy Public Relations Officer Ssekate Vicent.
Others in Uganda believe that the new proposed legislation is excessively cruel despite homosexuality’s unseemliness. Solomon Webalealaari, a civil rights lawyer based in Kampala, does not believe that homosexuality should be criminalized, but notes that many Ugandans who agree with him are afraid to publicly voice their opinion, lest they be stigmatized or branded as un-African, un-Christian, and pro-Gay.
The fact that tolerant views of this sort have been marginalized in Ugandan public culture is a testament to the vehemence and popularity of Ssempa’s campaign. Ssempa and his associates present homophobia in general, and support for anti-gay legislation in particular, as standards of membership in Uganda’s Afro-Christian majority. 84 percent of Ugandans are Christian and according to gay rights activist, Major Rubaramira Ruranga, it is precisely by branding support for the recent bill as an essential aspect of what it means to be a committed Christian in Uganda that the anti-gay lobby has achieved such success.
Major Ruranga argues that, in contrast to Western society, Ugandan society places intense value on communal attachment, even when this comes at the expense of individual expression. As a result, he says, “religion has become more of a culture than a faith.” Instead of promoting sincere belief, the religious establishment promotes outward conformity to standards adhered to by the larger group. In the case of Uganda’s Christian community, Ruranga suggests, the hatred of gays has become one of these unquestioned group standards.
But it was not always so. According to Ruranga, the anti-gay movement in Uganda only gained traction in the 1990s in large part as a reaction to a perceivable rise in gay pride, activism, and the unprecedented occurrence of public disclosures of homosexuality in the Ugandan media. The religious establishment decided this was dangerous and instigated a backlash. It is not clear how much of a role the U.S. based Fellowship had in fomenting that backlash, but what is certain is that it is now fully supportive of it. According to Bahati, one American Pentecostal friend recently lamented to him that “I wish we [in the U.S.] had done what you are doing thirty years ago; we would be much better off.”
What quickly becomes clear from speaking to ordinary Ugandans is that, in fact, they are not all convinced that they would be better off if Bahati’s proposed bill were signed into law. Their reasons are wide ranging, but in some instances, like that of Rafaella, a law student at Makerere University, one of them is the recognition that, “all crimes are sins, but not all sins are crimes.” Yet the constant sense of shame with which Uganda’s gay community is currently made to live is already punishment in its own right.
Others have mentioned that the current law is too far-reaching. For instance, because the bill allocates prison sentences to anyone who fails to report a known homosexual offence, even a parent who discovers that their own son or daughter is gay, but for obvious reasons fails to publicly report this, could be thrown in jail for up to three years.
One rarely hears such reservations and concerns voiced in the mass media. If the country and the world is ever going to see that Ssempa does not represent all Ugandans, and that “EAT DA POO POO” provides only the slimmest window into Ugandan culture, this will have to change and Uganda’s more tolerant and level-headed voices will have to bravely speak up.
But what does the West know of Ugandan popular culture? Stories of riots, elections and international conferences are ubiquitous, but they rarely provide any insight into Ugandan culture itself – that is, into the sort of things that the people of Uganda find funny, surprising, outrageous, or important.
Recently, however, Westerners have been learning more than usual about Ugandan culture. The reason for this is a YouTube video named “EAT DA POO POO,” which has been spreading virally over the internet. The video documents a series of anti-gay tirades by Ugandan Pastor, Dr. Martin Ssempa. Armed with explicit visual aids, Ssempa argues that what homosexuals do in the privacy of their bedrooms is simply far too disgusting to be protected by the law. Homosexual men, he claims, lick each other’s anuses like, “ice cream and even poo poo comes out...This one smears the poo poo all over the other one’s face.”
To date, the video has almost three million hits on YouTube, has spawned an auto-tune remix with some four-hundred-thousand hits, and is listed on Ebaum’s World, a popular archive of internet curiosities.
Westerners watch this video because they find Ssempa’s antics comical, but what few of them realize is how un-comical his views are to many native Ugandans. Homosexuality is outlawed in as many as thirty-eight African countries, including Uganda. In Mauritania, Nigeria, and neighbouring Sudan, it is currently punishable by death. And Ugandan MP David Bahati’s recent effort to push through a comprehensive “Anti Homosexuality Bill” – which would include capital punishment for “aggravated” offences – has received considerable popular support.
With Bahati’s bill still under consideration in parliament, Uganda is one of the few African countries to currently be on the verge of tightening its regulation against homosexuals. Already under Uganda’s Penal Code Act of 1950, those who engage in the “unnatural offence” of gay sex may be imprisoned for life, and those who merely attempt to do so can be imprisoned for up to seven years. But this new piece of legislation expands on the current law to include lengthy prison sentences for anyone who as much as “promotes,” funds, disseminates, or provides a venue for homosexual activities, as well as anyone who fails to publicly disclose their knowledge of a homosexual offense.
With six African countries having decriminalized homosexuality as recently as 2008, nd with South Africa having become the fifth country in the world to recognize same-sex marriage in 2006, why is Uganda moving in the opposite direction?
The short answer is that in contrast to other African nations, powerful people in Uganda have taken collective initiative on anti-gay legislation. In an interview with The Independent, MP David Bahati cited his membership in a Ugandan chapter of “The Fellowship” or “The Family”, a U.S.-based Christian political organization, as the key impetus behind the new bill. Every Thursday the members of the local division of The Fellowship, which include a close circle of Ugandan MPs and religious leaders (led by Ssempa), meet to discuss “how to use godly principles to influence public policy.” About a year and a half ago, Bahati reveals, it was decided in one such meeting that the legal framework as it stands was incapable of addressing the urgency of the problem of homosexuality in Uganda. Bahati was chosen and happily volunteered to be at the forefront of developing new legislation.
http://webmail.icebreakersuganda.org/imp/themes/graphics/spacer_red.pngFor Bahati, the 2009 “Anti Homosexuality Bill” is both a personal and political imperative. It is personal because he is convinced that homosexuality is a sin and that “sin must be fought:” “Though I love homosexuals, I hate the sin in them. I believe that they can be rehabilitated, that they can be counselled and come back to normality.” On the political front, he says, the bill is critical to stop homosexuality from taking over the world. “As a country, Uganda should be able to really provide leadership at this time when the world needs leadership.”
However, the genesis of this new bill cannot be explained solely by the raw initiative of Bahati and The Fellowship. In order to have any chance of passing into law, the bill needs considerable support from parliamentarians, other members of government, and ideally from the public. According to Bahati, it has all of these. Despite strong international pressure to shelve the bill, including threats by some Western governments to cut off aid to Uganda should it finally pass, Bahati believes that the “government supports what I’m doing.” The cause of legislative hesitation over the bill so far, he believes, is strictly political; key government officials remain caught between whether to “stand for what is right, or to compromise and get donor money.” Moreover, for its part, 95% of the population of Uganda, according to Bahati, believes that “homosexuality is a sin and shouldn’t be supported.” A public petition in support of the bill has already gathered four million signatures. Even foreign governments like Canada, which have been very active in expressing criticism of the bill, secretly support it, claims Bahati: “Deep in their hearts, [Canadians] don’t support homosexuality.”
In Kampala, opinions about homosexuality vary: Aida, who owns an inconspicuous hair salon in central Kampala, supports the new bill and claims that homosexuality, “is not part of African culture...It’s a disease and you kill a disease.” At Masala Chat House restaurant, Manager Joseph Onen Bakiti says that he would not fire an employee if he or she was discovered to be a homosexual, but he still believes that all homosexuals should be jailed. If a police officer were found out to be a homosexual, by contrast, not only would they be immediately fired and prosecuted for the crime, they would be subject to additional punitive action under the Police Force’s disciplinary code, explains Uganda Police Force’s Deputy Public Relations Officer Ssekate Vicent.
Others in Uganda believe that the new proposed legislation is excessively cruel despite homosexuality’s unseemliness. Solomon Webalealaari, a civil rights lawyer based in Kampala, does not believe that homosexuality should be criminalized, but notes that many Ugandans who agree with him are afraid to publicly voice their opinion, lest they be stigmatized or branded as un-African, un-Christian, and pro-Gay.
The fact that tolerant views of this sort have been marginalized in Ugandan public culture is a testament to the vehemence and popularity of Ssempa’s campaign. Ssempa and his associates present homophobia in general, and support for anti-gay legislation in particular, as standards of membership in Uganda’s Afro-Christian majority. 84 percent of Ugandans are Christian and according to gay rights activist, Major Rubaramira Ruranga, it is precisely by branding support for the recent bill as an essential aspect of what it means to be a committed Christian in Uganda that the anti-gay lobby has achieved such success.
Major Ruranga argues that, in contrast to Western society, Ugandan society places intense value on communal attachment, even when this comes at the expense of individual expression. As a result, he says, “religion has become more of a culture than a faith.” Instead of promoting sincere belief, the religious establishment promotes outward conformity to standards adhered to by the larger group. In the case of Uganda’s Christian community, Ruranga suggests, the hatred of gays has become one of these unquestioned group standards.
But it was not always so. According to Ruranga, the anti-gay movement in Uganda only gained traction in the 1990s in large part as a reaction to a perceivable rise in gay pride, activism, and the unprecedented occurrence of public disclosures of homosexuality in the Ugandan media. The religious establishment decided this was dangerous and instigated a backlash. It is not clear how much of a role the U.S. based Fellowship had in fomenting that backlash, but what is certain is that it is now fully supportive of it. According to Bahati, one American Pentecostal friend recently lamented to him that “I wish we [in the U.S.] had done what you are doing thirty years ago; we would be much better off.”
What quickly becomes clear from speaking to ordinary Ugandans is that, in fact, they are not all convinced that they would be better off if Bahati’s proposed bill were signed into law. Their reasons are wide ranging, but in some instances, like that of Rafaella, a law student at Makerere University, one of them is the recognition that, “all crimes are sins, but not all sins are crimes.” Yet the constant sense of shame with which Uganda’s gay community is currently made to live is already punishment in its own right.
Others have mentioned that the current law is too far-reaching. For instance, because the bill allocates prison sentences to anyone who fails to report a known homosexual offence, even a parent who discovers that their own son or daughter is gay, but for obvious reasons fails to publicly report this, could be thrown in jail for up to three years.
One rarely hears such reservations and concerns voiced in the mass media. If the country and the world is ever going to see that Ssempa does not represent all Ugandans, and that “EAT DA POO POO” provides only the slimmest window into Ugandan culture, this will have to change and Uganda’s more tolerant and level-headed voices will have to bravely speak up.
Uganda’s homosexual debate has gone viral but only one voice is being heard. Does it speak for you?
Ugandans are well familiar with Western popular culture. Television shows like Gossip Girl and Desperate Housewives find their way onto television screens in Ugandan homes; Christopher Nolan’s Inception is in Ugandan theatres, and CNN and the BBC World Service are never more than a channel click away.
But what does the West know of Ugandan popular culture? Stories of riots, elections and international conferences are ubiquitous, but they rarely provide any insight into Ugandan culture itself – that is, into the sort of things that the people of Uganda find funny, surprising, outrageous, or important.
Recently, however, Westerners have been learning more than usual about Ugandan culture. The reason for this is a YouTube video named “EAT DA POO POO,” which has been spreading virally over the internet. The video documents a series of anti-gay tirades by Ugandan Pastor, Dr. Martin Ssempa. Armed with explicit visual aids, Ssempa argues that what homosexuals do in the privacy of their bedrooms is simply far too disgusting to be protected by the law. Homosexual men, he claims, lick each other’s anuses like, “ice cream and even poo poo comes out...This one smears the poo poo all over the other one’s face.”
To date, the video has almost three million hits on YouTube, has spawned an auto-tune remix with some four-hundred-thousand hits, and is listed on Ebaum’s World, a popular archive of internet curiosities.
Westerners watch this video because they find Ssempa’s antics comical, but what few of them realize is how un-comical his views are to many native Ugandans. Homosexuality is outlawed in as many as thirty-eight African countries, including Uganda. In Mauritania, Nigeria, and neighbouring Sudan, it is currently punishable by death. And Ugandan MP David Bahati’s recent effort to push through a comprehensive “Anti Homosexuality Bill” – which would include capital punishment for “aggravated” offences – has received considerable popular support.
With Bahati’s bill still under consideration in parliament, Uganda is one of the few African countries to currently be on the verge of tightening its regulation against homosexuals. Already under Uganda’s Penal Code Act of 1950, those who engage in the “unnatural offence” of gay sex may be imprisoned for life, and those who merely attempt to do so can be imprisoned for up to seven years. But this new piece of legislation expands on the current law to include lengthy prison sentences for anyone who as much as “promotes,” funds, disseminates, or provides a venue for homosexual activities, as well as anyone who fails to publicly disclose their knowledge of a homosexual offense.
With six African countries having decriminalized homosexuality as recently as 2008, nd with South Africa having become the fifth country in the world to recognize same-sex marriage in 2006, why is Uganda moving in the opposite direction?
The short answer is that in contrast to other African nations, powerful people in Uganda have taken collective initiative on anti-gay legislation. In an interview with The Independent, MP David Bahati cited his membership in a Ugandan chapter of “The Fellowship” or “The Family”, a U.S.-based Christian political organization, as the key impetus behind the new bill. Every Thursday the members of the local division of The Fellowship, which include a close circle of Ugandan MPs and religious leaders (led by Ssempa), meet to discuss “how to use godly principles to influence public policy.” About a year and a half ago, Bahati reveals, it was decided in one such meeting that the legal framework as it stands was incapable of addressing the urgency of the problem of homosexuality in Uganda. Bahati was chosen and happily volunteered to be at the forefront of developing new legislation.
http://webmail.icebreakersuganda.org/imp/themes/graphics/spacer_red.pngFor Bahati, the 2009 “Anti Homosexuality Bill” is both a personal and political imperative. It is personal because he is convinced that homosexuality is a sin and that “sin must be fought:” “Though I love homosexuals, I hate the sin in them. I believe that they can be rehabilitated, that they can be counselled and come back to normality.” On the political front, he says, the bill is critical to stop homosexuality from taking over the world. “As a country, Uganda should be able to really provide leadership at this time when the world needs leadership.”
However, the genesis of this new bill cannot be explained solely by the raw initiative of Bahati and The Fellowship. In order to have any chance of passing into law, the bill needs considerable support from parliamentarians, other members of government, and ideally from the public. According to Bahati, it has all of these. Despite strong international pressure to shelve the bill, including threats by some Western governments to cut off aid to Uganda should it finally pass, Bahati believes that the “government supports what I’m doing.” The cause of legislative hesitation over the bill so far, he believes, is strictly political; key government officials remain caught between whether to “stand for what is right, or to compromise and get donor money.” Moreover, for its part, 95% of the population of Uganda, according to Bahati, believes that “homosexuality is a sin and shouldn’t be supported.” A public petition in support of the bill has already gathered four million signatures. Even foreign governments like Canada, which have been very active in expressing criticism of the bill, secretly support it, claims Bahati: “Deep in their hearts, [Canadians] don’t support homosexuality.”
In Kampala, opinions about homosexuality vary: Aida, who owns an inconspicuous hair salon in central Kampala, supports the new bill and claims that homosexuality, “is not part of African culture...It’s a disease and you kill a disease.” At Masala Chat House restaurant, Manager Joseph Onen Bakiti says that he would not fire an employee if he or she was discovered to be a homosexual, but he still believes that all homosexuals should be jailed. If a police officer were found out to be a homosexual, by contrast, not only would they be immediately fired and prosecuted for the crime, they would be subject to additional punitive action under the Police Force’s disciplinary code, explains Uganda Police Force’s Deputy Public Relations Officer Ssekate Vicent.
Others in Uganda believe that the new proposed legislation is excessively cruel despite homosexuality’s unseemliness. Solomon Webalealaari, a civil rights lawyer based in Kampala, does not believe that homosexuality should be criminalized, but notes that many Ugandans who agree with him are afraid to publicly voice their opinion, lest they be stigmatized or branded as un-African, un-Christian, and pro-Gay.
The fact that tolerant views of this sort have been marginalized in Ugandan public culture is a testament to the vehemence and popularity of Ssempa’s campaign. Ssempa and his associates present homophobia in general, and support for anti-gay legislation in particular, as standards of membership in Uganda’s Afro-Christian majority. 84 percent of Ugandans are Christian and according to gay rights activist, Major Rubaramira Ruranga, it is precisely by branding support for the recent bill as an essential aspect of what it means to be a committed Christian in Uganda that the anti-gay lobby has achieved such success.
Major Ruranga argues that, in contrast to Western society, Ugandan society places intense value on communal attachment, even when this comes at the expense of individual expression. As a result, he says, “religion has become more of a culture than a faith.” Instead of promoting sincere belief, the religious establishment promotes outward conformity to standards adhered to by the larger group. In the case of Uganda’s Christian community, Ruranga suggests, the hatred of gays has become one of these unquestioned group standards.
But it was not always so. According to Ruranga, the anti-gay movement in Uganda only gained traction in the 1990s in large part as a reaction to a perceivable rise in gay pride, activism, and the unprecedented occurrence of public disclosures of homosexuality in the Ugandan media. The religious establishment decided this was dangerous and instigated a backlash. It is not clear how much of a role the U.S. based Fellowship had in fomenting that backlash, but what is certain is that it is now fully supportive of it. According to Bahati, one American Pentecostal friend recently lamented to him that “I wish we [in the U.S.] had done what you are doing thirty years ago; we would be much better off.”
What quickly becomes clear from speaking to ordinary Ugandans is that, in fact, they are not all convinced that they would be better off if Bahati’s proposed bill were signed into law. Their reasons are wide ranging, but in some instances, like that of Rafaella, a law student at Makerere University, one of them is the recognition that, “all crimes are sins, but not all sins are crimes.” Yet the constant sense of shame with which Uganda’s gay community is currently made to live is already punishment in its own right.
Others have mentioned that the current law is too far-reaching. For instance, because the bill allocates prison sentences to anyone who fails to report a known homosexual offence, even a parent who discovers that their own son or daughter is gay, but for obvious reasons fails to publicly report this, could be thrown in jail for up to three years.
One rarely hears such reservations and concerns voiced in the mass media. If the country and the world is ever going to see that Ssempa does not represent all Ugandans, and that “EAT DA POO POO” provides only the slimmest window into Ugandan culture, this will have to change and Uganda’s more tolerant and level-headed voices will have to bravely speak up.
But what does the West know of Ugandan popular culture? Stories of riots, elections and international conferences are ubiquitous, but they rarely provide any insight into Ugandan culture itself – that is, into the sort of things that the people of Uganda find funny, surprising, outrageous, or important.
Recently, however, Westerners have been learning more than usual about Ugandan culture. The reason for this is a YouTube video named “EAT DA POO POO,” which has been spreading virally over the internet. The video documents a series of anti-gay tirades by Ugandan Pastor, Dr. Martin Ssempa. Armed with explicit visual aids, Ssempa argues that what homosexuals do in the privacy of their bedrooms is simply far too disgusting to be protected by the law. Homosexual men, he claims, lick each other’s anuses like, “ice cream and even poo poo comes out...This one smears the poo poo all over the other one’s face.”
To date, the video has almost three million hits on YouTube, has spawned an auto-tune remix with some four-hundred-thousand hits, and is listed on Ebaum’s World, a popular archive of internet curiosities.
Westerners watch this video because they find Ssempa’s antics comical, but what few of them realize is how un-comical his views are to many native Ugandans. Homosexuality is outlawed in as many as thirty-eight African countries, including Uganda. In Mauritania, Nigeria, and neighbouring Sudan, it is currently punishable by death. And Ugandan MP David Bahati’s recent effort to push through a comprehensive “Anti Homosexuality Bill” – which would include capital punishment for “aggravated” offences – has received considerable popular support.
With Bahati’s bill still under consideration in parliament, Uganda is one of the few African countries to currently be on the verge of tightening its regulation against homosexuals. Already under Uganda’s Penal Code Act of 1950, those who engage in the “unnatural offence” of gay sex may be imprisoned for life, and those who merely attempt to do so can be imprisoned for up to seven years. But this new piece of legislation expands on the current law to include lengthy prison sentences for anyone who as much as “promotes,” funds, disseminates, or provides a venue for homosexual activities, as well as anyone who fails to publicly disclose their knowledge of a homosexual offense.
With six African countries having decriminalized homosexuality as recently as 2008, nd with South Africa having become the fifth country in the world to recognize same-sex marriage in 2006, why is Uganda moving in the opposite direction?
The short answer is that in contrast to other African nations, powerful people in Uganda have taken collective initiative on anti-gay legislation. In an interview with The Independent, MP David Bahati cited his membership in a Ugandan chapter of “The Fellowship” or “The Family”, a U.S.-based Christian political organization, as the key impetus behind the new bill. Every Thursday the members of the local division of The Fellowship, which include a close circle of Ugandan MPs and religious leaders (led by Ssempa), meet to discuss “how to use godly principles to influence public policy.” About a year and a half ago, Bahati reveals, it was decided in one such meeting that the legal framework as it stands was incapable of addressing the urgency of the problem of homosexuality in Uganda. Bahati was chosen and happily volunteered to be at the forefront of developing new legislation.
http://webmail.icebreakersuganda.org/imp/themes/graphics/spacer_red.pngFor Bahati, the 2009 “Anti Homosexuality Bill” is both a personal and political imperative. It is personal because he is convinced that homosexuality is a sin and that “sin must be fought:” “Though I love homosexuals, I hate the sin in them. I believe that they can be rehabilitated, that they can be counselled and come back to normality.” On the political front, he says, the bill is critical to stop homosexuality from taking over the world. “As a country, Uganda should be able to really provide leadership at this time when the world needs leadership.”
However, the genesis of this new bill cannot be explained solely by the raw initiative of Bahati and The Fellowship. In order to have any chance of passing into law, the bill needs considerable support from parliamentarians, other members of government, and ideally from the public. According to Bahati, it has all of these. Despite strong international pressure to shelve the bill, including threats by some Western governments to cut off aid to Uganda should it finally pass, Bahati believes that the “government supports what I’m doing.” The cause of legislative hesitation over the bill so far, he believes, is strictly political; key government officials remain caught between whether to “stand for what is right, or to compromise and get donor money.” Moreover, for its part, 95% of the population of Uganda, according to Bahati, believes that “homosexuality is a sin and shouldn’t be supported.” A public petition in support of the bill has already gathered four million signatures. Even foreign governments like Canada, which have been very active in expressing criticism of the bill, secretly support it, claims Bahati: “Deep in their hearts, [Canadians] don’t support homosexuality.”
In Kampala, opinions about homosexuality vary: Aida, who owns an inconspicuous hair salon in central Kampala, supports the new bill and claims that homosexuality, “is not part of African culture...It’s a disease and you kill a disease.” At Masala Chat House restaurant, Manager Joseph Onen Bakiti says that he would not fire an employee if he or she was discovered to be a homosexual, but he still believes that all homosexuals should be jailed. If a police officer were found out to be a homosexual, by contrast, not only would they be immediately fired and prosecuted for the crime, they would be subject to additional punitive action under the Police Force’s disciplinary code, explains Uganda Police Force’s Deputy Public Relations Officer Ssekate Vicent.
Others in Uganda believe that the new proposed legislation is excessively cruel despite homosexuality’s unseemliness. Solomon Webalealaari, a civil rights lawyer based in Kampala, does not believe that homosexuality should be criminalized, but notes that many Ugandans who agree with him are afraid to publicly voice their opinion, lest they be stigmatized or branded as un-African, un-Christian, and pro-Gay.
The fact that tolerant views of this sort have been marginalized in Ugandan public culture is a testament to the vehemence and popularity of Ssempa’s campaign. Ssempa and his associates present homophobia in general, and support for anti-gay legislation in particular, as standards of membership in Uganda’s Afro-Christian majority. 84 percent of Ugandans are Christian and according to gay rights activist, Major Rubaramira Ruranga, it is precisely by branding support for the recent bill as an essential aspect of what it means to be a committed Christian in Uganda that the anti-gay lobby has achieved such success.
Major Ruranga argues that, in contrast to Western society, Ugandan society places intense value on communal attachment, even when this comes at the expense of individual expression. As a result, he says, “religion has become more of a culture than a faith.” Instead of promoting sincere belief, the religious establishment promotes outward conformity to standards adhered to by the larger group. In the case of Uganda’s Christian community, Ruranga suggests, the hatred of gays has become one of these unquestioned group standards.
But it was not always so. According to Ruranga, the anti-gay movement in Uganda only gained traction in the 1990s in large part as a reaction to a perceivable rise in gay pride, activism, and the unprecedented occurrence of public disclosures of homosexuality in the Ugandan media. The religious establishment decided this was dangerous and instigated a backlash. It is not clear how much of a role the U.S. based Fellowship had in fomenting that backlash, but what is certain is that it is now fully supportive of it. According to Bahati, one American Pentecostal friend recently lamented to him that “I wish we [in the U.S.] had done what you are doing thirty years ago; we would be much better off.”
What quickly becomes clear from speaking to ordinary Ugandans is that, in fact, they are not all convinced that they would be better off if Bahati’s proposed bill were signed into law. Their reasons are wide ranging, but in some instances, like that of Rafaella, a law student at Makerere University, one of them is the recognition that, “all crimes are sins, but not all sins are crimes.” Yet the constant sense of shame with which Uganda’s gay community is currently made to live is already punishment in its own right.
Others have mentioned that the current law is too far-reaching. For instance, because the bill allocates prison sentences to anyone who fails to report a known homosexual offence, even a parent who discovers that their own son or daughter is gay, but for obvious reasons fails to publicly report this, could be thrown in jail for up to three years.
One rarely hears such reservations and concerns voiced in the mass media. If the country and the world is ever going to see that Ssempa does not represent all Ugandans, and that “EAT DA POO POO” provides only the slimmest window into Ugandan culture, this will have to change and Uganda’s more tolerant and level-headed voices will have to bravely speak up.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Orombi to meet Archbishop of Canterbury over homosexuality
Orombi to meet Archbishop of Canterbury over homosexuality
By Stephen Otage
The Archbishop of the Church Uganda is to hold discussions with Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, over his stand on homosexuality and gay Bishops serving in the church.
Dr Williams is expected for the All African Bishops Conference which opens tomorrow in Entebbe. The conference will run until August 29.
While opening a three-day 20th Provincial Assembly of the Church of the Province of Uganda last week in Mukono, Dr Henry Luke Orombi, castigated the divided understanding of the Anglican faith.
While giving the bishops an update on the state of the Anglican Communion, Bishop Orombi said the issues in the Church are much deeper than just homosexuality.
Broken church
He said the issues include the radically different understanding of the authority of scripture, the understanding of sin, need for repentance and how Jesus saves.
“In 2003 the Episcopal church in America consecrated as bishop a divorced man living in a homosexual relationship. The prelates of the 38 provinces of the Anglican Communion met prior to that consecration and urged the American Church not to do it, saying if the consecration went ahead, it would tear the fabric of our communion at its deepest level,” Bishop Orombi said.
“Seven years later, what I can tell you is that the Anglican Communion is very broken. It has been torn at its deepest level and is a very dysfunctional family of provincial churches.”
Faithful living
When asked by the bishops about the implication to the church of inviting Bishop Williams to the conference, Bsihop Orombi supported the idea, saying it would be helpful to the church. “It is easier to sit with the Archbishop and confront him face to face than through letters,” he said.
“We know that walking in the light brings you relief and healing. We the prelates, the concerned steering committee want to sit and talk to him. I want him to hear my heart as I look at his face not through a piece of paper.”
He urged the bishops to remain faithful to the faith they inherited and not be swayed by issues that are coming from outside, saying as a church they should know what to choose that is helpful to them and leave out what they do not need.
By Stephen Otage
The Archbishop of the Church Uganda is to hold discussions with Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, over his stand on homosexuality and gay Bishops serving in the church.
Dr Williams is expected for the All African Bishops Conference which opens tomorrow in Entebbe. The conference will run until August 29.
While opening a three-day 20th Provincial Assembly of the Church of the Province of Uganda last week in Mukono, Dr Henry Luke Orombi, castigated the divided understanding of the Anglican faith.
While giving the bishops an update on the state of the Anglican Communion, Bishop Orombi said the issues in the Church are much deeper than just homosexuality.
Broken church
He said the issues include the radically different understanding of the authority of scripture, the understanding of sin, need for repentance and how Jesus saves.
“In 2003 the Episcopal church in America consecrated as bishop a divorced man living in a homosexual relationship. The prelates of the 38 provinces of the Anglican Communion met prior to that consecration and urged the American Church not to do it, saying if the consecration went ahead, it would tear the fabric of our communion at its deepest level,” Bishop Orombi said.
“Seven years later, what I can tell you is that the Anglican Communion is very broken. It has been torn at its deepest level and is a very dysfunctional family of provincial churches.”
Faithful living
When asked by the bishops about the implication to the church of inviting Bishop Williams to the conference, Bsihop Orombi supported the idea, saying it would be helpful to the church. “It is easier to sit with the Archbishop and confront him face to face than through letters,” he said.
“We know that walking in the light brings you relief and healing. We the prelates, the concerned steering committee want to sit and talk to him. I want him to hear my heart as I look at his face not through a piece of paper.”
He urged the bishops to remain faithful to the faith they inherited and not be swayed by issues that are coming from outside, saying as a church they should know what to choose that is helpful to them and leave out what they do not need.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Anglican Bishop in Uganda Vow to Confront Bishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury
In a move to reaffirm their opposition to gay rights and gay acceptance in the Anglican church of Uganda, Bishops from all over the country sitting at Mukono vowed to confront the arch-bishop of Canterbury over his stand on homosexuality and gay Bishops serving in the church.
They promised to let him know where they stand with him and also make it clear that they will never agree with him on the issue of homosexuals in the church.
During the meeting, the arch-Bishop of the church of Uganda said they would not break away from Canterbury but would not cooperate with it until after arch-Bishop Rowan Williams has changed his stance on homosexuality in the church or left the position of arch-Bishop.
About 400 Bishops from different parts of the world are expected to attend the All African Bishops Conference (AABC) scheduled from August 23- 29, 2010 in Kampala, Uganda. They will come from Burundi, Central Africa, DR Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Indian Ocean (Seychelles, Mauritius) Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Tanzania, Egypt and Uganda will attend.
Additionally, other paticipants will include representatives from Anglican Communion Office, Lambeth Palace, Representatives from Other Anglican Provinces, Heads of other Churches, Representatives of Africa Union, UN Bodies and Regional Blocs such as EAC, SADAC, ECOWAS, Representatives of Diplomatic Missions, Partners in Development and Media Representatives among others.
At the same meeting, Uganda’s principal Judge Ogoola called for love and tolerance to diversity. He said when love met justice in Israel, the nation blossomed.
They promised to let him know where they stand with him and also make it clear that they will never agree with him on the issue of homosexuals in the church.
During the meeting, the arch-Bishop of the church of Uganda said they would not break away from Canterbury but would not cooperate with it until after arch-Bishop Rowan Williams has changed his stance on homosexuality in the church or left the position of arch-Bishop.
About 400 Bishops from different parts of the world are expected to attend the All African Bishops Conference (AABC) scheduled from August 23- 29, 2010 in Kampala, Uganda. They will come from Burundi, Central Africa, DR Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Indian Ocean (Seychelles, Mauritius) Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Tanzania, Egypt and Uganda will attend.
Additionally, other paticipants will include representatives from Anglican Communion Office, Lambeth Palace, Representatives from Other Anglican Provinces, Heads of other Churches, Representatives of Africa Union, UN Bodies and Regional Blocs such as EAC, SADAC, ECOWAS, Representatives of Diplomatic Missions, Partners in Development and Media Representatives among others.
At the same meeting, Uganda’s principal Judge Ogoola called for love and tolerance to diversity. He said when love met justice in Israel, the nation blossomed.
First Openly Gay Bar Opens in Kampala
I still get excited thinking about it. Sappho Islands. Yes, the great lesbian Greek poet has come to town. I last took a beer during the October of 2008. This is probably when I last went out to a bar to drink. Most of my friends are socialites and I respect that. Being a Born-Again Christian has made me look at my life differently but I am not the kind of conservative Christian who thinks what I do not do automatically becomes evil if other people are doing it. This is why I still hung out at bars with my friends if I have to. My reason for quitting beer was basically because I have never liked drinking. I don?t like the taste and I have never had a genuine reason to take alcohol.
The opening of Sappho Islands is to me a political statement. Looking how far we have come, I cannot ignore the fact that the Stonewall revolution in the U.S.A sparked off from a bar. When I first heard about Sappho Islands, I saw progress. I celebrated change.
Sappho was a Greek poet whose poems talked about emotions and love between women. She lived on an Island called Lesbos and it is said this is where the word Lesbian came from. Multitudes of lesbians visit Lesbos Island every year in celebration of their identity. Sappho Islands, the bar, may not attract hundreds of lesbians from all over the world but the decision to name it after Sappho gives us a reason to celebrate our identity.
I have lived among LGBT communities for the past eight years and I know how much having a social life means to LGBT folks. I have learned from listening to people?s stories that sometimes anti-gay laws are not what LGBT persons are most concerned with. They are concerned about being able to meet people like themselves, laughing and forgetting their daily struggles even for a single time. I have been to LGBT social evenings and seen how folks do not want to go back home after the party is over. They value the only time they can be happy and have a good time.
It is a beautiful way to end 2010. Three cheers to Sappho Islands.
Posted by Val Kalende at 12:55 PM
Visit VK's blog on http://valkalende.blogspot.com
The opening of Sappho Islands is to me a political statement. Looking how far we have come, I cannot ignore the fact that the Stonewall revolution in the U.S.A sparked off from a bar. When I first heard about Sappho Islands, I saw progress. I celebrated change.
Sappho was a Greek poet whose poems talked about emotions and love between women. She lived on an Island called Lesbos and it is said this is where the word Lesbian came from. Multitudes of lesbians visit Lesbos Island every year in celebration of their identity. Sappho Islands, the bar, may not attract hundreds of lesbians from all over the world but the decision to name it after Sappho gives us a reason to celebrate our identity.
I have lived among LGBT communities for the past eight years and I know how much having a social life means to LGBT folks. I have learned from listening to people?s stories that sometimes anti-gay laws are not what LGBT persons are most concerned with. They are concerned about being able to meet people like themselves, laughing and forgetting their daily struggles even for a single time. I have been to LGBT social evenings and seen how folks do not want to go back home after the party is over. They value the only time they can be happy and have a good time.
It is a beautiful way to end 2010. Three cheers to Sappho Islands.
Posted by Val Kalende at 12:55 PM
Visit VK's blog on http://valkalende.blogspot.com
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
The day bombs rocked Kampala
It was the second half of the FIFA world cup final between Spain and Netherlands in soccer city-South africa (the first world cup on African soil). The score was nil for both teams and as the world was waiting for a goal, some people in Kampala had something else on their minds.
First a bomb went off at the Ethiopian village in a Kampala suburb called Kabalagala. (Remember Ethiopia invaded the Al-shabab in Somalia).
Then as the news began trickling in around Kampala, two more blasts in a period of one minute went off in another popular hangout called Kyadondo Rugby Club.
Before we knew it, 76 people were dead and scores more injured. What was left was for us to call around to make sure family and friends are okay.
And then like a hammer, news comes in that a certain man claiming to be a member of Al-shabab in Somalia (an affiliate of Alqeada)was celebrating the death of innocent people-I wonder how some people think.
MAY THOSE INNOCENT SOULS REST IN ETERNAL PEACE.
In pain
Dennis
First a bomb went off at the Ethiopian village in a Kampala suburb called Kabalagala. (Remember Ethiopia invaded the Al-shabab in Somalia).
Then as the news began trickling in around Kampala, two more blasts in a period of one minute went off in another popular hangout called Kyadondo Rugby Club.
Before we knew it, 76 people were dead and scores more injured. What was left was for us to call around to make sure family and friends are okay.
And then like a hammer, news comes in that a certain man claiming to be a member of Al-shabab in Somalia (an affiliate of Alqeada)was celebrating the death of innocent people-I wonder how some people think.
MAY THOSE INNOCENT SOULS REST IN ETERNAL PEACE.
In pain
Dennis
In the footsteps of a gay man: A journalist’s journey into the Ugandan gay world
Posted in Sunday Monitor, July 11 2010 at 00:00
In Summary
Gay terms used in the Ugandan gay community
•Top: A gay man that acts as man during intercourse.
•Botton: A gay man that acts as the woman during intercourse.
•Baldwin: An attractive male.
•Gay Curious: Gay-friendly person curious about their degree of homosexuality. This person often feels they may be gay, lesbian or bisexual but confirmation of those feelings may take further emotional or physical exploration.
•Bare backer: Gay men who want to have sex without using condoms.
•Chicken: Young boy that’s gay or a teenage-looking gay man.
•Drama queen: A gay male who reacts to situations in a highly emotional manner.
•Beard: A spouse, partner, or date of a gay person who wants to fake heterosexuality: “His wife is just a beard”.
•Cruise: To look for a sex partner in areas known for this activity; to stare at someone with the intention of attracting his or her attention.
•Down-low; DL: A term once used exclusively to refer to working-class men who live as straight men, are often married and secretly have affairs or one night stands with other men. The closest equivalent is the older phrase rough trade.
•Ex-gay: A person who identified as gay in the past, but who no longer does so.
•Friend of Dorothy: A gay man.
•The glass closet: Used to describe one who is an obvious homosexual but claims to be straight.
•Kept man: An attractive, typically younger male who financially depends on an older male and provides friendship, sexual favours and other personal services in return.
•Meanwhile: A term used mostly by gay men to point out an attractive passerby.
Within a period of three weeks, I learnt that gay relationships are almost like straight ones. Those involved charm, seduce, deceive, try to manipulate with money and even plead with whoever they are interested in to give into them and yes, they also get cheated on It was a hot Tuesday morning and I was seated in front of my computer reading an online article about gays in Uganda. The page had a link to a website called icebreakersuganda.org.
I clicked on it out of curiosity. It is probably one of the boldest gay things I have seen in this country. It’s a website that encourages gay people to come out and embrace their sexuality (thus the name icebreaker) and it connects gay people in Uganda. The website has a guestbook link where visitors of the site can update any comments or ideas on their mind about the website.
However, most of the comments posted on the website’s guestbook are announcements of gay people who want to meet other gays for mere company, sex or love. Consequently, this segment of the website has been turned into a “lonely hearts” of sorts for gay people. Some of the posted messages are darkly explicit and complete with e-mail addresses and phone numbers.
One of the posted messages on the website was an announcement for a gay party of sorts. It had a phone number attached to it.
I was always under the impression that the gay community in Uganda was so air-tight and secretive. I always imagined that they strictly met in secret locations (like world-class spies) and used secret gesture codes to identify themselves. I thought it was next to impossible to infiltrate their circles if one wasn’t gay. I had gotten so easily close to getting in that a part of me thought it probably was a hoax website. I dialled the number.
The calls and text messages
The man on the other line had an ordinary man’s tone (I expected a much softer tone). I told him where I had found his number and that I was gay and that I wanted to come for the party. He told me it happens every Sunday at a house in Nsambya. “Just call me on Sunday, we shall meet in town and go together,” he said to me. I promised him I would. His tone was hard to read; I couldn’t tell whether he was excited another “gay” person was coming to the party, or he had received several calls like this and was simply doing what he did a lot. His tone was indifferent.
The next man I rang was called Ronald (not real name). After telling him where I had found his number, we kicked it off. He was easy to talk to plus he sounded excited. He asked me how old I was and whether I was on Facebook. I hadn’t seen this coming and involuntarily, I hesitated. He probably noticed this because before I could answer, he assured me it was only because he wanted to see my picture.
I told him I wasn’t on Facebook; I lied. I added that I would call him back later; I lied, again. He called for several days after that insisting that he wanted to take me out.
For a few days, because of this man, I understood what it felt like to be pursued so directly and so aggressively by a man on the phone. Even though I was somewhat flattered by Ronald’s persistent ways, he was mainly irritating.
The third call was to a man called Peter (not real name). His posted messages said we was looking for romance and wasn’t yet ready for sex. I imagined he would be less aggressive. From our several text messages, I learnt that he worked with a small-time consultancy along Jinja Road, and that he had begun his gay tendencies in a secondary boarding school. He was living with a friend who, from the way he spoke about him, seemed to be his boyfriend or lover.
He suggested we meet at his place when his lover wasn’t around. When I asked him what was wrong with his lover, he answered, “He is just jealous over nothing.” It was hard to tell whether this was actually the truth. One thing was for sure; he wanted to cheat. It struck me so hard; this was probably when I started to realise that gay relationships are almost like ordinary straight relationships; people cheat on each other.
I told him I would not mind sleeping with him and he agreed. This was a direct contradiction, considering he had said he wasn’t ready for sex in his posted message. Days went by and I spoke to more gay men, some of whom also said they already had lovers and were only looking for a discreet relationship, something secretive that wouldn’t get them in trouble with their other gay partners.
After several calls and text messages, the one that stuck out the most was Moses (not real name). With most of the calls I had made, all I had to do was tell the men where I had gotten their numbers and what usually followed was them asking me when and where I wanted to meet.
When I told Moses where I had found his number, he asked me what I wanted and when I told him I wanted to meet; he asked why. When I asked how old he was; he told me he barely knew. He acted hard to get, always replying my full page text messages with one word or two. He had a certain confidence and self sufficiency about him. He did admit that he was gay, but acted too busy for petty calls and behaved as though he was above it all.
I was intrigued. I wanted to figure him out. What was it about him that made him want nothing? How come everyone else had succumbed and he hadn’t? For a moment, it felt like I was pursuing him. Even though I never got to meet him, he drove me to picture him as a well bred man who had seen it all and was hard to impress. I imagined he was accomplished and had a lot of class.
The meetings
Around the second week, the calls and text messages became dull; it was time to meet. One of the many people I had spoken to had advised me never to go to a gay man’s place if I didn’t trust him because gay men spike the drinks of those they want just like devilishly cunning straight men do to girls when they want to sleep with them.
The first physical meeting was with Paul (not real name). We met at a popular bar and restaurant at Centenary Park at about 10:30p.m. He offered to buy me a drink but I was already nervous so I offered to buy him one instead. We talked about the World Cup and he went on and on about Brazil and France. On the face of it, Paul did not in any way look like the stereotype gay man I had expected. He was a fairly well groomed man and did not strike me as a man who would have a lot of trouble finding a girl. When I asked him how he found out he was gay, he said he had “always been attracted to boys at school rather than the girls.”
At the risk of sounding like a gay man myself, Paul was the perfect gentleman; he probably noticed that I was new to the gay community. He told me not to give myself in to someone I didn’t love. “Sex is intimate, you are still a virgin. Take your time,” he said.
At another popular bar and restaurant along Lumumba Avenue, I met two other men who wanted to take me home so I could see their houses. I always found a way out. They were never pushy. They would use insinuating words, seduce in subtle and delicate ways, at times by simply staring. Most of them wore clean shaven beards; I don’t know if it’s a gay thing. Plus, they were not bad looking, so it was hard to believe they were gay because girls weren’t interested in them.
The party
I am ashamed to admit that I never went for the gay party; I failed to muster the courage for that. After noticing that most gay men looked like the ordinary man seated next to you on an ordinary day, I was probably afraid that I would meet somebody that knew me.
Frank Mugisha
As I interacted further with these men, one common name kept coming up - Frank Mugisha. Most of them bragged about knowing a certain Frank Mugisha. From the way they spoke about him, they somewhat idolised him, occasionally claiming they were Facebook friends with him.
I googled him: Frank Mugisha is an openly gay man living in Kampala. He is the director of SMUG (Sexual Minorities Uganda), a pro-gay and lesbian NGO. He is also the personality behind icebreakersuganda.org. He is a celebrity in the gay circles. I tried asking around about him but most that bragged about knowing him didn’t really know him; the only thing I learnt is that he has a blackberry phone and is a chicken (a gay term to mean a young-looking gay man).
The stereotypes
Most of what we know about gay people is that they are men who dress almost in a feminine way and talk softly or have feminine attributes. All the gay men I spoke to and met were none of these. These people act in the same way straight people do. Like I said, they charm, seduce, deceive, cheat and naturally I would assume there is also heart breaking involved. Plus, they always talked about having protected sex.
I expected to meet insanely rich people like the tales I have heard about the gays but these people are ordinary; they use taxis, eat and hang out in ordinary places and would rather beep or send a text message than make a call. Also, they have an attraction towards white people. Most of those who go to exotic uptown places are mainly activists.
In Summary
Gay terms used in the Ugandan gay community
•Top: A gay man that acts as man during intercourse.
•Botton: A gay man that acts as the woman during intercourse.
•Baldwin: An attractive male.
•Gay Curious: Gay-friendly person curious about their degree of homosexuality. This person often feels they may be gay, lesbian or bisexual but confirmation of those feelings may take further emotional or physical exploration.
•Bare backer: Gay men who want to have sex without using condoms.
•Chicken: Young boy that’s gay or a teenage-looking gay man.
•Drama queen: A gay male who reacts to situations in a highly emotional manner.
•Beard: A spouse, partner, or date of a gay person who wants to fake heterosexuality: “His wife is just a beard”.
•Cruise: To look for a sex partner in areas known for this activity; to stare at someone with the intention of attracting his or her attention.
•Down-low; DL: A term once used exclusively to refer to working-class men who live as straight men, are often married and secretly have affairs or one night stands with other men. The closest equivalent is the older phrase rough trade.
•Ex-gay: A person who identified as gay in the past, but who no longer does so.
•Friend of Dorothy: A gay man.
•The glass closet: Used to describe one who is an obvious homosexual but claims to be straight.
•Kept man: An attractive, typically younger male who financially depends on an older male and provides friendship, sexual favours and other personal services in return.
•Meanwhile: A term used mostly by gay men to point out an attractive passerby.
Within a period of three weeks, I learnt that gay relationships are almost like straight ones. Those involved charm, seduce, deceive, try to manipulate with money and even plead with whoever they are interested in to give into them and yes, they also get cheated on It was a hot Tuesday morning and I was seated in front of my computer reading an online article about gays in Uganda. The page had a link to a website called icebreakersuganda.org.
I clicked on it out of curiosity. It is probably one of the boldest gay things I have seen in this country. It’s a website that encourages gay people to come out and embrace their sexuality (thus the name icebreaker) and it connects gay people in Uganda. The website has a guestbook link where visitors of the site can update any comments or ideas on their mind about the website.
However, most of the comments posted on the website’s guestbook are announcements of gay people who want to meet other gays for mere company, sex or love. Consequently, this segment of the website has been turned into a “lonely hearts” of sorts for gay people. Some of the posted messages are darkly explicit and complete with e-mail addresses and phone numbers.
One of the posted messages on the website was an announcement for a gay party of sorts. It had a phone number attached to it.
I was always under the impression that the gay community in Uganda was so air-tight and secretive. I always imagined that they strictly met in secret locations (like world-class spies) and used secret gesture codes to identify themselves. I thought it was next to impossible to infiltrate their circles if one wasn’t gay. I had gotten so easily close to getting in that a part of me thought it probably was a hoax website. I dialled the number.
The calls and text messages
The man on the other line had an ordinary man’s tone (I expected a much softer tone). I told him where I had found his number and that I was gay and that I wanted to come for the party. He told me it happens every Sunday at a house in Nsambya. “Just call me on Sunday, we shall meet in town and go together,” he said to me. I promised him I would. His tone was hard to read; I couldn’t tell whether he was excited another “gay” person was coming to the party, or he had received several calls like this and was simply doing what he did a lot. His tone was indifferent.
The next man I rang was called Ronald (not real name). After telling him where I had found his number, we kicked it off. He was easy to talk to plus he sounded excited. He asked me how old I was and whether I was on Facebook. I hadn’t seen this coming and involuntarily, I hesitated. He probably noticed this because before I could answer, he assured me it was only because he wanted to see my picture.
I told him I wasn’t on Facebook; I lied. I added that I would call him back later; I lied, again. He called for several days after that insisting that he wanted to take me out.
For a few days, because of this man, I understood what it felt like to be pursued so directly and so aggressively by a man on the phone. Even though I was somewhat flattered by Ronald’s persistent ways, he was mainly irritating.
The third call was to a man called Peter (not real name). His posted messages said we was looking for romance and wasn’t yet ready for sex. I imagined he would be less aggressive. From our several text messages, I learnt that he worked with a small-time consultancy along Jinja Road, and that he had begun his gay tendencies in a secondary boarding school. He was living with a friend who, from the way he spoke about him, seemed to be his boyfriend or lover.
He suggested we meet at his place when his lover wasn’t around. When I asked him what was wrong with his lover, he answered, “He is just jealous over nothing.” It was hard to tell whether this was actually the truth. One thing was for sure; he wanted to cheat. It struck me so hard; this was probably when I started to realise that gay relationships are almost like ordinary straight relationships; people cheat on each other.
I told him I would not mind sleeping with him and he agreed. This was a direct contradiction, considering he had said he wasn’t ready for sex in his posted message. Days went by and I spoke to more gay men, some of whom also said they already had lovers and were only looking for a discreet relationship, something secretive that wouldn’t get them in trouble with their other gay partners.
After several calls and text messages, the one that stuck out the most was Moses (not real name). With most of the calls I had made, all I had to do was tell the men where I had gotten their numbers and what usually followed was them asking me when and where I wanted to meet.
When I told Moses where I had found his number, he asked me what I wanted and when I told him I wanted to meet; he asked why. When I asked how old he was; he told me he barely knew. He acted hard to get, always replying my full page text messages with one word or two. He had a certain confidence and self sufficiency about him. He did admit that he was gay, but acted too busy for petty calls and behaved as though he was above it all.
I was intrigued. I wanted to figure him out. What was it about him that made him want nothing? How come everyone else had succumbed and he hadn’t? For a moment, it felt like I was pursuing him. Even though I never got to meet him, he drove me to picture him as a well bred man who had seen it all and was hard to impress. I imagined he was accomplished and had a lot of class.
The meetings
Around the second week, the calls and text messages became dull; it was time to meet. One of the many people I had spoken to had advised me never to go to a gay man’s place if I didn’t trust him because gay men spike the drinks of those they want just like devilishly cunning straight men do to girls when they want to sleep with them.
The first physical meeting was with Paul (not real name). We met at a popular bar and restaurant at Centenary Park at about 10:30p.m. He offered to buy me a drink but I was already nervous so I offered to buy him one instead. We talked about the World Cup and he went on and on about Brazil and France. On the face of it, Paul did not in any way look like the stereotype gay man I had expected. He was a fairly well groomed man and did not strike me as a man who would have a lot of trouble finding a girl. When I asked him how he found out he was gay, he said he had “always been attracted to boys at school rather than the girls.”
At the risk of sounding like a gay man myself, Paul was the perfect gentleman; he probably noticed that I was new to the gay community. He told me not to give myself in to someone I didn’t love. “Sex is intimate, you are still a virgin. Take your time,” he said.
At another popular bar and restaurant along Lumumba Avenue, I met two other men who wanted to take me home so I could see their houses. I always found a way out. They were never pushy. They would use insinuating words, seduce in subtle and delicate ways, at times by simply staring. Most of them wore clean shaven beards; I don’t know if it’s a gay thing. Plus, they were not bad looking, so it was hard to believe they were gay because girls weren’t interested in them.
The party
I am ashamed to admit that I never went for the gay party; I failed to muster the courage for that. After noticing that most gay men looked like the ordinary man seated next to you on an ordinary day, I was probably afraid that I would meet somebody that knew me.
Frank Mugisha
As I interacted further with these men, one common name kept coming up - Frank Mugisha. Most of them bragged about knowing a certain Frank Mugisha. From the way they spoke about him, they somewhat idolised him, occasionally claiming they were Facebook friends with him.
I googled him: Frank Mugisha is an openly gay man living in Kampala. He is the director of SMUG (Sexual Minorities Uganda), a pro-gay and lesbian NGO. He is also the personality behind icebreakersuganda.org. He is a celebrity in the gay circles. I tried asking around about him but most that bragged about knowing him didn’t really know him; the only thing I learnt is that he has a blackberry phone and is a chicken (a gay term to mean a young-looking gay man).
The stereotypes
Most of what we know about gay people is that they are men who dress almost in a feminine way and talk softly or have feminine attributes. All the gay men I spoke to and met were none of these. These people act in the same way straight people do. Like I said, they charm, seduce, deceive, cheat and naturally I would assume there is also heart breaking involved. Plus, they always talked about having protected sex.
I expected to meet insanely rich people like the tales I have heard about the gays but these people are ordinary; they use taxis, eat and hang out in ordinary places and would rather beep or send a text message than make a call. Also, they have an attraction towards white people. Most of those who go to exotic uptown places are mainly activists.
Monday, June 14, 2010
TheCall Uganda Press Release: Part 2
Posted on June 10th, 2010
June 2010
Three weeks ago I returned from Uganda where I participated in TheCall Uganda. Prior to going I released a statement declaring the intent and purposes of my going there and holding TheCall. In that statement I clearly declared that TheCall was not going to Uganda to promote the Anti-Homosexuality Bill (”Bill”). Instead, the purpose of the event was to pray and fast for this nation in crisis.
I was actually asked to release a petition at TheCall for the people to sign in support of the Bill. I did not allow that to happen because the purpose of the gathering was not a political gathering; it was a prayer gathering. However, I had to leave the prayer meeting early to catch our flight back home. After returning home, I was told that the Bill had been clearly promoted after I left the meeting. I apologize that this took place and that my stated purpose of not promoting the Bill was compromised. I take responsibility for what was done on the stage of TheCall, even in my absence.
That being said, I am grateful that I had the privilege of going to Uganda and meeting Christian leaders who explained their heart concerning the Bill. Not one was carrying even an ounce of hatred for homosexuals. They actually desired to influence the lawmakers in Uganda to lessen the penalties. However, they were committed to raise up a principled stand to protect their people and their children from an unwelcome intrusion of homosexual ideology into an 83% Christian nation, an intrusion that is being pressed upon them by the UN, UNICEF, and other NGOs and Western colonialist powers.
These powers are threatening to withdraw funding from Uganda if they do not open their doors to these ideologies. They shared with me with broken hearts some of the painful stories of the effect of this worldwide pressure, as it is being pushed and promoted into their educational system. I appealed to them that in all their labor and their stand they express the mercy of Christ to broken people, but I also stood with them in their desire to not succumb to the political ideological pressures of the West and many of the voices of the Western Church that have come strongly against them.
These brothers in Uganda will give an account to the Lord on how sternly they stood as a prophetic community in their nation and we, the Church of the West, will give an account for our response when homosexual ideology swept into our nations.
For TheCall,
Lou Engle
June 2010
Three weeks ago I returned from Uganda where I participated in TheCall Uganda. Prior to going I released a statement declaring the intent and purposes of my going there and holding TheCall. In that statement I clearly declared that TheCall was not going to Uganda to promote the Anti-Homosexuality Bill (”Bill”). Instead, the purpose of the event was to pray and fast for this nation in crisis.
I was actually asked to release a petition at TheCall for the people to sign in support of the Bill. I did not allow that to happen because the purpose of the gathering was not a political gathering; it was a prayer gathering. However, I had to leave the prayer meeting early to catch our flight back home. After returning home, I was told that the Bill had been clearly promoted after I left the meeting. I apologize that this took place and that my stated purpose of not promoting the Bill was compromised. I take responsibility for what was done on the stage of TheCall, even in my absence.
That being said, I am grateful that I had the privilege of going to Uganda and meeting Christian leaders who explained their heart concerning the Bill. Not one was carrying even an ounce of hatred for homosexuals. They actually desired to influence the lawmakers in Uganda to lessen the penalties. However, they were committed to raise up a principled stand to protect their people and their children from an unwelcome intrusion of homosexual ideology into an 83% Christian nation, an intrusion that is being pressed upon them by the UN, UNICEF, and other NGOs and Western colonialist powers.
These powers are threatening to withdraw funding from Uganda if they do not open their doors to these ideologies. They shared with me with broken hearts some of the painful stories of the effect of this worldwide pressure, as it is being pushed and promoted into their educational system. I appealed to them that in all their labor and their stand they express the mercy of Christ to broken people, but I also stood with them in their desire to not succumb to the political ideological pressures of the West and many of the voices of the Western Church that have come strongly against them.
These brothers in Uganda will give an account to the Lord on how sternly they stood as a prophetic community in their nation and we, the Church of the West, will give an account for our response when homosexual ideology swept into our nations.
For TheCall,
Lou Engle
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