tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79364471190899823642023-11-15T10:04:14.060-08:00denkross' life in Ugandawamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.comBlogger255125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-69342620929058046962017-06-06T07:43:00.000-07:002017-06-06T07:43:10.791-07:00In Scathing Ruling, Court Affirms SMUG’s Charges Against U.S. Anti-Gay Extremist Scott Lively While Dismissing on Jurisdictional Ground
Historic Case Has Broken New Legal Ground, Documented Lively’s Campaign of Persecution in Uganda
June 6, 2017, New York – Yesterday, a federal court minced no words in affirming that U.S.-based anti-gay extremist Scott Lively aided and abetted the crime against humanity of persecution in a ruling dismissing the lawsuit brought by Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) on a narrow jurisdictional ground.
“Anyone reading this memorandum should make no mistake,” wrote Judge Michael Ponsor of the U.S. District Court in Springfield Massachusetts. “The question before the court is not whether Defendant’s actions in aiding and abetting efforts to demonize, intimidate, and injure LGBTI people in Uganda constitute violations of international law. They do.”
The judge ruled that even though the evidence supports SMUG’s claims that Lively worked to deprive them of fundamental rights, the court did not have jurisdiction as a result of a 2013 Supreme Court ruling issued after SMUG’s case was filed. The ruling in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Shell limited the extraterritorial reach of the Alien Tort Statute, under which SMUG brought its claim. “The much narrower and more technical question posed by Defendant’s motion is whether the limited actions taken by Defendant on American soil in pursuit of his odious campaign are sufficient to give this court jurisdiction over Plaintiff’s claims,” Judge Ponsor continued. “Since they are not sufficient, summary judgment is appropriate for this, and only this, reason.”
“This case is a win for SMUG,” said Frank Mugisha, SMUG Executive Director. “The court’s ruling recognized the dangers resulting from the hatred that Scott Lively and other extremist Christians from the U.S. have exported to my country. By having a court recognize that persecution of LGBTI people amounts to a crime against humanity, we have already been able to hold Lively to account and reduce his dangerous influence in Uganda.”
In 2013 SMUG v. Lively broke new legal ground when the court rejected Lively’s motion to dismiss the case, finding that persecution on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is a crime against humanity and that the fundamental human rights of LGBTI people are protected under international law.
“The ruling clearly vindicates what SMUG and the LGBTI community in Uganda have known and said all along about Lively and his role in Uganda,” said CCR Senior Staff Attorney Pamela Spees. “They have shown incredible courage, dignity, and determination in the face of rising repression and persecution. No matter what happens next in this case, they have made an important difference in demanding their day in court, achieving the recognition that persecution of LGBTI people is a crime against humanity, and facing down one of their key persecutors armed only with the truth of their experience and moral courage.”
Given the widespread claim that homosexuality is foreign to Africa and a corrupt Western import, the documentation of the Western role in orchestrating the persecution of LGBTI people has proven an embarrassment for Lively’s Ugandan partners.
“The court recognized that Lively worked to erase LGBTI Ugandans from civil and political life – a threat to Ugandan self-determination,” said Rutgers Law professor and Center for Constitutional Rights co-counsel Jeena Shah. “The evidence surfaced in this case showed how Lively’s persecutory efforts exploited a long history of Western homophobia in Uganda, beginning with British colonization.”
The court emphasized throughout the decision the illegality and harm of Lively’s campaign of persecution, finding that:
“Defendant Scott Lively is an American citizen who has aided and abetted a vicious and frightening campaign of repression against LGBTI persons in Uganda.”
“[Lively’s] crackpot bigotry could be brushed aside as pathetic, except for the terrible harm it can cause. The record in this case demonstrates that Defendant has worked with elements in Uganda who share some of his views to try to repress freedom of expression by LGBTI people in Uganda, deprive them of the protection of the law, and render their very existence illegal.”
The evidence “confirmed the nature of Defendant's, on the one hand, vicious and, on the other hand, ludicrously extreme animus against LGBTI people and his determination to assist in persecuting them wherever they are, including Uganda. The evidence of record demonstrates that Defendant aided and abetted efforts (1) to restrict freedom of expression by members of the LBGTI community in Uganda, (2) to suppress their civil rights, and (3) to make the very existence of LGBTI people in Uganda a crime.”
Read today’s ruling here. To learn more, visit CCR’s case page.
Sexual Minorities Uganda is represented by Center for Constitutional Rights and Jeena Shah of the International Human Rights Clinic at Rutgers Law School in Newark, the law firm of Dorsey & Whitney, LLP, Christopher Betke, Luke Ryan, and Judith Chomsky.
Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) is non-profit umbrella organization for LGBTQI advocacy groups in Uganda. SMUG was founded in 2004 and the network currently comprises 18 organizations in Uganda offering counseling, health, and other services, to the LGBTQI community. As an umbrella entity, SMUG also works closely with international human rights organizations to bring attention to the persecution of LGBTI people in Uganda. Visit www.sexualminoritiesuganda.com.
The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change.wamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-17633055818836709572017-04-24T02:32:00.002-07:002017-04-24T02:32:40.993-07:00Row erupts over purchase of Shs3b sex lubricants for homosexuals
By EMMANUEL AINEBYOONA
Kampala. A row has erupted between political leadership of the Ministry of Health and technocrats over the purchase of sex lubricants worth about Shs3b for homosexuals.
The lid on the new purchase was opened during the ministry’s quarterly review meeting on Friday that turned rowdy after Dr Patrick Tusiime, the head of National Disease Control Programme, presented an expenditure on procurement of 964,000 sex lubricants using funds provided by the Global Funds.
The Global Fund is an international financing organisation that aims to attract and disburse additional resources to prevent and treat HIV and Aids, tuberculosis and malaria. The organisation has its secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland. It is the world’s largest financier of anti-Aids, TB and malaria programmes. As of July 2016, the organisation had disbursed $30 billion to needy countries, including Uganda.
According to a source who attended the meeting, Ms Sarah Opendi, the State minister of Health in charge of General Duties, quickly questioned the purchase of the lubricants for the sexual minorities, indicating that homosexuality remains illegal under the Penal Code Act.
In an interview with Sunday Monitor, Ms Opendi confirmed the purchase of the lubricants and made it clear that the political leadership at the ministry did not approve the purchase of the lubricants.
“We are very surprised by the progromme manager of the Aids Control Programme. We are reviewing our previous quarter work plan and during his presentation, he talked about procurement of 964,000 lubricants,” Ms Opendi said.
“We have never approved any such lubricants or any such commodities to be brought into this country. Homosexuality remains an illegally activity, according to our laws and, therefore, as Ministry of Health, we cannot be seen doing the opposite….the Global Fund money is supposed to help in the fight against malaria and other diseases not buying lubricants for homosexuals,” Ms Opendi said.
According to a source, each tube was bought at $0.8 (about Shs2,800), which translates to about Shs3 billion for the 964,000 tubes purchased. It’s not yet clear which type of tubes ministry officials imported into the country and from where. It’s also not clear how the disputed tubes were brought into the country without the knowledge of the political leadership.
The lubricants are used during sexual intercourse or such activities to reduce friction.
The source also indicated that Ms Specioza Kazibwe, who is an advisor to the Health ministry, also opposed the purchase of the lubricants. However, the former vice president declined to comment on the matter, saying she just advises the ministry.
When contacted about the purchased lubricates, , Dr Joshua Musinguzi, who heads the Aids Control Programme at the ministry of Health, promised to get back to Sunday Monitor, but by press time, he had not done so.
However, Prof Anthony Mbonye, the acting director general Health Services, disagreed with the minister, saying a lot of gay people go to health facilities in search of treatment for wounds caused by “friction”.
Mr Kikonyongo Kivumbi, who represents key affected populations on the Country Coordinating Mechanism, the agency that oversees the implementation of Global Fund, told this newspaper that the minister is misinformed on the use of the lubricants.
“The lubricants are part of the Global Fund grant and it’s not only the homosexuals who need the lubricant but also discordant couples and other normal people,” Mr Kivumbi said.
The minister of Ethics and Integrity, Fr Simon Lokodo, was surprised when contacted about the matter.
“What! This is unacceptable and incredible. We strongly denounce homosexuality as it is unacceptable and against our cultural values and conscience,” he said.wamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-68476498907925231492017-04-24T02:29:00.001-07:002017-04-24T02:29:40.253-07:00Uganda's Obsession with Homosexuality
New Guild Prime Minister Is Homosexual – MAK FDC Chapter
By David Mujuni - Apr 24, 2017
The newly named cabinet by Makerere’s new guild President has already started yielding division among FDC at Uganda’s biggest university.
Immediately after swearing in, Kato Paul dropped names for his new cabinet in which he appointed former rival Mercy Lakisa (UYD) as deputy guild president and Ian Ndamwesiga as guild prime minister.
His new appointments have not been welcomed by Makerere FDC chapter and they are requesting Kato Paul to drop the two immediately before matters go worse.
According to Ronald Ainebyoona the chairperson of FDC Makerere chapter, the newly elected guild prime minister is alleged homosexual and needs to be dropped from the cabinet because his “sexuality is detrimental to the FDC image”. While commenting on the new cabinet last Saturday, Ainebyona also revealed how betrayed he felt especially from Kato whom he claims to have nurtured with his own hands.
Through its chairperson, FDC chapter has declared its opposition to Kato’s cabinet which they termed as betrayal after all the efforts they invested throughout campaign sessions. The bitter chairperson also went ahead to reveal that Kato is NRM’s puppet who reportedly met with Gen. Kale Kaihura on Easter Monday over an unknown agenda.
Obed Giu is another FDC member at Makerere who vowed to fight Kato’s leadership and affirmed the matter that a “homosexual cannot lead” while referring to the new prime minister. He revealed this when commenting about the new cabinet last Saturday.wamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-45465537958896887262014-09-07T00:35:00.002-07:002014-09-07T00:35:55.502-07:00Anti-Gay bill Annulled PRESS STATEMENT
For Immediate Release: August 1 2014
A Victory for Constitutionalism
(Kampala) In the case of Prof. J Oloka-Onyango & 9 Others v. Attorney General (Petition No.8
of 2014)- the Constitutional Court has struck down Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2014
as unconstitutional. The ruling was delivered by a unanimous court of five members by
Justices Eldad Mwanguhya and Steven Kavuma on behalf of a unanimous court made of
three other justices: Justice Augustine Nshimye, Justice Ruby Opio-Aweri, and Justice Solomy
Balungi Bbosa.
The case was brought by a cross-section of concerned Ugandan citizens to challenge the
constitutionality of the Act on the grounds that it was passed when Parliament did not have
the necessary quorum as required by the Constitution and the Parliamentary Rules of
Procedure and also that it violated the constitutional guarantees of freedom from
discrimination and from cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, among others.
Only the ground of quroum was ruled on. The Court found that the Act should be nullified
because there was no quorum in parliament on the day that it was passed as required by the
Constitution and the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure, and that the Speaker committed an
illegality when she allowed it to be passed without ascertaining that the quorum existed as
required by the Constitution and the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure. That this was an
illegality and the resultant law could not stand.
“The judiciary today has stood for the rule of law and good governance in striking out a law
that was passed in a way that contravened the Constitution and the Parliamentary Rules of
Procedure. This is a resounding victory for democracy in the country, and confirms that laws
passed in violation of the Constitution cannot be allowed to remain on the law books”
according to Prof. J Oloka-Onyango, the first petitioner.
“This victory is for all Ugandans. It is an affirmation of the independence of the Judiciary and
of a growing democracy: despite populist politicians claiming support for the law, the Court
has stood up for what is right,’ said Adrian Jjuuko, Executive Director of the Human Rights
Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF), the ninth Petitioner.
According to sixth petitioner and Executive Director of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG),
Frank Mugisha, ‘The striking down of the law removes a big yoke from the necks of many LGBTI persons who were criminalised for simply being who they are’. In the few months
since the Anti-Homosexuality Act was passed by Parliament on 20 December 2013, activists
recorded a marked increase in cases of violence against people known or suspected to be
LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex). Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG)
documented 162 cases of rights violations targeted against the LGBTI community during the
period 1st December 2013 to 1st May 2014.
The court ruling also comes as a relief to civil society stakeholders and service providers who
within weeks of the passing of the Anti-Homosexuality Act in February 2014 were falsely
targeted as being engaged in the promotion of homosexuality.
The petition was supported by the Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and
Constitutional Law, a Coalition of 50 civil society organisations that was established in 2009
to oppose the then Anti Homosexuality Bill. Clare Byarugaba, Co-Coordinator of the Civil
Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law asserted, ‘As the Civil Society
Coalition, we are excited about this development, and call upon the State to respect the
rights of all Ugandans and to uphold the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda.’
For more information, contact:
Frank Mugisha +256 772 616 062, frankmugisha@gmail.com
Adrian Jjuuko, +256 782 169 505, jjuukoa@gmail.com
Geoffrey Ogwaro, +256 782 176 069, ahbcoalition.coordinator@gmail.com
Clare Byarugaba, +256 774 608 663, ahbcoalition.coordinator@gmail.comwamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-75429177529296022932014-09-07T00:20:00.001-07:002014-09-07T00:20:33.357-07:00MPs start process to re-table gay Bill
By SOLOMON ARINAITWE & ISAAC IMAKA
Posted Wednesday, September 3 2014 at 01:00
IN SUMMARY
Change. MPs had wanted the House to suspend handling of the ongoing Budget process to handle the anti-gays Bill but the request was turned down.
nShare
Parliament yesterday officially allowed the start of a process which will see the reintroduction of a much stricter law against homosexuality.
It was revealed that MPs David Bahati (Ndorwa West) and Benson Obua Ogwal (Moroto County) have written to Parliament asking for a date to be set aside for the re-tabling of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
The law was struck down by the Constitutional Court on August 1 after the judges agreed with a group of petitioners that it was enacted without quorum in Parliament.
Mr Bahati regains the initiative on a Bill he had first tabled in 2009, much to the chagrin of Western countries, which denounced it as an affront to human rights and reacted by cutting donor aid when it was passed into law in December last year.
Yesterday, as the House resumed from a mini-recess, Deputy Speaker Jacob Oulanyah, said the two MPs have been granted leave of Parliament to allow them time to prepare the Bill, triggering excitement among members.
According to the House Rules of Procedure, once the Bill is re-tabled, it will be referred to a committee where revisions are considered, brought back to the House for debate before proceeding to the third reading- the final stage before the Bill is passed.
Mr Oulanyah also indicated that a drive to register MPs in support of the reintroduction of the Bill had garnered the support of 254 MPs - pushing the number much higher than the required one third of all 376 MPs entitled to vote.
Shortly after the court nullification, lawmakers led by Kawempe North MP Latif Ssebagala began collecting signatures in support of a plan to immediately reintroduce the law.
They wanted the House to suspend handling of the ongoing Budget process, with a proposal that the new Bill be the first on the Order Paper, a request that was turned down yesterday.
“We are now focusing on the Budget process and the Bill was already here and we passed it into law. If it had still been within Parliament, it would still be property of Parliament and we would have done whatever necessary to correct the anomalies,” Mr Oulanyah said.
“So when we finish the Budget and as soon as the movers of this Bill are ready, we will proceed. When it is introduced, we will handle it appropriately about those issues that were raised that caused the nullification,” he added. Under Uganda’s Penal Code Act, sexual acts “against the order of nature” are already criminalised.
By press time, it was unclear whether the two MPs will work alongside a nine-member committee led by Vice President Edward Ssekandi which was proposed by the NRM Parliamentary Caucus sitting on August 12 to look into the human rights issues raised against the law.
President Museveni is reported to have advised MPs to go slow in their quest since the issue was delicate.
Mr Bahati and Mr Ogwal were not available for comment yesterday as they were held up by the budget debate.
Promise detailed review
In the letter that Deputy Speaker Jacob Oulanyah read, MPs David Bahati and Benson Obua also promised to look into the other issues raised by pro-gays activists in their petition but which were not disposed of by court. Judges only addressed themselves to the prayer about lack of quorum.
iladu@ug.nationmedia.com
wamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-68028813512588880922014-09-07T00:17:00.001-07:002014-09-07T00:17:10.489-07:00Do not harm homosexuals, Archbishop Odama appeals
By Julius Ocungi
Posted Monday, August 18 2014 at 01:00
IN SUMMARY
The cleric says gays were created in God’s image but only deviated from a Godly lifestyle.
Gulu- The Archbishop of Gulu Archdiocese, John Baptist Odama, has asked Ugandans to avoid harming homosexuals despite the fact that the Constitutional Court nullified the anti-homosexuality law on a technicality of lack of quorum.
Bishop Odama said homosexuals are also human beings created in the image of God who only deviated from the Godly way of life.
“Let us learn to love God’s human creatures. It is not that I am advocating for homosexual practice in the country, but we should not take laws into our hands to harm and hate the homosexuals because we all have weaknesses,” the Archbishop said.
He made the remarks at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Gulu Municipality at weekend while presiding over a wedding ceremony of Mr Patrick Omony and Ms Margret Akello.
“The country has been struggling to have a law to criminalises homosexuality. However, the struggle has been frustrated by the constitutional courts. People should not take the laws into their hands and harm homosexuals, since they are also Human beings though with different sexual feelings,” he said.
Archbishop Odama said the fight against homosexuality should focus on sensitising youth on the negative impacts of the practice since the vice contravenes cultural settings and norms.
Earlier this month, the Constitutional Court did not rule on the substance of the anti-gay measure which allowed jail terms of up to life for homosexual offences, but threw out the law because it was passed during a session that lacked quorum.
In 2012 during the installation of the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, Stanley Ntagali, President Museveni said “gay people should not be killed or persecuted”.
editorial@ug.nationmedia.com
wamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-14632239199058177202014-02-12T02:37:00.001-08:002014-02-12T02:37:24.780-08:00PRESS RELEASE ON THE IMPLICATION OF THE SAME SEX MARRIAGE [PROHIBITION] ACT 2013 ON HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS IN NIGERIA
The Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders in Africa, Mrs Reine Alapini-Gansou, has taken note of the promulgation on 13 January 2014 in Nigeria of the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, and is deeply concerned about the consequences this law may have on sexual minorities who are already vulnerable as a result of social prejudice.
The Special Rapporteur is concerned by some provisions of the Act, in particular Sections 4(1) and 5(2) which prohibit and provide for penalties against defenders of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. These provisions undermine the work of human rights defenders and are against any public debate on this crucial issue.
The Special Rapporteur is concerned by the increase, following the enactment of the law, in cases of physical violence, aggression, arbitrary detention and harassment carried out against human rights defenders dealing with sexual minority rights issues.
The Special Rapporteur strongly condemns such acts which are a violation of the right to life, physical integrity, and freedom of expression and assembly of human rights defenders.
The Special Rapporteur would like to remind the Government of Nigeria of its international obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.
The Special Rapporteur calls on the Government of Nigeria to ensure that human rights defenders are able to conduct their activities in an enabling environment that is free of stigma and reprisals.
The Special Rapporteur would also like to encourage the Nigerian political authorities to continue their efforts towards ensuring the physical integrity and safety of human rights defenders in Nigeria.
Banjul, 05 February 2014
wamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-38135704436116849112014-02-11T02:57:00.003-08:002014-02-11T02:57:43.782-08:00PRESS STATEMENT
For Immediate Release: 6 February 2014
Doctors, scientists warn Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill is a threat to public health
Experts tell President it will have a ‘disastrous impact’ on the fight against HIV
(Kampala, Uganda)
Uganda’s proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill will pose a threat to public health if it
becomes law by discouraging people from seeking medical care due to discrimination and intimidation, a panel of Ugandan and international medical experts has warned. The Bill would also create an environment of fear that will discourage health care providers and civil society organizations from providing essential prevention and treatment services to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
In an open letter released today to President Museveni, available at www.AHB-OpenLetter.org, public health experts say that higher HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men means that the proposed law, which criminalizes “promotion” as well as “aiding and abetting of homosexuality,” will sabotage the country’s efforts to fight HIV. Uganda’s rate of new HIV infections has been on the rise since 2005, unlike virtually all other East and Southern African countries. The release of the letter comes on the eve of a Caucus meeting of the President’s political party, the National Resistance Movement (NRM), where the Bill will be debated.
This harmful Bill contradicts public health, human rights, and our ethical obligations as medical doctors and as Ugandans,” said Dr. Stephen Watiti, Board Chairperson of the Community Health Alliance of Uganda (CHAU), and a signatory to the open letter. “Uganda must ensure that everyone, whether heterosexual or lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, has access to essential health services, including HIV prevention and treatment. If passed into law, this Bill would dramatically undermine the fight against HIV—lives are literally hanging in the balance.”
“Driving lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities further underground is bad for their health, as well as the health of all of our people,” said Dennis Odwe, the Executive Director of Action Group for Health, Human Rights and HIV/AIDS (AGHA) Uganda. “Our politicians should focus on real priorities. we are calling on the President to veto this Bill.”
The President on December 28 announced in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament that he was seeking out “evidence” regarding homosexuality to ensure the Bill reflected a “scientifically correct” position. “We welcome the President’s call for evidence on homosexuality,” said Flavia Kyomukama, Coordinator of the Global Coalition on Women and HIV in Uganda. “The science could not be more clear, and we implore him to act on that evidence: lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are not suffering from an illness. These people are our sons, daughters, and community members. They must be treated with dignity and respect, just like any of us.”
The letter states that homosexuality is not “an abnormality, a mental disorder, or an illness,” and that people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender are no more likely to be a threat to children than their heterosexual counterparts—in response to baseless claims made by the Bill’s supporters that the Bill will increase the protection of children. The doctors who signed the bill, many of whom have extensive frontline experience in public health in Uganda and other African countries, also raised major ethical concerns about the proposed law, warning that it will leave lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people “in fear of arrest, violence and intimidation.”
For more information, contact:
Dennis Odwe, Executive Director, AGHA Uganda +256772637740 or +256702083227
ENDS
wamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-62279761448106030802014-02-11T02:57:00.000-08:002014-02-11T02:57:01.844-08:00Open letter from public health clinicians, researchers, and academics regarding Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill
To His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda:
We, the undersigned, are writing out of grave concern regarding the likely implications of Uganda’s
Anti Homosexuality Bill (“the Bill”) should it be passed into law. We are clinicians, researchers and
academics working in the field of public health. Many of us have extensive experience providing
physical and mental health services and doing public health-focused research in sub-Saharan Africa.
We note that Ugandan experts, including Uganda’s Human Rights Commission and the Uganda Law
Society, have studied this Bill and found that it violates obligations under Uganda’s Constitution to
protect and uphold fundamental freedoms of its people. This Bill also contradicts scientific evidence
regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. In your letter sent on December 28 to the
Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, you have expressed an interest in deliberating
over evidence and science regarding sexual orientation and arriving at a “scientifically correct position”
on the Bill.1 The purpose of this open letter is to focus on areas of particular concern to us as
public health experts, beyond our fundamental support for the human rights and human dignity of all
Ugandans: 1) the overwhelming evidence about homosexuality and the myths perpetuated by the Bill
and 2) the likely public health implications of this Bill, should it become law in Uganda.
1. Myths and Facts About Homosexuality
Your December 28 letter questions: a) whether homosexuality is an abnormality and b) whether homosexuality
is a condition of which a person can be “cured” or “rescued.”2
Evidence from independent technical normative agencies and respected medical and sociological
professional bodies around the world could not be more clear in response to both
questions: Homosexuality is not a pathology, an abnormality, a mental disorder, or an illness—it is
a variant of sexual behavior found in people around the world. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender people are normal. According to Uganda’s national diagnostics and statistical manual of
mental disorders (DSM), homosexuality is not classified as a mental disorder. Neither is homosexuality
a condition from which a person can be “converted.” Despite claims to the contrary, there is no
rigorous and peer reviewed scientific evidence that a person who is lesbian, gay, bisexual or
transgendered can be “cured.”3
The Bill’s claim to protect children and families in Uganda appears to be derived from the harmful
myth that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people pose a graver risk to children and families
than people of other sexual orientations. There is no such evidence—lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender people pose no greater risk to children than heterosexuals. In fact, sexual and physical
violence experienced all too routinely by children and adolescents in Uganda would be unaddressed
by this Bill. Implementation of this Bill would likely deplete the already limited resources invested in
Uganda into robust investigations and prosecutions of cases of violence against children. Rather, the
limited funds would be wasted on hunts by police for consenting adults suspected or accused of being
lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
2. Undermining public health and human rights
This Bill would further exacerbate the marginalization, discrimination and exclusion of people known
to or suspected of being homosexual. Research shows that laws and policies that increase stigma
1
The Daily Monitor, “Museveni blocks anti-homosexuality bill,” Yasiin Mugerwa. 17 January 2014.
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Museveni-blocks-Anti-Homosexuality-Bill/-/688334/2148760/-
/15lby8fz/-/index.html
2
Letter from President Museveni to Rt. Hon. Speaker Kadaga, 28 December 2013. Available at:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/200400880/President-Museveni-s-Letter-on-Anti-Homosexuality-Bill
3
Cf. Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO). “ ‘Cures’ For an Illness that Does Not Exist: Purported Therapies
Aimed at Changing Sexual Orientation Lack Medical Justification and are Ethically Unacceptable.” 15 May
2012, available at http://new.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=17703 and
Psychological Society of South Africa, “Sexual and Gender Diversity Position Statement,” 7 June 2013.
and discrimination among groups of people mean those people are less able to access health services
because of fear of arrest, intimidation, violence, and discrimination. For example, men who
have sex with men in Uganda report higher HIV prevalence and higher rates of syphilis and other
sexually transmitted infections than the general population.4 HIV prevalence among men who have
sex with men in Kampala is 13%, more than three times the average prevalence among heterosexual
men in Kampala (4.1%) and about twice as high as the national average of 7.3%. After years of
success in the fight against HIV, Uganda’s incidence has been rising since 2005—contrary to the
trends of virtually all other countries with high HIV burden in sub Saharan Africa.5 We are gravely
concerned that passage of this Bill will exacerbate that negative trend.
All people need essential health services, not the criminalization and discrimination this Bill would
foment. Furthermore, driving lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities away from services
endangers not only them but also the Ugandan population at large—approximately 75% of
men who have sex with men participating in a recent serosurvey report having sex with women as
well as men.6 Discrimination undermines their health as well as the public health of the population of
Uganda as a whole.
Ironically, the Bill’s clause prohibiting the “promotion of homosexuality” as well as “aiding and abetting
homosexuality” would criminalize urgently needed service delivery for lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender people. The Government of Uganda recently announced plans to implement government
funded clinics designed to reach men who have sex with men and sex workers.7 This Bill, if
passed into law, would sabotage such efforts by criminalizing them. This will have a disastrous impact
on the response of the nation as a whole to HIV as well as other public health priorities. This
clause would also put international and national health service providers funded by international donors
at risk of criminal prosecution if they discuss homosexuality in the course of their work.
The Bill conflicts with a health worker’s basic ethical obligation not to discriminate in the provision of
medical services and would create a culture of fear of arrest and imprisonment among service providers.
While a clause in earlier versions of the Bill that anyone suspected of being homosexual be
reported to police might have been removed from the Bill that Parliament passed, the clause prohibiting
promotion, aiding and abetting homosexuality would still force health workers to discriminate.
Contrary to recent claims that health workers in Uganda do not engage in discrimination when
providing services, Ugandans seeking health services in the public and private sectors frequently
report being questioned by health workers about their sexual activities and marital status—creating
for LGBT populations a legitimate fear of retaliation and discrimination if they are honest about their
sexual orientation. This climate of fear would be markedly increased should the Bill become law.
Scientific research also shows a powerful association between homophobic abuse and violence and
increased vulnerability to HIV. This is not due to an intrinsic condition of homosexuality, but a harmful
effect of homophobia. For example, men who have sex with men in Kampala who have experienced
verbal or physical homophobic abuse are five times more likely to be HIV positive than men who
have sex with men who have not experienced such abuse,8 indicating a strong association between
stigma and intolerance and HIV infection risk. Hatred and stigma drives vulnerable and isolated
communities such as men who have sex with men further from essential preventative and curative
health services.
We believe this Bill should not be passed into law—it blatantly defies highly corroborated scientific
evidence and it would have a harmful impact on public health, human rights, and the freedom of all
4
Hladik W, Barker J, Ssenkusu JM, Opio A, Tappero JW, et al. (2012) HIV Infection among Men Who Have Sex
with Men in Kampala, Uganda–A Respondent Driven Sampling Survey. PLoS ONE 7(5): e38143.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0038143
5
WHO: Global HIV/AIDS Response, Epidemic Update and Health Sector Progress Towards Universal Access,
Progress Report, 2011. p. 12-17.
6
Supra note 4.
7
“Outrage, scepticism at Uganda U-turn on LGBTI clinics,” 9 Dec 2013. Available at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report/99289/outrage-scepticism-at-uganda-u-turn-on-lgbti-clinics
8
Supra note 4.
people to enjoy freedom from discrimination in Uganda. We implore that you veto this Bill in all
forms. We note that Ugandan politicians and policymakers will meet February 6 in Kyankwanzi,
Uganda where this issue will be discussed amongst the National Resistance Movement Caucus.
Representatives of our group of signatories request the opportunity to join you in Kyankwanzi to
share scientific evidence face-to-face, given the intense interest this topic has generated, apparent
misinformation among decision makers, and the Bill’s serious consequences for Ugandans should it
be passed into law.
Signed,
[list in formation]
Organizations:
International AIDS Society (IAS), Geneva, Switzerland
Southern African HIV Clinicians Society
HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA)
Infectious Diseases Society of America, Center for Global Health Policy
The Desmond Tutu HIV Centre, University of Cape Town, South Africa
The Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, Cape Town, South Africa
The Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law, Uganda
Fenway Health, Boston, USA
Individuals:
Noerine Kaleeba, PhD
Founder and Patron
The AIDS Support Organisation
Uganda
Dr. Ian Clarke
Chairman and CEO
International Medical Group
Kampala, Uganda
Dr. Geoffrey Mujisha
Executive Director, MARPs Network
Kampala, Uganda
Edith Mukisa
Executive Director
Community Health Alliance Uganda
Kampala, Uganda
Dr. Stephen Watiti
Chairperson, Board of Directors
Community Health Alliance Uganda
Kampala, Uganda
Dennis Odwe
Executive Director
Action Group for Health, Human Rights and Development (AGHA) Uganda
Kampala, Uganda
Professor Hoosen Coovadia
Emeritus Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health,
Emeritus Victor Daitz Professor of HIV/AIDS Research,
University of KwaZulu-Natal
Director, Maternal Adolescent and Child Health,
University of the Witwatersrand
Commissioner, National Planning Commission, The Presidency
South Africa
Professor Helen Rees
Executive Director, Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute
University of the Witwatersrand
Johannesburg, South Africa
Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim
Associate Scientific Director
Center for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA)
Durban, South Africa
Sergii Dvoriak MD, Ph.D.
Head of the Board
Ukrainian Institute of Public Health Policy
Kiev, Ukraine
Richard E. Chaisson, MD
Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology and International Health
Director, Center for TB Research and Center for AIDS Research
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, USA
Professor Adeeba Kamarulzaman
Dean, Faculty of Medicine
University of Malaya
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Professor Francois Venter
Deputy Executive Director, Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute
University of the Witwatersrand
Johannesburg, South Africa
Joel E. Gallant, MD, MPH
Adjunct Professor of Medicine
Division of Infectious Diseases
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Baltimore, USA
Allan Raggi
Executive Director
Kenya AIDS NGOs Consortium (KANCO)
Nairobi, Kenya
Professor Michael Adler, CBE
Emeritus Professor of Genitourinary Medicine and Sexually Transmitted Diseases
University College Medical School
London, UK
Casper W. Erichsen
Executive Director
Positive Vibes Trust
Windhoek, Namibia
Richard B. Krueger, MD
Medical Director, Sexual Behavior Clinic
New York State Psychiatric Institute & Columbia University Department of Psychiatry
Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry
Columbia University, Department of Psychiatry
New York, USA
Jens Lundgren, MD DMSc
Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen
Professor, Director of Copenhagen HIV Programme, Centre of Global Excellence (CHIP)
Department of Infectious Diseases and Rheumatology
Copenhagen, Denmark
Ambrose Agweyu, MBChB, MSc
Clinical Epidemiologist
Kenya Medical Research Institute
Nairobi, Kenya
Kenneth Mayer MD
Director of HIV Prevention Research
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Sten H. Vermund, MD, PhD
Amos Christie Chair of Global Health
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Nashville, USA
Coleen K. Cunningham, MD
Chief, Infectious Diseases Pediatrics
Chief, Global Health Pediatrics
Duke University Medical Center
Durham, USA
Professor Yousuf A Vawda
Academic Leader, Public Law
School of Law, University of KwaZulu-Natal
Durban, South Africa
Professor Jeam van Bergen, MD, MPh, PhD
Professor STI in Primary Care, University of Amsterdam-AMC
Department of General Practice
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Jürgen Rockstroh, Professor of Medicine
Chair of the German National AIDS Council
Head of HIV-Clinic
Department of Medicine I
University of Bonn
Germany
Anand Pandya, MD
Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs, University of Southern California
Department of Psychiatry
Chief of Psychiatry, Los Angeles County General Hospital
Los Angeles, USA
Lisa Hirschhorn, MD MPH
Partners in Health
Harvard Medical School
Boston, USA
Professor Brook K. Baker
Northeastern University School of Law
Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy
Honorary Research Fellow, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa
Professor Linda-Gail Bekker
Professor of Medicine
Deputy Director, The Desmond Tutu HIV Centre
University of Cape Town
South Africa
Frederick L. Altice, MD
Professor of Medicine and Public Health
Yale University
New Haven, USA
Professor Aikichi Iwamoto, MD
Division of Infectious Diseases
Advanced Clinical Research Center
The Institute of Medical Science
The University of Tokyo (IMSUT)
Alvaro Bermejo, MD, MPH
Executive Director
International HIV/AIDS Alliance
Hove, UK
Dr Natasha Davies, MBBCH, HIV Management Diploma, MPH
Technical Specialist, Adult Care & Treatment
Wits Reproductive Health & HIV Institute
Johannesburg, South Africa
Andy Gray BPharm MSc (Pharm) FPS FFIP
Senior Lecturer, Division of Pharmacology
Discipline of Pharmaceutical Sciences
School of Health Sciences
Consultant Pharmacist (Research Associate)
Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA), University of KwaZulu-
Natal
South Africa
Stephen L. Boswell, MD
President and CEO
Fenway Health
Boston, MA
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Melanie Thompson, MD
Principal Investigator
AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta
Atlanta, USA
Lyn van Rooyen
Director, CABSA
Johannesburg, South Africa
Noah Metheny, MPH
Director of Policy
The Global Forum on MSM & HIV (MSMGF)
Wendy Armstrong, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine, Infectious Diseases
Emory University School of Medicine
Atlanta, USA
Wim Vandevelde
Global TB Community Advisory Board, Chair
Cape Town, South Africa
Professor Michael Meltsner
Matthews Distinguished University Professor of Law
Northeastern University School of Law
Boston, USA
Prof Roy Chan
President
Action for AIDS Singapore
Dr. Andrew Scheibe
HIV Key Populations Consultant
Cape Town, South Africa
Dr Michelle Moorhouse
Member, Board of Directors,
Southern African HIV Clinicians Society
Elizabeth Levy Paluck
Assistant Professor of Psychology and Public and International Affairs
Princeton University
Princeton, USA
Wendy E. Parmet
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Matthews Distinguished University Professor of Law
Northeastern University School of Law
Boston, USA
Polly Clayden
HIV i-Base
London, UK
Veronica Miller, PhD
Director, Forum for Collaborative HIV Research
Visiting Professor, University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health
USA
Benjamin Hauschild, MPH
Senior Research Associate, Forum for Collaborative HIV Research
University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health
USA
Professor Gwynne Skinner
Willamette University College of Law
Salem, USA
Keith M Mullei, MPH
Health systems and health policy researcher
Nairobi, Kenya
Christine L. Lin
Clinical Instructor and Staff Attorney
Center for Gender & Refugee Studies
Refugee & Human Rights Clinic
University of California, Hastings College of the Law
San Francisco, USA
Deborah A. Ramirez
Professor of Law
Northeastern University School of Law
Boston, USA
Francisco J. Rivera Juaristi
Director, International Human Rights Clinic
Assistant Clinical Professor of Law
Santa Clara University School of Law
Santa Clara, USA
Stephen A. Rosenbaum
Visiting Senior Lecturer, University of Washington School of Law
John & Elizabeth Boalt Lecturer, University of California, Berkeley School of Law
USA
Felicia Price, RN, BSN, MIA
Technical Advisor - Community Health and HIV
Christian Aid
Bujumbura, Burundi
Judith D. Auerbach, PhD
Adjunct Professor
School of Medicine
University of California
San Francisco, USA
Anna Forbes, MSS
Independent consultant specializing in HIV, rights, women and gender
Washington DC, USA
Rosalind P. Petchesky
Distinguished Professor of Political Science (Emerita)
Hunter College & the Graduate Center, City University of New York
USAwamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-26317902993702495632014-01-28T03:13:00.002-08:002014-01-28T03:13:38.140-08:00Homosexuality is regarded as a genetical condition
By Peter Mulira
Homosexuality has been scientifically defined as “a romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behaviour between members of the same sex.
In his article in your issue of January 23 titled, “Why does the West criminalise polygamy and allow homosexuality? ” Mr Daniel Kalinaki asked an a interesting question. The answer to this question is central to the issue as to whether or not we should have an anti-gays law on our statute book.
Many Ugandans are opposed to homosexuality on religious and cultural grounds. Our church leaders are in the forefront of the fight against this practice which is condemned in biblical writings. The cultural argument revolves around the point that the practice is un-African and an importation from the West.
Unfortunately, these grounds do not take into account the scientific angle to the problem.
Homosexuality has been scientifically defined as “a romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behaviour between members of the same sex.
As an orientation, homosexuality refers to an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual affection or romantic attraction primarily or exclusively with a member of the same sex.
It also refers to an individual’s sense of personal and social identity based on those attractions, behaviours expressing them and membership in a community of others who share them.” Accordingly, there are three types of homosexuality “a romantic, sexual attraction and sexual behaviour.”
The practice of homosexuality was discriminated in the Western world until a change of attitude came about in 1973 when the American Psychiatric Association removed the practice from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders. This negated the previous definition of homosexuality as a clinical disorder.
Quebec became the first jurisdiction to prohibit discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and most developed countries followed the example of Quebec in the1980s and 1990s.
Since then, a lot of scientific studies results have proved that the common assumption that homosexuality or any sexual orientation is a choice which one can avoid as a misconception.
In 2010, the Royal College of Psychiatrists in England submitted to the Church of England a report titled “Submissions to the Church of England’s Listening Exercise on Human Sexuality” in which it found that “……sexual orientation is biological in nature, determined by a complex interplay of genetic factors and the early uterine environment.
Sexual orientation is, therefore, not a choice.” In another work Professor Michael King writing in the Church Times of November 16, 2007 under the title “How much is known about the origins of homosexuality” said “The conclusion reached by scientist who have investigated the origins of sexual orientation is that it is a human characteristic that is formed in early life and is resistant to change. Scientific evidence on the origins of homosexuality is considered relevant to theological and social debate because it undermines suggestions that sexual orientation is a choice.”
Another scholar, Garcia-Falgmens has shed more light on why people become gay. He writes in “Sexual Hormones and the Brain: An Essential Alliance for Sexual Orientation” that “The fetal brain develops during intrauterine period in the male direction through a direct action of testosterone on the development of nerve cells, or in the female through the absence of this hormone surge.
In this way our gender identity (the conviction of belonging to the male or female gender) and sexual orientation are programmed or organised into our brain structures. There is no indication that social environment after birth has an effect on gender identity or sexual orientation.”
The first record of a possible homosexual couple in history is an ancient Egyptian couple known as Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum, who lived around 2400BCE. Anthropologists Stephen Murray and Will Roscoe (“Boy Wives and Female Husbands: Studies of African Homosexuality”) have reported that women in Lesotho engaged in socially “long-term erotic relationships” called motsoalle. Again in “Sexual Inversion among the Azande” Evans Pritchards notes that male Azande warriors in the northern Congo routinely took on male lovers who helped with household tasks. Here in Uganda, the practice was rampant in Buganda in the 1850s as a result of the arrival of Arab traders during reign of King Mutesa 1 and was given the name of “ebisiyaga”. It is, therefore, not true that the practice is a recent importation from the West.
The present attitude in the developed world is that although gays’ sexual orientation is different as human beings they have certain inalienable rights which cannot be taken away by those who do not approve of such orientation.
Two attempts have been made to make this a universal doctrine. A resolution in the United Nations General Assembly sponsored by the French and Dutch representatives condemning violence, harassment, discrimination and prejudice against homosexuals has already been signed by 94 countries.
On June 17 2011 South Africa initiated a resolution in the United Nations Commission for Human Rights requesting for a report on the situation of gays worldwide. The resolution was carried by 23 to 19 countries and a draft report has already come out.
To answer Kalinaki’s question, therefore, one has to say that the West criminalises polygamy because it is a social evil while homosexualitily is regarded as a genetical condition which one cannot change.
peter.mulira@gmail.com
wamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-61526650758082549962013-11-29T02:10:00.003-08:002013-11-29T02:10:33.579-08:00Teachers to lose jobs over concealing homosexuality
By AL-MAHDI SSENKABIRWA
KAMPALA- School administrators who conceal information about immoral acts of homosexuality and lesbianism in schools risk losing their jobs, according to new guidelines.
This will be effected in a revised implementation of the government’s revised Teaching Service Regulations and Teachers’ Professional Code of Conduct.
According to the amended Code of Conduct, such immorality will be regarded as acts of misconduct which will earn a teacher dismissal or retirement in public interest.
“Such acts have been happening in education institutions but we had no legal instrument holding perpetrators accountable. But with the new regulations, we can now impose sanctions against any culprit,” said Mr Mathew Okot-Garimoi, the deputy chairperson Uganda Education Service Commission.
Mr Okot-Garimoi was speaking at the launch of the Teaching Service Regulations 2012 and Teachers’ Professional Code of Conduct, 2012 in Kampala on Tuesday. Both regulations replace those of 1994 and 1996 respectively. Homosexuality is a crime under Uganda’s laws.
However, the vice is reportedly spreading, especially in institutions of learning.
assenkabirwa@ug.nationmedia.com
wamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-79309491959661526432013-11-29T02:00:00.003-08:002013-11-29T02:00:32.715-08:00Nightmare is over for gay Briton Bernard Randall put on trial in Uganda after images of him having sex were stolen by thieves and used against him in 'blackmail plot'Bernard Randall, the gay British man who is being prosecuted in Uganda after images of him having sex were stolen and used against him in an alleged blackmail plot is to be deported back to Britain next week, The Independent can reveal.
Mr Randall, who was arrested last month after his laptop was stolen by thieves and pictures from it published in a newspaper, was told this week that he had been refused an extension to his visa - originally demanded of him so he could stand trial - and will be returned to the UK on 6 December.
The 65-year-old, from Faversham, Kent, toldThe Independent that he believed the visa issue was being used by the Ugandan authorities to avoid being seen as persecuting homosexuals and that while he wished for the criminal case against to be formally dropped he was also glad “to escape this nightmare”.
The retired banking industry computer analyst, who lost his wife of nearly 40 years in 2011 and subsequently came out as homosexual, had been facing up to two years in jail after he was charged with trafficking obscene material following the theft of his computer from his holiday home in Entebbe in September.
His Ugandan partner, Albert Cheptoyek, 33, faces a more serious charge of up to seven years’ imprisonment for “acts of gross indecency” under Ugandan law, which outlaws homosexuality. Both men have denied the charges.
But while Mr Cheptoyek’s future remains uncertain, it now seems Mr Randall, whose friends and supporters within the gay rights movement have held protests in London, is to be allowed to return - with reluctance and anger - to Britain. His departure date will be the same as he had booked when he arrived in Uganda in September.
He told The Independent: “For the sake of my family and friends my wish is to be able to leave as originally planned on 6 December to spend Christmas with them. I want no bar on me returning at some time in the future but I see that now as a forlorn hope. I want to escape this nightmare.
“I want the robbers and blackmailers to be found guilty of their crimes and punished accordingly and I want us to be found not guilty of the false charges against us or for the charges to be struck down. But I see no sign of fair justice in this country.”
He added: “I also see this as a move by the Ugandan authorities at the highest level to get me deported without it being seen as an anti-homosexuality related action.”
To add insult to injury, Mr Randall has been told that now his visa extension has been refused he is liable to a fine of £18 per day for every day he remains in Uganda until his planned deportation.
It will be a grim end to an adventure born out of grief for the Briton, who first visited Uganda two years ago when a close friend booked a trip to help sort out a visa for his new wife and suggested the retiree accompany him.
Mr Randall’s friend suggested a trip to Uganda would help with the bereavement process. With its lush countryside and gleaming Lake Victoria, it wasn’t long before he had found a home away from home.
He said: “I was here for a fortnight and I liked the place. It’s so green and you’ve got the lake and friendly people.”
After spending April this year in the “Pearl of Africa” Randall returned to Britain and then came back to Uganda in September and it was his intention to spend three months here, have a white Christmas back in Britan and then return to Africa.
Now his tropical dreams lie in tatters after his computer, which contained a video of him having sex with another man in Morocco, thousands of miles away, was stolen.
Mr Randall said the charges against him had come about after four people stole computers and money from him and Cheptoyek, targeting them because they suspected they were gay.
In Uganda homosexual acts are illegal and punishable by incarceration in prison for up to 14 years. Nearly a year ago the country’s Parliamentary speaker vowed to have the “kill the gays Bill”, introduced in 2009 and seeking the death penalty for some offences, passed by the end of 2012 as a “Christmas gift”. She failed and the Bill has been shelved, although it's still on the Parliamentary Order Paper.
Randall said the robbery occurred on 28 September, just over a week after he had arrived back in Uganda.
“The intention in the first instance was them to find something incriminating that they could blackmail me with,” he said.
Having failed he claims the alleged thieves and their associates contacted Pastors Moses Solomon Male, who leads Uganda’s “anti-homosexuality crusade” with one saying Randall wanted to sodomise him.
Randall said his charge related to the claim that he was
distributing CDs to recruit people into homosexuality.
“I really can’t see how the pictures published or really anything in the videos would lure a young boy into being homosexual but that’s why they’re bringing the case, because I bought it in to distribute, in their eyes,” he said.
He said Pastor Male was an “evil person” who was “whipping up hatred” against gays,
Speaking at his home on the weekend, Pastor Male alleged Randall had given the video to Wasswa Sentamu Jonadh, who he claimed wanted to travel abroad and get a better job. Randall, Pastor Male claimed, said he would help him however Wasswa and Eric Bugembe, who he said had been a driver for Randall, were charged with theft after they “refused sodomy”.
Male said he was alerted about the matter by a concerned person. Wasswa had kept a second copy of the sex video, which Male admitted to passing onto Red Pepper who he’d worked with before on “complicated cases which need investigations”.
He branded Randall a “persona non grata”.
“We have Ugandan homosexuals who we cannot send to any other country, even as they abuse,” Pastor Male said.
“If we have Randall who can be deported, he goes back to his country and continues enjoying sodomoy, then I think we’ll be saving many young lives in this country.”
However he stressed “we are against the practice called homosexuality, not individuals called homosexuals”.
Bugembe and Wasswa appeared in court last Thursday charged with theft. They are due back on December 2.
Randall and Cheptoyek appeared in court last Monday, when their case was adjourned to December 4.
A married Ugandan mother of two young boys, who asked not to be identified, turned up to support the pair. She said she’d known Cheptoyek for a decade through buying clothes from him through his business.
“Everybody’s (going) crazy about it but this is who they are,“ she said.
“I’m conflicted a little bit (about homosexuality) but I also understand that there are people who are born like this. With the amount of hate and how they’re treated when somebody finds out that somebody’s gay, why would you choose, how can you choose to live that kind of lifestyle?”
Randall said he appreciated the support from Ugandans and people in Britain including Stephen Fry and human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell.
“It’s terrific isn’t it?”
When asked how he was feeling Randall said “up and down”.
“I haven’t yet, since the problems started, gone out on my own and gotten a taxi from our place up to town, things like that,” he said. “But I don’t in actual fact think it would be a problem.”
He said his two adult daughters in the UK were struggling to deal with the situation.
“The older one is more levelheaded about it but obviously very worried,” said Randall. “The other one is much more emotional and she’s having a difficult time with it.”
Meanwhile Cheptoyek has been ostracized by some family and may apply for asylum abroad if the case is dropped.
“The worry (is) can he get a visa to go to the UK, would he want to stay in the UK forever, would he need to go and seek refugee status? He doesn’t want to leave Uganda and I want to be able to come back.”
Speaking himself Cheptoyek said “We don’t know if we are going to be killed because we’re already in the newspaper so everyone knows I’m gay and we’re scared for our lives because in Uganda it’s not allowed.”
Longjones (alias - not real name), a Ugandan trying to start a travel business specializing in gay safaris, stood as surety for David Cecil, the British theatre producer deported from Uganda in January after staging a play ending with a gay character being killed. Cecil is in the process of appealing his case. This time Longjones stood as surety for Randall.
“What the police have failed to understand is that people blackmail homosexuals to extort money,” he said.
wamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-32127353392982438282013-11-26T06:17:00.004-08:002013-11-26T06:17:49.550-08:00Gay activists protest arrests
SUNDAY, 24 NOVEMBER 2013 WRITTEN BY SHIFA MWESIGYE
Anger is brewing in the gay community at home and abroad, as a criminal case against the chairman of a sexual minorities group starts today at the Nabweru Magistrate’s court in Wakiso district.
Samuel Ganafa, executive director of Spectrum Uganda and chairman of Sexual Minorities Uganda, was arrested last week and paraded before the media by the police. He is accused of infecting one Disan Twesiga with HIV, although it is unclear how it happened.
Ganafa, who has been detained at Kasangati prison, says he was tested for HIV against his consent and his home raided without a search warrant. He was briefly detained with Bernard Randell and Albert Cheptoyek, who are both facing related charges.
Randell, a 65-year-old retired British expatriate, was charged with trafficking in obscene publications. The two were arrested after Randell reported a taxi driver, one Eric Bugembe, to the police for reportedly stealing his laptop. The laptop, it is said, contained videos of Randell performing acts of homosexuality with Cheptoyek, evidence that was produced in court.
Bugembe told the police that he had taken the laptop after Randell refused to pay him after luring him into sexual acts. Randell, who has since been released on bail, and Cheptoyek, who is still in detention, return to court in Entebbe on December 4.
Rising tension
These two cases have attracted the ire of gay activists, who last week demonstrated outside the Uganda High Commission in London, protesting what they called the witch-hunt of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) people in Uganda.
The protests follow a similar demonstration outside the just concluded Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka, at which Uganda was mentioned amongst the Commonwealth nations violating the rights of LGBT people. Gay rights activists say homosexual people in Uganda live in fear of a police crackdown similar to the one that netted Ganafa, Randell and Cheptoyek.
Peter Tatchell, director of the UK-based Peter Tatchell Foundation, a gay rights organisation, says homophobic harassment of gay people violates Uganda’s constitution as well as the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.
Criminalisation of homosexuality is contrary to human rights obligations, which Uganda has agreed and pledged to uphold, Tatchell argues. LGBT activists who gathered outside Uganda’s high commission last week asked the British government to intervene immediately in Randell’s case to secure his safe return to the UK.
They also want Britain and the European Union to declare Uganda an unsafe place for LGBT people and issue travel warnings to potential tourists and expatriates accordingly. The activists also called for travel bans targeting outspoken anti-LGBT activists such as Ethics minister Simon Lokodo, MP David Bahati and pastors Martin Ssempa and Solomon Male.
Same-sex relationships are illegal in Uganda as they are in many sub-Saharan African countries. The Anti-Homosexuality Bill tabled in parliament a couple of years ago sought to further criminalise such sexual behaviour by proposing a death penalty for repeat offenders and those accused of transmitting HIV in the process.
However, pressure from Western countries has seen the bill amended to remove the death penalty and then shelved. Nevertheless, homosexuality remains an offence under the Penal Code.
Early this month, the European Court of Justice ruled that people fleeing from a country where homosexuality is criminalised, like Uganda, can seek asylum on that basis. The ruling, which binds all EU member countries, including Britain, followed an application for asylum by three homosexuals from Sierra Leone, Uganda and Senegal.
smwesigye@observer.ugwamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-30060774644103059182013-11-15T03:42:00.001-08:002013-11-15T03:42:06.290-08:00Gay Ugandan Activists Arrested, Detained Without Charge
A prominent LGBT activist in Uganda has been arrested and detained for more than 48 hours without being informed of the charges against him.
BY SUNNIVIE BRYDUM
A prominent LGBT advocate in Uganda has been arrested, jailed since Tuesday, and three times had his home raided — all without being informed of the charges against him. At least four other LGBT advocates have been arrested with him, according to reports from Ugandan activists. Police have refused to confirm under what, if any, crimes the activists are suspected of committing.
Samuel K. Ganafa is the executive director of Spectrum Uganda and the board chairman for Sexual Minorities Uganda, two of the most prominent LGBT rights organizations in the East African nation, where homosexuality is illegal.
On Tuesday, Ganafa responded to a phone call from Kampala police asking him to come to the Kasangati station on the outskirts of the city, where he was immediately arrested. According to a press release from SMUG, Ganafa was then loaded into a police van and driven back to his home, where police twice raided his property without presenting a search warrant or providing a reason for his arrest. During the unwarranted search, Ugandan police arrested three houseguests who were staying with Ganafa. All four are still in police custody, though none have been formally charged. Uganda's constitution stipulates that those accused of a crime and detained must be brought before a court within 48 hours — a threshold that has already been crossed.
SMUG reports that Ganafa was also subjected to an HIV test without his consent or a court order demanding such a test.
On Wednesday, SMUG learned that a man named Disan Twesiga had filed a complaint alleging that Ganafa infected him with HIV — and today, Twesiga hosted a press conference at the Kasangati police station, attended by most of the nation's major media outlets. Police "paraded" Ganafa before the press, despite the fact that he has not been charged with or found guilty of a crime and should therefore legally be presumed innocent, notes SMUG.
Police ignored repeated media requests to explain the charges against Ganafa, though Ganafa himself told local reporters he was being charged with sodomy. LGBT advocates in Uganda report that local media is portraying Ganafa as "a sodomy rapist who infected someone with HIV/AIDS." When reporters asked police for medical proof of these allegations, police could not produce any such evidence.
"He is being targeted because the propagandists are looking for someone in the movement with a high profile and he suits that," Kasha Jaqueline, a Ugandan lesbian and LGBT activist who is currently in Stockholm, tells The Advocate. "The accuser has changed his statements over and over, and on the news he said that he was advised by his pastor. Now we know the invisible power to this absurd scenario."
Jacqueline suspects that Ganafa was targeted for his quiet but long-standing and consistent support of Uganda's embattled lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex community. She says Ganafa has readily opened his home to Uganda's persecuted LGBTI citizens — and that's why anti-LGBT bigots have targeted him.
"Sam is one of the most honest, gentle, caring, and intelligent people this movement has ever seen," says Jacqueline, who has been involved with Uganda's LGBTI movement since the the late '90s. "It's because of his generosity that he is now a victim of a blackmail scam. It's very unfortunate because Sam has been there for every one of the elders of this community. Many in the world didn't even know he existed, and may be shocked to read his name, but Sam is one of the backbones of this movement. It's heartbreaking that now his life has been destroyed for simply being a good man."
Spectrum Uganda, SMUG, and the Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law are following the case and have called for the immediate release of all those arrested in connection with Ganafa, unless the accused are presented before a court immediately. The pro-LGBT coalition notes that Ganafa's arrest is not an isolated incident, but rather the latest in a long-running campaign that targets and intimidates LGBTI people in Uganda.
wamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-38574318650680644382013-11-15T03:36:00.003-08:002013-11-15T03:36:18.228-08:00Brit on trial for gay sex in Uganda: ‘I’m living in fear’
Gay rights campaigners are furious as a British man and his Ugandan lover go on trial for filming an home-made porn video
11 NOVEMBER 2013 | BY JOE MORGAN
A British man on trial for gay sex in Uganda has said he is living in constant fear.
Ex-pat Bernard Randall, 65, is facing up to seven years in prison for gross indecency and allegedly trafficking obscene material after police found a video on his laptop of him having sex with a Moroccan.
His 30-year-old Ugandan live-in partner Albert Cheptoyet is also being charged.
The retired banker’s picture was splashed across the front page of notoriously homophobic tabloid Red Pepper, beneath the headline ‘Exposed’.
Randall has said he is now moving house every couple of days out of fear of attack. He cannot fly out of the country due to the Ugandan government holding his passport until his trial.
‘I never know if someone is going to recognise me, be anti-gay and attack me,’ Randall said, as reported by The Times.
Moses Solomon Male, a pastor, appeared on television condemning Randall.
‘[Homosexuals] control the police, they control the judiciary, they even hold the Government to ransom,’ he said.
Same-sex relationships are already punishable by 14 years jail in Uganda with politicians threatening to make the laws even tougher by extending the death penalty to ‘repeat offenders’.
But the country is still likely to be sensitive to criticism if they openly prosecute and imprison people simply for consensual gay sex. Its Anti-Homosexuality Bill, dubbed the ‘Kill the Gays Bill’, appears to now be on the back burner after international condemnation.
GSN sources who took these photos at the hearing said Anti-Homosexuality Coalition members were also present in court.
Ugandan publications have claimed the pair were going for or had gone for ‘medical tests’ to discover if they had gay anal sex.
But Ugandan prosecutors have also denied this.
The presiding judge confessed this is the first case of its kind she has dealt with and therefore said she needed time to consider it, although she pledged it would be dealt with as soon as possible.
Randall and Cheptoyet were released on bail of UGX1.5million ($593,000 €430,000) while their sureties were bonded at UGX500,000 ($198,000 €143,000).
Activists from Uganda Gay On Move have ‘strongly condemned’ the government for the arrests describing them as an ‘invasion of privacy’.
They have warned other people will use some of the trumped-up allegations against the pair as ‘an excuse to blackmail LGBT people’.
The British Foreign Office is aware of the arrest and said it is providing Randall with consular assistance.
wamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-44001260955801512512013-11-15T03:32:00.000-08:002013-11-15T03:32:10.176-08:00STATEMENT ON THE ARREST AND DETENTION OF MR. SAMUEL K. GANAFA AND FOUR OTHERS
For Immediate Release
Thursday 14.11.2013
Kampala, Uganda
Mr. Samuel K Ganafa, The Executive Director of Spectrum Uganda Initiatives and Board Chairperson of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), was arrested on Tuesday November 12, 2013. He had reported to Kasangati Police Station on the outskirts of Kampala pursuant to a phone call from the District Police Commander Chemonges Seiko asking him to report to the said station.
Upon reporting to the station he was immediately handcuffed by a police officer. Without show a warrant of arrest he was forced onto a police pickup truck and taken twice to his residence, which was searched. The search was conducted without a search warrant. During the unwarranted search three houseguests of Mr. Ganafa, namely Joseph Kayizi, Kasali Brian and Michael Katongole were also arrested and taken to the police for questioning as well. His nephew Brian Kasirye who had rushed to the police station to check on him was also detained.
Later the police subjected Mr. Ganafa to an HIV test without a court order or his consent.
Yesterday Wednesday 13th November, we received news that a one Disan Twesiga was the complainant. Disan alleges that Sam infected him with HIV and that there is more information in Mr. Ganafa’s reading room prompting another search of the residence. The police took him along for all the three times they searched.
As of today November 14th the complainant Disan Twesiga has held a press conference with all media houses at Kasangati Police Station. The police paraded Mr. Ganafa before the media during a press conference. This is despite the fact that he has not been found guilty by a court and is thus presumed innocent under the law. By close of business today, all the five suspects remain in custody without being officially charged and without being brought before court despite the expiry of the constitutionally warranted 48 hours.
Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), Spectrum Uganda, Civil society coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law are closely following the case, and have instructed lawyers to represent all the accused. An application for the release of the detainees has been filed and is pending hearing as there was no Magistrate to hear it today.
Sexual Minorities Uganda, Spectrum Uganda Initiatives and Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law strongly condemn the manner in which Mr. Ganafa was arrested and the manner in which the searches were conducted, his humiliating display before the press, as well as the violation of the 48 hour rule for producing a suspect before court.
We also call upon the Ugandan Police to release Mr. Ganafa and the four other arrested persons or immediately produce them before a court of law, and we urge them to respect the basic rights of the suspects.
It is worth noting that this is not an isolated case, but it is one of a series of documented arrests targeted against the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) persons in Uganda. We therefore call upon the police to STOP the continued intimidation of the entire LGBTI community and the legal representatives of the detained persons.
Contacts:
Pepe Julian Onziema
+256 772 370 674 onziema@gmail.com
Moses Kimbugwe +256 78 383 8259 / 031 251 3345 spectrum.uganda@gmail.com
Spectrum Uganda Initiatives
Francis Onyango +256 414 666 242/ 0712 394 721 onyango@onyangoadvocates.com
Onyango & Co. Advocates
Contact Persons at the Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law
Geoffrey Ogwaro +256 782 176 069 Byarugaba Clare +256 774 068 663
Email: ahbcoalition.coordinator@gmail.com
wamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-23258795764598821052013-11-01T01:33:00.003-07:002013-11-01T01:33:28.817-07:00British national charged in Uganda over homosexualityBy Martin Ssebuyira
Entebbe
A British national has been charged with using money to lure youth into homosexuality.
Mr Bernard Randell, a retired banker, appeared before the Entebbe Magistrates Court yesterday where he admitted to engaging in homosexuality but only in the UK. His co-accused, Mr Albert Chepeoyek, with whom he lives in Katabi village, Entebbe Municipality, however, denied the charges that included committing acts of gross indecency and trafficking obscene materials.
State prosecutor Ivan Kyazze told court that the duo performed homosexual acts on Mr Eric Bugembe, a special hire driver, in September in exchange for money. “Medical tests were carried out on the two suspects and confirmed that they were engaging in homosexual acts,” Mr Kyazze told court the packed court.
According to detectives who have been following the case, Mr Randell reported Mr Wasswa to Entebbe Police Post after he allegedly stole his laptop. However, when the special hire driver was interrogated, he revealed how he had been forced to grab the laptop after Mr Randell failed to pay him despite luring him into homosexual acts.
Man given bail
The lawyer of the accused, Ms Annette Adamia, asked court to grant them bail as investigations into the case continue. Despite protests from the prosecutor that the suspects could lure more people into the practice, magistrate Hellen Ajio went ahead and granted them bail of Shs1.5 million each while their sureties were bonded at Shs500,000.
They are expected back in court on November 15. Mr Abdullah Ndere, the manager Uganda Tours and Travel and Mr Wilfred Kirumira,40, stood surety for Mr Randell while Mr Norman Mugisha and Ms Aisha Nabukeera stood surety for Mr Chepeoyek.
The magistrate also cautioned the suspects against engaging in acts that corrupt morals while on bail.
Same-sex relationships are currently illegal in Uganda—as they are in many sub-Saharan African countries—punishable by incarceration in prison for up to 14 years.
In Uganda, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill tabled in Parliament souhtto introduce a death penalty for people who are considered serial offenders, are suspected of “aggravated homosexuality” and are HIV-positive, or who engage in sexual acts with those under 18 years of age.
The Bill received significant criticism from many Western governments some of whom threatened to cut off financial aid to Uganda. The bill has since been shelved.
mssebuyira@ug.nationmedia.comwamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-74615940868465916052013-08-22T02:17:00.001-07:002013-08-22T02:17:20.305-07:00LGBTI thrilled as US Court Allows Case Against US Anti-Gay Religious Leader to ProceedUganda
August 19, 2013 Kampala, Uganda –
Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) happily welcomes the court ruling by US Federal judge on Wednesday August 14, 2013. In the historic ruling the judge rejected a motion to dismiss a crimes against humanity case brought by Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) against evangelical Pastor Scott Lively of Massachusetts. The judge ruled that persecution on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is indeed a crime against humanity and that the fundamental human rights of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Intersex [LGBTI] people are protected under international law.
“Widespread, systematic persecution of LGBTI people constitutes a crime against humanity that unquestionably violates international norms,” said Judge Michael Ponsor. “The history and current existence of discrimination against LGBTI people is precisely what qualifies them as a distinct targeted group eligible for protection under international law. The fact that a group continues to be vulnerable to widespread, systematic persecution in some parts of the world simply cannot shield one who commits a crime against humanity from liability.”
The ruling means that the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), who brought the case on behalf of Sexual Minorities of Uganda (SMUG), can move forward over defendant Scott Lively’s request to dismiss the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that Lively’s actions over the past decade, in collaboration with key Ugandan government officials and religious leaders, are responsible for depriving Ugandan Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Intersex people of their fundamental human rights based merely on their identity, which is the definition of persecution under international law and is deemed a crime against humanity. This effort bore fruit most notably in the introduction of the infamous Anti-Homosexuality Bill commonly known as “the Kill the Gays bill”, which Lively abetted.
Frank Mugisha, the Executive Director of SMUG said, “This ruling should be a clear signal to extreme religious groups all over the world, and especially those that spread hate here in Uganda, that their hatred will not go unpunished by the arm of the law.”
Lively has also been active in countries like Russia where a new law criminalizing gay rights advocacy was recently passed. In 2007, Lively toured 50 cities in Russia recommending some of the measures that are now law.
“We are gratified that the court recognized the persecution and the gravity of the danger faced by our clients as a result of Scott Lively’s actions. Lively’s single-minded campaign has worked to criminalize their very existence, strip away their fundamental rights and threaten their physical safety.” Said CCR Attorney Pam Spees
U.S. law allows foreign citizens to sue for violations of international law in U.S. federal courts under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). The case, Sexual Minorities Uganda v. Lively, was originally filed in federal court in Springfield, MA, in March 2012. Today’s ruling is here. For more information, visit CCR’s case page.
Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) is an advocacy network comprised of 18 member organizations committed to advancing the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in Uganda. SMUG was founded in 2004 as a non-profit organization. Follow @SMUG2004; Like us at http://www.facebook.com/smug2004
The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change. Visit www.ccrjustice.org; follow @theCCR.
wamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-38734394271890301852013-03-22T04:59:00.002-07:002013-03-22T04:59:23.542-07:00Museveni speaks out on homosexualityPresident Yoweri Museveni has said the issue of homosexuality and lesbianism has been totally distorted leading to wrong public debate.
“In our society, there were a few homosexuals. There was no persecution, no killings and no marginalization of these people but they were regarded as deviants. Sex among Africans including heterosexuals is confidential," Museveni said.
"If am to kiss my wife in public, I would lose an election in Uganda. Western people exhibit sexual acts in public which we don’t do here,” he said, adding that, Africans do even punish heterosexuals who publically expose their sexual acts.
The president said what is new is the way Europeans and other Western people handle the issue of sexuality in general, including public flaunting which is a problem and luring young people into acts of homosexuality for money.
He said attempts to promote homosexuality as an alternative way of life has led to engagements in running battles with the church.
“You have a lot of room in your house, why don’t you go there. Sex is a bilateral issue, not a multilateral one,” he said.
The President was on Monday meeting a delegation of USA human rights activists led by Kerry Kennedy, the president of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights.
Kerry is the niece to former U.S. president John F. Kennedy and daughter to the latter's younger brother Robert F. Kennedy.
Accompanied by several lawyers, actors and religious leaders, the activist expressed concern with what she described as harassment of the gay and lesbian community in Uganda including exposure of the pictures.
She made it clear that it is a violation of people’s rights to put pictures of sexual minority groups in the [news] papers.
She also said the pending Bill on homosexuality works against the international law treaties that Uganda has signed, and cautioned against the misconceptions that equate pedophiles with homosexuals.
Kerry Kennedy is the author of The New York Times best seller “Being Catholic Now: Prominent Americans talk about Change in the Church and the Quest for Meaning,” published by Crown Books/Random House in September 2008, and “Speak Truth to Power: Human Rights Defenders Who Are Changing Our World,” (Random House, 2000).
Reacting to various issues raised by the team, Museveni said he would investigate claims of violence against homosexuals, adding that for a viable solution, activists must respect the confidentiality of sex in our traditions and culture.
He reiterated that in Uganda, "there is no discrimination, no killings, no marginalization, no luring of young people using money into homosexual acts".
The team pledged to work with the president on the laws regarding overt sexual acts by offering free consultancy.
wamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-83210438366949001412013-03-18T04:47:00.002-07:002013-03-18T04:47:30.028-07:00FR ANTHONY MUSAALAFR ANTHONY MUSAALA
MIREMBE GARDENS
PO BOX 30329
KAMPALA
Tuesday 12th March 2013
AN OPEN LETTER TO BISHOPS, PRIESTS AND LAITY: THE FAILURE OF CELIBATE CHASTITY AMONG DIOCESAN PRIESTS.
It is an open secret that many catholic priests and some bishops, in Uganda and elsewhere, no longer live celibate chastity.
From the numerous cases on the ground one might be forgiven for saying that most diocesan priests either don’t believe in celibacy anymore, or if they do, have long since given up the struggle to be chaste.
In any case it still seems important for priests to vow even a woefully imperfect celibacy, if only for the sake of the hallowed ‘priestly image’.
The church however still maintains the fable that most catholic priests persevere in celibate chastity fairly well, which fiction begs belief.
ALL IS NOT WELL
All is definitely not well with what I call ‘administrative celibacy’, in the catholic church. It is a celibacy which is more forced than consented to, and its effects are anything but good.
I suggest that now more than at any other time, we must begin an open and frank dialogue about catholic priests becoming happily married men, rather than being miserable and single, either before or after ordination.
Although this may be quite a shock to many, but the alternative may be far worse. What do you think happens when lapses and scandals by priests, sisters,brothers and bishops continue unabated , whether hidden or not?
My forecast is that we will have a few more years of catholic self-deception; perhaps ten, telling ourselves and the world that everything is Ok, nothing serious. Then more scandals will surface.
As people become more enlightened (as in Europe) there will be a crisis of faith, perhaps a sudden collapse, with many leaving the church, either to join other churches (whose pastors may be no better, but who appear to be less hypocritical about it), or to become agnostics, especially the middle classes.
One must remember that there are other challenges facing the church, such as general weakening of faith, loss of sacramental life, low incomes, dull liturgies, and the challenges of the media. Many of the youth ( not the children) are already alienated from Catholicism and are easy prey to proselytizing groups.
FACING THE NAKED TRUTH
The number of catholic priests and bishops who are sexually active in Uganda is unknown, but almost everywhere unedifying stories of priests ‘sexploits’, are not hard to come by. These stories are told in counseling or as anecdotes,or by the media. They are told within the parishes and beyond. They are told at home in families, in taxis, in hair salons and in the markets.
What is talked about? Priests’ secret and not so secret liaisons with girls and women, coerced sex with house-maids, with students, with relatives; priests ‘wives’ set up in well established homes; priests involved with a parishioner’s wife; of priests romantically involved with religious Sisters; priests offering money for sex, and so on…
If you add to this, a fair number of priests’ and bishops’ children scattered around the nation, who are carefully hidden from view (and not so carefully!), not to mention children who are aborted at priests’ behest, we begin to get the true picture of human weakness, whose consequences are nothing less than catastrophic both for the priest and his partners, and which cannot be concealed by taking a vow of celibacy, or by retreats and more prayers.
LETS LEARN FROM EUROPE AND AMERICA
While in Europe and the States, the scandal of numerous paedophile priests, whose victims are rightly suing the catholic church is widely reported in the media, very little by contrast is heard about priests and bishops in Africa who continue sexually abusing female minors (or vulnerable women) with no legal action taken.
Obviously time has come for serious measures to be undertaken, similar to those in Europe and America. Apart from legal action in civil and ecclesiastical courts aginst offenders, strict ‘child protection’ codes and practices, must be enforced, by the state which for instance should prohibit young or vulnerable females from residing in parish houses, where some of the abuses occur.
THE SINS OF DECEPTION AND SILENCE
Thus the unnecessary and unpalatable deception about celibate priests, that they are chaste when they are not is clearly contradicted by what is on the ground. The deception is of course not tenable for much longer.
Surely we must first tell ourselves the truth as a church, that is to say, that celibacy has failed or is failing us, and then also tell the world which we have been deceiving the naked truth, before we are completely overtaken by events.
Unfortunately there is an ominous unhealthy conspiracy of silence about these matters among the Ugandan clergy and faithful alike, probably because priestly celibacy might be seen to be a hollow shell, which it mostly is nowadays.
The laity for all their good will, are also co-opted into this unwholesome silence, sometimes for lack of information, sometimes because they believe that they have some ‘moral’ duty to be loyal to an imperfect church. In truth their silence shores up the sins of priests and the destroys many lives.
MARRIED PRIESTS NOT WANTED FOR THE WRONG REASONS
When I ask lay people whether catholic priests should have the option to marry the answer is always NO; since they say, that would make catholic priests like Anglican reverends! As if that was the worse possible fate, yet Anglican clergy who are married certainly do not have the same levels and same kinds of sexual lapses as their catholic counterparts..
Most lay people in Uganda would not like their priests to have the option of marriage, yet it is their very own children, sisters, wives who are being used and abused by the clergy!
THE CAMPAIGN
A campaign for optional married priesthood in the catholic church is now required. This campaign is primarily a form of education and purification. It is not be construed as a rebellion against established doctrine but a reading of the signs of the times
Since there are no fundamental theological arguments against a married priesthood (there are already some married priests in he UK and Uniate catholic churches) but only arguments from tradition and church discipline, I believe that it is a matter of time before common sense prevails and marriage for the clergy in the latin rite (i.e. catholic) church is accepted..
I am aware that there is a big struggle ahead.Unfortunately celibacy also serves certain vested interests in the power structure of the church, and of course celibate priests are cheaper and easier to deal with, even to manipulate, by ecclesiastical authority, but I believe that in time we will be freed from this unecessary yoke, unhelpful as it is, which is all the more severe in Africa where family and family ties are so crucial to one’s psychological equilibrium..
PERSONAL INTEREST
One factor which has prompted me to take up this campaign is my own biography. I am one of a handful of several priests who had the misfortune of appearing in the press for supposed sexual trespasses.
In my case,which was 2009, it was cited that I must be a homosexual, because I had homosexual friends and went to homosexual gatherings. Not that I cared much whether or not someone thinks that I am homosexual. Certainly I have been called worse things than that.
In my defence I tried to point out that I didn’t actually recall having had homosexual relations with any of my rabid accusers, neither did they; which meant that hearsay alone became the evidence .
What I found troubling is what followed. Apart from all the pain and scandal caused to all concerned, I found that even though all the allegations were based on hearsay, I was being treated, by my superiors as the biggest sinner in Nineveh.
Up till now judgements are being made against me by ecclesiastical authority in the light of those events, which I suppose is to be expected. I wondered about this and came to the conclusion that priests who ‘get caught.’ like me, have to pay for the sins of all those who don’t get caught.
In other words failed celibacy requires scapegoats.Some clergy are able to get away with the grossest behaviour, because of their age, position, influence or even because of financial inducements.
So while I appear to have little moral authority to talk about celibacy as a priestly virtue because of what may or may not have happened to me in 2009, nevertheless I can point out the systemic immorality of the institutionalized hypocrisy called celibate diocesan priesthood, which severely punishes lapses when they appear, but condones the secret crimes of many more.
I believe that there must be a new openness at whatever it takes. The point is not that diocesan priests should leave the priesthood and get married, but compel the church to offer the option of a married priesthood. This will put an end to the double lives so many priests are forced to live.
SOME CASES HEARD
Case One
I spoke with a 21 year old young man last week. He is one of seven children of a catholic priest who happens to still be serving within the Province of the Archdiocese of Kampala. The young man, who is willing to testify, lived in a parish house with his father priest, even serving on the altar with him, but having to pretend to be a visiting nephew.
At times he was assisted by his father to go to school, but was later abandoned. On one occasion he drank poison in order to end his life, due to the trauma, but was taken to hospital before he died.
Case Two
Another is a personal friend. He was fathered by a missionary priest of the White Fathers 58 years ago but is still suffering the trauma of no real identity or home.
Although he has since received some minimum compensation from the White fathers , he still feels that there was an injustice to his mother who is still alive , who was sexually assaulted by the said White father priest in his office when she was only sixteen. He wishes to sue.
Case Three
Another case is of a priest who seduced a member of my youth group who happened to be in need of school fees, at Old Kampala, She soon became pregnant by the said priest, disappeared from church activities and from her home to be established in a ‘home’.
Case Four
Another lady tells of how she went to confession, only to be sexually molested by the priest, who fondled her breasts during confession
Case Five
When I was at secondary school, it was common knowledge that various Brothers were having sexual activity with the boys. It was called ‘jaboo’. As a pubescent teenager, my first sexual encounter was actually with one of the brothers who invited me to his room on the pretext of doing some extra chemistry equations. I was sixteen at the time. Later I heard that several others had been through the same thing..with the same Brother and with other ones..Some are still alive to this day.
ACTION REQUIRED
I do not believe either that these cases are just a few ‘bad apples’ in the barrel, but rather they are symptomatic of a sick system which has lost its integrity in this one area, but won’t admit it.
Some of these cases are clearly criminal in nature, especially those of sex with children. They should be dealt with in a normal fashion and legal action taken in civil courts either against the church, or against those priests who offend.
I am therefore compiling cases from all over Uganda.I believe that if the all the victims of clearly molestations were to come out and sue the church in civil courts, such abuses would sharply decrease.
I am also helping to set up a Victims Support Group, independent of the church for obvious reasons, with guidance and help from similar groups in Europe and the States.
I have also engaged a Human rights lawyer to advise on the wider implications of clergy abuse on the basic human rights of individuals, especially women.
Join me in this exciting challenge to bring fundamental change and renewal to the catholic church.
Happy Easter
FR. ANTHONY MUSAALA
wamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-87705399467573540212013-01-21T06:34:00.003-08:002013-01-21T06:34:45.662-08:00Calls to pass the anti-gays Bill dominate New Year messagesAs thousands made their resolutions for 2013, main stream Churches and evangelical preachers have asked Parliament to urgently pass the Anti-Gay Bill, to avert the recruitment of youngsters to adopt the same-sex behaviour.
At Namirembe Cathedral, Archbishop Stanley Ntagali said the Church of Uganda would continue to protect culture and the institution of marriage which advocates the union between man and woman .
Addressing tens of thousands at the seventh annual National Prayer Day and Night at Nakivubo Stadium, several pastors also warned legislators against siding with the Western world, saying they risked losing their seats.
“We ask Members of Parliament to stop wasting time debating the Bill but simply pass it to save school-going children, who are at risk of being recruited. Our leaders should desist from any act that would frustrate this proposed law because it has delayed,” said Bishop David Kiganda, the leader of Christianity Focus Ministries (CFM). Bishop Kiganda, the overseer of Bornagain Churches in the country, said the vice threatened the morality of the people.
The remarks by pastors came amidst controversies and media reports of increasing promotion of homosexuality. Rev. Paul Schinners from the United Kingdom commended Uganda for the Bill, saying it was a clear stand for God.
“There is no other nation world over that has such a plan and through this, Uganda is going to be blessed,” Rev. Schinners said.
“We understand that Uganda had many problems like tribalism, corruption, but many people are simply pointing fingers and judging each other yet all this cannot cause change but it is conviction that would bring change in society,” he added.
The appeal
Apostle Alex Mitala asked Ugandans to make positive decisions for the New Year if the country is to develop further.
“You need to decide to add value on yourself, your attitudes, work and plans to show action where it is not and do something new,” he said.
At Mandela National Stadium, Namboole, the leader of Born Again Federation of Uganda, Dr. Joseph Sserwadda, said there is an urgent need for the anti-gay law because the country needs to confront sin head on.
Dr Sserwadda suggested that as legislators resume business for 2013, the Bill should be top on their agenda.
USA criticised
“We have learnt with shock that the people who recently appeared in papers over the same practice have escaped to USA. We know USA with their policy will not depot him back to Uganda. Uganda should declare that it does not need him anymore. Let America keep him,” he said.
At St. Andrews’ Cathedral, the Bishop of Mbale, Rt Rev. Patrick Gimadu, decried the high-level corruption, child sacrifice, murders, defilement and homosexuality.
“In the New Year, we must renew our faith and fellowship by repenting. This is the time to seek forgiveness and allow Christ to give this country a new direction,” Bishop Gidudu said.
Pr. Ivan Mulepi, of New Eden Church in Mbale, asked leaders to lead by example to repent, forgive and renew their spiritual lives in order to create peace for development in Uganda.
Reported By Juliet Kigongo, Ephraim Kasozi, Johnson Mayamba and David Mafabi.
wamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-11114103301461433072013-01-17T00:27:00.000-08:002013-01-17T00:27:06.538-08:00Uganda: Govt Hails Victoria University On Recent MoveThe Ugandan Government has commended Victoria University management for rejecting orders from UK-based University of Buckingham (UB) to embrace homosexuality.
The two universities have been collaborating for over a year, with majority of Victoria University students offering University of Buckingham courses.
They, however, parted ways early this week after UB asked Victoria to include a clause in its statue stating that "no person will be discriminated on the basis of sex orientation", among others.
As a result, Victoria suspended all UB courses and remained with only the Bachelors of Public Health and Nursing.
Ethics and integrity minister, the Rev. Fr. Sam Lokodo applauded Victoria University for staying their ground and respecting the law.
"We enjoy autonomy and independence as a country. We follow our laws and nobody should intimidate us to promote a certain culture," said Lokodo on Wednesday.
"I express profound regrets for the action taken by the University of Buckingham just on the basis that Victoria University was not ready to include this adopt clause."
Higher education State minister, Dr. Chrysostom Muyingo, also observed that it was shocking for a university like Buckingham to relent on the key academic goal and instead focus on promoting a practice that is detested in Uganda.
Faridah Bukirwa Shamilah, the spokesperson of the national council for higher education also explained that Victoria University had freedom to reject any clause that would be deemed illegal in Uganda.
The problem, according to sources, emanated from anti-gay comments made by a guest speaker during a conference at Victoria University about a month ago.
Meanwhile, Victoria University vice-chancellor, Dr. David Young, has also clarified that the 150 affected students would continue with their studies from UB or be transferred to Middlesex University in Dubai.
He said consultations on who would meet which costs were ongoing and asked students and parents to stay calm.
"Each of the affected students will be issued with a partial transcript to enable them join other universities if they are unwilling to go where we are planning to take them," Young said.
He was noncommittal on whether the university would admit new students to pursue local programmes.
"The focus of our attention at the moment is on catering for the current students. Any other questions will be addressed later," he stated.
wamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-53440905845189490612013-01-17T00:14:00.000-08:002013-01-17T00:54:25.024-08:00Ugandan Activists Falsely AccusedLet’s expose them one by one who recruit our sons, daughters, brothers and sisters into this sinister behaviour of homosexuality
Here is a list of top recruiters on ground well facilitated and determined to do so.
1. Frank mugisha of sexual minorities Uganda who resdies in nalya driving posh vehice.He always moving from country to country mobilizing money and he has amassed a lot of money. He is into young boys and his boy friend is in U.S for asylum one Ronnie.
2. Kasha nabagesera who is charged of recruiting girls into lesbianism and he works with freedom and roam Uganda based in ntinda where she also resides. She is also loaded with funds from western governments.
3. Pepe onzima who coordinates all activities to do with media and recruitment. She resides in nalya.
4. Dennis wamala who works with ice breakers Uganda located in makindye. He specializes in accommodating young boys who run away from school to enjoy the booking.
5. Ntebi Sandra who is the chief whip of the group. She boosts of being an army woman and works with gender and law at makerere.
6. Kimbugwe moses who works with spectrum Uganda coordinating recruiting university boys and soccer fans. He resides along Nassana road and sometimes on gayaza road.
7. Ogwaro jeff who is the chief coordinator of all the activities in the country resding in makindye working with refuge project at old kampala.
8. Wambere longjones who operates a tout company at namaganda plaza who books boys as if there is no tomorrow. He is HIV positive and he has done his part in passing it over to others.
9. Junic walabya who has been recently sacked at her job in mulago as a nurse is managing the ntida side all over the bars in recruiting educated and well to do married women into lesbianism.
10. Sam MTN who resides in Gayaza in his mansion. He organizes sex parties every weekend where boys book each other with out condoms. He is much respected in their community as he has laot of money and when he sees young boys he can’t miss and he likes it with no condom.
11. Opio sam who owns one youth organization and is has managed to recruit boys especially up conntry in mbarara and mbale. He resides along gaba raod.
12. Victor mukasa who resides in South Africa is the chief campaigner.
13. Niiki mawada who specializes in changing boys gender into girlish
I will continue with the list as we fight this acts and whether we die or not we shall fight and win to the end.
wamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-45800720084902358332012-11-13T07:20:00.003-08:002012-11-13T07:20:49.798-08:00A letter to Rebecca Kadaga – from a supportive gay Ugandan
By Richard Sebagala
Madam Speaker, the right Honorable Rebecca Kadaga, Member of Parliament (MP) for the Kamuli District Women’s Constituency since 1989.
You are on a roll!
Over the last three weeks you have managed to hog the media spotlight almost exclusively, relegating Uganda’s president to a parenthesis. That makes you something of a wonder woman. It takes chutzpah to push Uganda’s president to the inside pages and you must be congratulated for stepping up in such a bold way.
First of all, Madam Speaker, welcome back from Canada.
You were absolutely right to stand up to John Baird when he upbraided you in public about the murder of David Kato. That case had
nothing to do with you and you were never part of the court case that eventually convicted Kato’s lover for that heinous crime. So, you did what you had to do for yourself and, indeed, for Uganda’s pride. John Baird would never speak to the Saudis or Kuwaitis in that manner – yet those countries have far more glaring gay and women’s rights abuses than Uganda.
But as with everything, Madam Speaker, please remember that hubris is a terrible vice in politics. By hubris, I mean an excess of pride, ambition or self-confidence. More often than not, it leads politicians to overreach.
Take your current involvement with failed politicians like James Nsaba-Buturo and convicted felons like Martin Ssempa and Michael Kyazze. While you have every right to listen to whoever wishes you to lend them an audience, as the Speaker of the House you represent the entire Parliament as well as the country. You thus cannot be seen to be siding with any one constituency even when their cause might further your own political ambitions. Speakers of the House have to be seen to be non-partisan, non-aligned, neutral. But of course you know this already.
Madam Speaker, this gay man wants you to encourage Uganda’s Parliament to debate and pass the bill. My reasons for this are detailed here. In short, this bill has hung over our heads like a cloud for three years now and it is time to resolve the issues surrounding it once and for all. If you support the bill because you feel it is against our culture, so be it.
But the facts don’t bear you out.
You are too smart not to be aware that Buganda’s Kabaka Mwanga was homosexual without any urging from colonialists. Uganda’s own president, the leader of your National Resistance Movement party agrees, and has admitted it publicly, that homosexuality has always been part of the African and Ugandan fabric. In fact, if you re-read
your anthropology, you will find that homosexuality was tolerated before the white man came to Africa with his Bible – that foremost foreign import that our detractors love to subjectively, but liberally, quote from. I gather that you have no children of your own but it can’t be lost on you that all gay men and women in Uganda (500,000 and counting according to unofficial estimates) must have been begotten through heterosexual unions.
I thus disagree with your interpretation of the historical facts but feel that the bill should nonetheless go ahead since Uganda has a parliamentary system of making laws and the Bahati [Nazi] Bill which seeks to turn mothers, doctors, counselors into informers has already been tabled before the House.
Madam Speaker, allow me to take you back to Shakespeare and caution you against “vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself, and falls on the other side.” Given what you must surely know befell Macbeth and his over-ambitious wife, a little more circumspection, forethought, moderation before you speak might not come amiss.
Remember, too, the fable of Icarus who flew too close to the sun. Or that of Dionysius, the tyrant of Syracuse and his courtier named Damocles. You might be on a roll now, but there are all sorts of threats behind the glory you are seeking. A week is a very long time in politics but there are three more years to go to Uganda’s next presidential election – literally a lifetime.
Madam Speaker:
Hang on to your political ambitions. I would, however, presume to remind you that, as Speaker, you represent the entire country, including minorities – not just disgraced politicians, bigoted Parliamentarians or convicted religious prelates.
Madam Speaker:
Whether this bill is passed or not, you still have my support in your obvious quest to become the next president of Uganda – that is if I am not jailed and/or killed before 2016 by the legislation that you are so busy tying your colors to in which case my support will be moot.
From a gay Ugandan, living in Uganda, that you seek to criminalize purely on account of who he is, but who nonetheless supports your presidential ambitions because he is totally fed up to the back teeth with this uncaring, bungling, corruption-ridden, thieving, tired, rusted, putrid dish of a government.
wamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936447119089982364.post-91633045550462583292012-11-01T00:48:00.004-07:002012-11-01T00:48:27.026-07:00MPs applaud Kadaga’s stance on gays, want Bill debated in House
By MERCY NALUGO
MPs across the political divide in a plenary session chaired by Ms Kadaga denounce homosexuality and say the country’s moral values are threatened by cultural inventions from the western world.
Parliament yesterday passed a resolution in recognition of Speaker Rebecca Kadaga’s stand on homosexuality. The House also urged the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs committee to immediately table its report on the Bill for general debate.
The committee’s chairperson Steven Tashobya yesterday said their report is almost done and will be brought to Parliament before it breaks off for Christmas recess. MPs across the political divide in a plenary session chaired by Ms Kadaga denounced homosexuality and said the country’s moral values are threatened by cultural inventions from the western world.
Member after member hailed Ms Kadaga for her bold stand when she challenged the Canadian Foreign Affairs minister, John Baird, at a recent summit.
The MP for Kinkiizi West, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, moved the motion that was overwhelmingly supported by legislators who committed themselves to passing the anti-homosexuality Bill.
“I rise to add my voice to state clearly that you represented Uganda effectively in Canada. You represented our right to do what we want to do as a country. We have made a point very clearly that we abide by the country’s Constitution which guarantees the right of members and back benchers to move private members Bills and MP Bahati exercised that right,” said Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi.
While attending the 127th Inter-Parliamentary Union in Quebec, Canada, Ms Kadaga defended the country’s stance on homosexuality. Ms Kadaga reminded Mr Baird that Uganda was neither a colony nor a protectorate of Canada and as such her sovereignty, societal and cultural norms were to be respected.
Rujumbura MP Jim Muhwezi hailed Ms Kadaga saying: “ Unless we are independent politically, we shall be a mat to be trampled upon. If it’s democracy let us practice it on principle.”
Ndorwa West MP David Bahati three years ago moved a private members’ anti-homosexuality Bill. His Bill has received support from religious groups but has been condemned by gay rights activists.
MPs Reagan Okumu, Latiff Ssebaggala, Jack Sabiiti, Joova Kamateeka, Kasirivu Atwoki all praised Ms Kadaga.
mnalugo@ug.nationmedia.com
wamala dennis mawejjehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12810514835598781279noreply@blogger.com0