Minister Lokodo appears in court for closing gay meeting

By Anthony Wesaka Ethics Minister Fr Simon Lokodo on Monday appeared before the High Court in Kampala over the closure of a gay meeting in Entebbe, but was not cross examined as earlier expected. This followed an agreement by lawyers of the two camps who said court, presided over by Justice Eldad Mwangushya, should rely on sworn affidavits made by witnesses to resolve the matter. Fr Lokodo, along with the Attorney General, is being sued by four gay activists – Jacqueline Kasha Nabagesera, Julian Pepe Onziema, Frank Mugisha and Geoffrey Ogwaro – who accuse him of infringing on their rights when he closed their ongoing two –week meeting in February. The workshop in question was secretly organized by Freedom and Roam Uganda, an association that lobbies for the recognition of same sex relationships in Uganda, at Imperial Resort Beach Entebbe in February. “ The matter was coming up for cross examination today but after perusal of the proceedings, counsel for both sides agreed that there is no need for cross examination as they will rely on filed affidavits before the court,” Francis Onyango, a lawyer for the gay activists, told court. Senior Principal State Attorney Patricia Muteesi, who is representing minister Lokodo and the Attorney General, was in agreement with the suggestion. Justice Mwangushya welcomed the move saying it is “the best option.” The two camps agreed to file written submissions to assist court resolve the issues. The court gave the gay activists up to September 26 to file in their submissions, while Fr Lokodo and the Attorney General have up to October 19. The two sides will return to court on November 5 to highlight on the written submissions before a judgment date can be set. Fr Lokodo told this newspaper after the trial that he maintains his stand of closing any gay meeting, saying the practice is unnatural. “I still commit myself of dispersing any gathering organised by the gays. Homosexuality is unnatural: the Constitution and the Penal Code spell that out clearly.” Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda, punishable under section 145 of the Penal Code Act as a crime against morality. awesaka@ug.nationmedia.com 24 comments delimoo • 20 hours ago the gay activists are trying to publicise themselves so that the u.s embassy can give them visas to go to america for kyeyo, it is not that they believe in this abominable and obnoxious gayism 7 3 •Reply•Share › Frankie Gold • 16 hours ago • parent Its not about Kyeyo, its about freedom. 2 1 •Reply•Share › Aisha • 18 hours ago • parent True Delimo! Believe me if these gays in uganda think these western countries love them..let them gather themselves and go to American, British and Germany embassies and apply for visas to the mentioned countires.. and see if they will be granted visas. These idiots have no inkling that western countries love us when we are in our countries..not when we are in their countires. 0 •Reply•Share › Onaba A • 20 hours ago Fr Lokodo, Continue the fight' we are behind you. The children of the Serpent are out again like it was in the days of Noah. Their wicked ancestor Cain who himself was an express image of Satan.. left untold appearance that up-to this date dents human genuine character as aught to be by Gods creation standard... (They are an icon of disgrace to life) they are worthy of hell, where they come from... 6 2 •Reply•Share › delimo • 20 hours ago i left a message and it was rejected. i was saying the so called gay are tricksters trying to publicise themselves so that the american embassy can give them visas to go yto america and do kyeyo, they are not really gays 4 2 •Reply•Share › tumweboneire Jackson • 20 hours ago Let the gays come to cross examine the minister, be arrested and charged for the offences they think are allowed in our society!!! 2 •Reply•Share › RUWENZORI • 18 hours ago • parent Economic opportunist calling themselves gay rights, some of them are just surviving on those games to get rich we know so well. Fr. Lokodo go go go disperse more meetings and workshops. 0 •Reply•Share › Concerned • 19 hours ago Fr Lokodo, Continue the fight' we are behind you.Yes, homosexuality is illegal in Uganda, punishable under section 145 of the Penal Code Act as a crime against morality. 2 1 •Reply•Share › Steve • 3 hours ago Why are the gays even allowed to take a minister to court? This is not right. These gays should not be allowed to hold any meetings again. Let them go out but here, wano ewaffe nedda. Tetujja kukiliza. 0 •Reply•Share › SmoothTouch • 3 hours ago To preserve morality of our society, continue the fight Fr. 0 •Reply•Share › Boston USA • 4 hours ago Those who think there's kyeyo in America are westing their time. Let them come and see how they will be frustrated and especially being G makes it more hard than expected. 0 •Reply•Share › sammy g • 4 hours ago lousy ugandans...no wonder the govt continues to trample on your rights....even the NRM sees opposition as unnatural so with the same argument it can continue to trample on their rights....Nobody forces anyone to like gays...if that meeting was never stopped most of us would never have heard of it but when we get zealots like lokodo and backed by many intolerant ugandans then it gets all the publicity 0 •Reply•Share › Ben • 5 hours ago Those gays are sick. Even mad men never accepst they are mad. The way forward is to find medical remedies instead of wasting useful time discussing this hell-bound vice. 0 •Reply•Share › ugandalife • 14 hours ago I feel like I'm in a time warp, transported back to the 1950's. The comments posted remind me of my youth when we went around gay-bashing in North America. It took time for people to realize that being gay was not a choice but truly medical. As sport celebrities came out of the closet, more people began to understand that their sports heroes were just human beings. They were not evil or sick, just people who were attracted to same sex partners. Eventually, Ugandans will evolve from their narrow-mindedness and learn to accept people for who they are and not what they are. No, I'm not gay but I've been fortunate enough to meet people who are. They come in various professions and chances are, you have probably met and talked to one (or more) and never knew it. 0 •Reply•Share › Moses Okello • 14 hours ago Bravo Jacqueline Kasha Nabagesera, Julian Pepe Onziema, Frank Mugisha and Geoffrey Ogwaro. Why a country that claims to be governed on the foundation of the Rule Of Law like Uganda continues to embrace a culture of intolerance? It’s good that Ms Nabagesera, Onziema, Mugisha and Ogwaro, you have boldly come out to show that guy and the Government of Uganda, does not and cannot work in isolation. Since Uganda is a signatory to International Conventions against discrimination, they should comply to those International Standards. First of all they violate the Human Rights as enshrined in the Constitution of Uganda. Considering the fact that Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees Equality and discourage discrimination of individuals because of their Sexual Orientation, you find that, the government is destined to pay heavy fines in compensations to a few individuals. Because of the ignorance of some individuals in government, he didn’t know that he was touching untouchable area. Even when he knew that; Article 21 [Equality and Freedom from Discrimination] of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda state: “ (1) All persons are equal before and under the law in all spheres of political; economic, social and cultural life and in every other respect and shall enjoy equal protection of the Law.” He did not care before taking such stupid action. LGBTs, have never been a problem to Uganda, we have more pressing problem such as: Bad Governance; Massive Corruption and High Mortality Rate, and Ignorance at the forefront. Possibly, this Minister, Fr. Simon Lokodo, didn’t know that, he was infringing Commonwealth Values. He [as Minister] should have been in the know that, Uganda is a member of Commonwealth, and the values of that CLUB to which Uganda is a signatory. The State is bound to be defeated because rights values, which were endorsed by the Commonwealth in its 1979 Lusaka Declaration. The 1991 Harare Declaration and the Port of Spain Affirmative of Commonwealth Value Article 5 of this affirmation commits a member country to protect and promote of quality and human rights without discrimination on any ground, including: sexual orientation and gender identity. The Minister also violated the African Charter, because it is presumed that, he knew that, he was working or doing all he did well knowing that, the Anti-Homosexuality [David Bahati’s unguided Bill], violates the equality and anti-discrimination provisions of the African Charter on Human Rights and People’s Rights, to which Uganda is a signatory and pledge to uphold. Ms Nabagesera, Onziema, Mugisha and Ogwaro, please, don't untie the noose. Keep on, others like Pastor Martin Sempa and company will learn a bitter lesson from this landmark suit. 0 •Reply•Share › klugasc • 15 hours ago This Lokodo guy is clearly an ignorant homophobe. God created gays that way, the same way he created blacks, whites. There's nothing wrong with being gay. He needs to stop the harrassment of gays because every Ugandan has equal freedom of speech under the constitution. 0 •Reply•Share › Jimmy • 16 hours ago enough of this ... some sanity. i doubt that there are gay Ugandans. 0 •Reply•Share › Gerald Kamya Kimpi Kiwuka • 17 hours ago This is fire that started burning internally long ago and it might have also been quietly even within some churches which do not allow their priests to make marriages. It may be difficult to stop such acts which people engage in indirectly within their rooms. 0 •Reply•Share › PStwagira • 17 hours ago Fr. Lokodo told this newspaper after the trial that he maintains his stand of closing any gay meeting, saying the practice is unnatural. The man of God please keep your opinion to yourself that it is not natural, what will happen if you are proved otherwise This priest turned politician seems to be living in a closed box Your opinion shouldn't be asserted on other people's freedom the guys who were interrupted by your ignorance have the right to enjoy the natural free oxygen which was taken away by honourable minister taking law in his hands being a judge and jury MAN SHALL NEVER PASS JUDGEMENT ON FELLOW MAN 0 •Reply•Share › Jibril Nturi • 18 hours ago These cats and dogs who are being sponsored by some thugs in Westren Europe to promote homosexuality in Uganda must be fought from all angles.The dangers of the vice in a country like Uganda are very clear and pose a serious threat to our society,especially the urban careless youth and the rural ignorant poor.Already the country is struggling to put the HIV threat at bay;and the mad people are seeking to open up a new battle front.Even the intergrity of the lawyers employed to defend these thugs must be questioned. 0 •Reply•Share › Fz Wagaba • 18 hours ago Live and Let Live!!! 0 •Reply•Share › nkoye • 18 hours ago my comments never come through. 0 •Reply•Share › mesemese • 18 hours ago You mean people are ignorant enough to do this for a visa. Then when they get to "the promised land" what next? 0 •Reply•Share › kibanzanga43 • 16 hours ago Do not even waste your precious time Fr. Mokodo, cut things short; have that thing called jacqueline or whatever the hell itself, get it linched and that will the end of the case.

Some unsolicited advice to Hon. Oromait, our youngest-ever MP

By Daniel K. Kalinaki Dear Proscovia Alengot Oromait, congratulations on your election as Member of Parliament for Usuk County. Many people have taken issue with the small matter of your age. They say that at 19 you are barely out of your nappies and are therefore untested in the important issues of national politics. They wonder how you will be able to make informed contributions during debate on the national budget when you can’t score a credit in economics to save your life. They wonder how you will go from skipping a rope with your friends to skipping committee meetings in a space of two months. I say ignore the lot of them! The people of Usuk must know something the rest of us don’t know. In electing you they have not only helped reduce the average age of the Parliament; they might have recognised that these days one needs neither experience nor brains to become an MP. In fact, as you will soon notice from your other honourable colleagues, you do not even really have to attend parliamentary sessions if they clash with your classes, should you find a university willing to take your grades (many will be willing to take your money, thank-you-very-much). All you have to do is turn up in the morning, sign in, and then saunter off to the hair saloon or to the lecture room. In the afternoon, there is something called a plenary where MPs assemble in the parliamentary chamber to take a collective nap. Every so often, one or two take to the microphones and go on about this and that. If the topic they choose to speak about is controversial, there might be many more who want to weigh in (which means to join in, not jump onto a weighing scale). This might cause some noise in the chamber and disrupt your nap. Don’t worry about Hon. Henry Kajura – NOTHING can disrupt his nap! The plenary session is recorded and broadcast live on TV. It is a good opportunity to show all those ‘haters’ that you can also debate and speak English. Seize the opportunity and show them that you are not “a joking subject”. Resist the temptation to send greetings to your family members though! Every so often, a matter comes up in the plenary on which you are required to vote. This is the only time you really need to be in Parliament and awake at the same time, according to your party chairman. And if you intend to catch a nap, do remind someone to wake you up to vote. You should be able to find a fellow MP who is awake to do this for you, unless you are appointed minister and have to sit on the front bench; in which case you will need to set an alarm for yourself and the rest of the bench. You will all need it. Once in a while, you will need to make a contribution to the debate. The matter under discussion might be beyond your comprehension or you might have nothing useful to say or add. That is fine; that puts you in the majority in the House. Remain calm and stand tall. Remember all those debates you had in primary school on ‘Mother is better than Father’; ‘Fire is better than Water’, etc? The debate here is whether the NRM is better than the Opposition. That’s what it’s mostly about. The rest is detail. When you speak, use phrases like “the people of Usuk” or “ordinary Ugandans”. If that doesn’t help, play the age card; point out that there are more 19-year-olds than 39- and 49-year-olds and that the youth of this country deserve to be heard. This will probably get you the attention you want, so you had better have something smart to say when the room falls quiet. Avoid putting yourself in this situation, unless you revised the night before and wrote down your main points. Do not let your age intimidate you; you might be the youngest in the House but you are not the only MP with the mental age of a 19-year-old. And always remember; your election shows either your party is now radical enough to bring youthful change through the ranks, or has lost its anchor and is now drifting out to sea, a rudderless vessel chockfull with buccaneering ‘patriots’. You do not have to be 19 to answer that question. dkalinaki@ug.nationmedia.com

‘British artiste promoting homosexuality in Uganda’

The homosexual community in Uganda is crying foul over David Cecil’s arrest, saying it is part of the government’s blatant violation of the rights of homosexuals in Uganda. But members of the public The Observer sampled say the British producer and proprietor of Tilapia Cultural Centre is one of the many foreigners bent on promoting homosexuality in Uganda. “He deserves whatever punishment he gets,” said one man after hearing the David Cecil story. Cecil was released on bail on Monday. Last week, police arrested and charged him with disobeying lawful orders after he staged his play, The River and the Mountain in theatres in Kampala without clearance from the Media Council. The play is critical of the Uganda government and how it has handled homosexuality. Its main character is a young Ugandan businessman who loses his friends and is eventually murdered after revealing he is gay. According to information website Wikipedia, the dramatic comedy was to be staged at the National Theatre but had to relocate after the Media Council, on August 16, provisorily banned its performance in public. Officials accuse Cecil of disobeying the Media Council’s orders by staging performances in Kampala theatres last month. The chief magistrate’s court in Makindye granted him a cash bail of Shs 500,000 and Shs 1m non-cash for each of his three sureties. Cecil will appear again in court on October 8. Giles Muhame, former editor and founder of the defunct Rolling Stone newspaper, which, in 2010, lost a court battle to gay rights activists, said: “The law should take its course. Uganda has its own laws, which must be adhered to. Cecil is not above the law.” With the anti-homosexuality bill tabled by Ndora West MP, David Bahati, in 2009, Uganda has roundly been declared by the international community as homophobic — a label that has not prevented security agencies from barring gatherings of members of the homosexual community, or religious and political leaders from criticising the ‘homosexual agenda’ and its alleged promoters (the West and some NGOs). But critics of the bill say the charges against Cecil are a repression of freedom of expression reminiscent of the colonial era. “This is just a continuation of the intimidation that the government is determined to place on our work . . . It does not matter whether it is in the NGO world or the liberal arts,” said Clare Byarugaba, coordinator of the Uganda Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law, an organisation whose members were threatened with a ban for promoting gay rights. While the Media Council insists that the play was obnoxious and painted Ugandan people as violent, Byarugaba says they are optimistic that Cecil will not be found guilty and will not have to face the two-year imprisonment that awaits him if court decides otherwise. “Before he staged the play, we (the coalition) advised him to get lawyers, because we knew the government’s reaction on anything to do with homosexuality,” Byarugaba said. “He sent the script to the Media Council and there was nothing in it to stop it from running. It was not pornographic or anything.” Wikipedia quotes the minister of Ethics, Rev Simon Lokodo, as saying the play “justified the promotion of homosexuality in Uganda.” He added: “We will put pressure on anyone who says this abomination is acceptable.” According to Wikipedia, Cecil is a Ugandan-British theatre producer and the controversial play was written by Beau Hopkins, a British writer in Kampala, directed by Angela Emurwon, and the cast is all-Ugandan. pakumu@observer.ug

Uganda making life tough for NGOs, LGBT rights

By Maria Burnett, Special to CNN Editor’s note: Maria Burnett is a senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. The views expressed are her own. I’ve interviewed hundreds of victims and witnesses of human rights abuses in Uganda, but I was genuinely surprised at the fear I heard recently when I met with activists in the country. “If you preach human rights, you are anti-development, an economic saboteur,” a colleague told me. “You aren’t going to talk about land, oil, and good governance. This is just the beginning, but the tensions have been accumulating.” Uganda has made the news in recent months over issues like the Ebola virus, Joseph Kony, and the notorious anti-homosexuality law known as the “kill the gays bill.” Less-well-known has been its longstanding patterns of torture and mistreatment of detainees by security forces. President Yoweri Museveni and the ruling National Resistance Movement have been in power for more than 25 years, with a 2005 constitutional amendment lifting presidential term limits and permitting him to run and win in 2006, and then again, heavily assisted by off-budget spending from state coffers, in 2011. Since 2011, Museveni has faced increasing criticism for economic woes, corruption, unemployment, rising HIV rates and deteriorating health and education services. In April 2011, demonstrators “walked to work” to protest raising food and fuel prices. The military and police took to the streets, using live ammunition and killing at least nine bystanders and beating journalistsdocumenting the events. The government has routinely blocked demonstrations in the last few years, contending that they threaten public safety. The president appears to be preparing to run again in 2016 – which would be his 30th year in office – and it seems no coincidence that in the wake of growing public grievances, the ruling party’s officials are scrutinizing nongovernmental organizations and the impact they have on public perceptions of governance and management of public funds. Organizations working on human rights, land acquisitions, oil revenue transparency, and other sensitive issues are the main targets, and apparently viewed as a threat to the administration’s interests. Uganda’s laws reflect this analysis. The intelligence agencies are legally mandated to monitor civil society, and the president’s office has a role in reviewing requests to do research, via the Uganda Council on Science and Technology. Over the last two years, Ugandan officials have reportedly closed civil society meetings and workshops, reprimanded organizations for their research, demanded retractions or apologies, and confiscated t-shirts, calendars and training materials with messaging about political change and “people’s power.” The government board mandated to regulate civil society recently recommended dissolving one group unless it apologized for bringing “the person of the president into disrepute” and has stated that working in coalitions is unlawful. At the same time the government’s hostility to, and harassment of, Uganda’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community continues unabated. Government officials demonize homosexuality, deliberately misinform the public, and stir hatred. One minister uses “the promotion of homosexuality” – a spurious claim – as justification for his campaign against any group seeking to protect the rights of LGBT people. He told me that the pursuit of LGBT rights is a Western conspiracy aimed at destroying Uganda. While homosexual sex is illegal in Uganda, it is not illegal to discuss LGBT issues, despite the deeply misguided anti-gay bill still pending before parliament. Groups focused on fighting for the rights of LGBT people therefore have every legal right to register and operate. But in practice, that remains far from possible. While many interpret the government’s increasing focus on homosexuality as a populist strategy to gain support, it is still profoundly dangerous for a community that is vulnerable to harassment and violence. Donors need to ask tough questions about where Uganda is heading, given the deteriorating situation for civil society. Furthermore, in today’s Uganda, government institutions have little independence to perform their constitutionally mandated jobs, corruption is rife, and protecting the ruling party and the president from criticism has become more important than citizens’ right to information. Fundamental democratic guarantees such as freedom of expression and association should not take a back seat to security interests. Ultimately, this is the lesson of the Arab spring. Until Ugandan civil society is free to research, publish, speak out, debate and advocate for change without fear, durable security will remain out of reach.

Play about homosexuality cancelled in Uganda after regulators step in

National Theatre of Uganda refuses to stage The River and the Mountain, which tells the story of a young gay businessman David Kato, a Ugandan gay rights activist who was murdered last year. The country has a reputation as a deeply homophobic society. Photograph: Stringer/AP A play that highlights the difficulties of being gay in Uganda has been forced to abandon its run in the capital, Kampala. The River and the Mountain, which tells the story of a young businessman coming to terms with being gay in a climate of homophobia, was due to be performed at the National Theatre of Uganda last week before regulators intervened. Some shows went ahead at two smaller venues, but the National Theatre refused to stage the scheduled performances. "We are all disappointed but not surprised that we could not perform at the National Theatre," said the actor Okuyo Joel Atiku Prynce, who plays the gay character at the centre of the story. "What is surprising is the fact that we have received no clear reason. No one is taking responsibility for this decision." He said the play was not intended to promote a specific agenda, but rather to add to public debate. "We're actors, not activists," he said. "The play is there to inspire discussion in the community and to get a reaction from people. We want it to open up a dialogue." Uganda has a reputation as a deeply homophobic society, largely based on the anti-homosexuality bill introduced to parliament in October 2009. The bill, which has not yet been voted on, proposes severe penalties, including death, for those found guilty of having same-sex relationships. In January 2011 the gay rights activist David Kato was murdered shortly after a local newspaper published images of him and other gay people under a headline urging readers: "Hang them." The River and the Mountain has provoked controversy not only for its sympathetic portrayal of gay people, but also because it suggests that much of the anger and hatred has been whipped up by politicians and religious leaders for their own purposes. Its British playwright, Beau Hopkins, said he had hoped the play would promote discussion about homosexuality. "The aim of the play was for it to be discussed by those who saw it and in the local media," Hopkins said. "The local media seem to have agreed not to talk about it, which is disappointing. We're also particularly disappointed that it won't be staged at the National Theatre, as there it would have reached more Ugandans." The production was stopped by the regulating Media Council, which told producers a day before it was to open that the script needed to be cleared by authorities – not normally a requirement for theatrical productions. But the council's Pius Mwinganisa told the Guardian this was standard practice and not politically motivated. He said authorisation for The River and the Mountain remained "under consideration". Christopher Senyonjo, a bishop who was thrown out of the Church of Uganda in March 2006 in part because of his vocal support for the gay community, criticised the decision. "This play helps people understand that gay people should be understood rather than rejected out of hand," he said. "My church wanted me to condemn homosexuals but I cannot condemn people who are just the way they were born."

Uganda to clamp Internet after gay-rights hacking

Uganda vowed to tighten its Internet security after government websites were hacked earlier this week. A proposed bill that calls for the death penalty for those caught in homosexual acts has sparked outrage. Gay rights activists hacked several Ugandan government websites to denounce what they perceive to be the harassment of homosexuals in the east African nation of more than 35 million. "Message to the government of Uganda: you want to put people to death only because they have different likings," read one message posted on the website of the Uganda Law Society on Thursday. Uganda reintroduces controversial anti-gay bill A controversial bill, which calls for execution for some homosexual acts has been re-introduced in the Ugandan parliament. The timing of the bill may be just a ploy to divert attention from other issues. (08.02.2012) A Ugandan government statement said a hacker with the Twitter handle @PinkNinj4 defaced several government websites, including those of the prime minister's office, parliament, the Uganda Securities Exchange and Uganda Law Society. "Hijacking our websites and using strategies of blackmail to promote their dark agendas is unacceptable to us," said government spokesperson Karoro Okurut. On Friday, the government promised to beef up online security. "Our first priority is to apply all necessary resources to give all institutions, the tools, processes and support they require to strengthen the security of their IT systems in case of any incident," the Ugandan National Information Technology Authority said in a statement. A hacked posting on the website of prime minister Amama Mbabazi Thursday contained a fake press release announcing the prime minister's support for a gay pride parade. "We have got to expel the narrow mindedness from this country, and begin afresh, starting with a full and formal apology to all homosexuals living in Uganda today," the statement said. It was removed by Friday. "Odious" legislation Debate has raged over a controversial bill codenammed LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual) that initially called for the hanging of individuals convicted of same-sex sexual activity more than once. Homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda. Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda for both genders Currently before a parliamentary committee, progress on the bill seems to have stalled - but that hasn't stopped debate. Denounced as "odious" by US President Barack Obama, the proposed bill has been widely condemned outside Africa, where homosexuality is illegal in 37 countries. Obama's opposition to the bill is shared by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who earlier this month praised Ugandan gay rights activists for their bravery. "It is critical for all Ugandans - the government and citizens alike - to speak out against discrimination, harassment, and intimidation of anyone," Clinton said. "That's true no matter where they come from, what they believe, or whom they love." The bill would also mandate the death penalty for those who engage in same-sex sexual activity with a minor, or those who have HIV - the virus that causes AIDS. Few Africans are openly gay, fearing imprisonment, violence and the loss of jobs. Media often "out" people suspected of being homosexual. In 2006, Ugandan newspaper The Red Pepper published a list of the first names and professions of 45 allegedly gay men, many of whom purportedly suffered harassment as a result. In 2010 Ugandan tabloid Rolling Stone published the full names, addresses, and photographs of 100 allegedly gay Ugandans, accompanied by a call for their execution. Same-sex sexual activity among males is illegal in most African nations. Female same-sex sexual activity, however, is legal in some - such as Ghana, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe. South Africa is the only country in Africa to legally recognize same-sex marriages.

Gay Ugandans: Loud and Proud

Activist speaks out against her country’s tradition of homophobia—and for progress towards LGBT rights Val Kalende About 10 years ago, when I first came out to my guardian and, later, to my closest colleagues at the Daily Monitor newspaper in Uganda, I was nothing short of terrified of losing both family and friends. As I had anticipated, declaring my love for fellow women got me my own share of homelessness, verbal abuse and alienation, even from people I trusted the most. Abandoned as a teenager and forced into maturity at a tender age, I always believed in the transformative power of truth, because the truth, as they say, sets us free. My “coming out” story as a Pentecostal-raised Ugandan lesbian woman is no different from the story of the activists who marched at the first-ever LGBT Pride parade in Uganda on Aug. 4. When I learned that my colleagues were organizing Pride, I was more concerned about what Pride means to us as Africans than replicating what we have witnessed at Pride parades elsewhere. When I saw my colleagues marching on a muddy road, some walking barefoot with the national flag held high, not only was I reminded of our Africanness, but I felt close to home. And then I thought of our fallen comrade David Kato, who has constantly been on my mind since I saw the film Call Me Kuchu, and whose life was cut short before we could experience this moment. I got teary. I believe the concept of Pride anywhere it is celebrated is not just a moment; it is a precursor for change. I believe that like the 196[3] March on Washington in the United States, which sparked a revolution that sent ripples of change as far as Africa, what happened in Uganda a few days ago will change the politics of local organizing among LGBT movements in Africa. At the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) I research how African LGBT movements organize, and how international NGOs such as IGLHRC can support their work. In every country there's a unique strategy for organizing that is directly related to how each movement started. In Uganda organizing an LGBT movement was partly prompted by President Yoweri Museveni's denial that there were any LGBT people in Uganda. On a recent visit home I made a statement I knew wasn't going to get me too many friends, even among fellow activists. I said our struggle must move away from the victimization narrative and begin to focus on positive stories. It doesn't help us when foreign journalists, bloggers, and allies present our struggle as “desperate” and come to Uganda simply to write about what is wrong with our country while ignoring our success stories. While the “desperate” narrative puts us in the international spotlight and does hold our leaders accountable, it also pits us against our fellow nationals. A balance of both narratives will bring the change we all need. I have been involved with LGBT community organizing in Uganda long enough to observe how far we have come and what we have managed to achieve amidst very difficult circumstances. For instance, there was a time when Ugandan LGBT activist and Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) founder Victor Mukasa was the lone visible face of our struggle. It is because activists like Mukasa tirelessly knocked on the doors of consular offices -- even if those doors sometimes didn't open -- that U.S. and other world leaders care about LGBT people outside their borders. Today, world leaders like Ban Ki-moon and Hillary Clinton listen and are committed to taking action. On balancing both the negative and positive, it is important that we acknowledge that the first Uganda Pride was a success and at the same time condemn state-sponsored harassment of LGBT activists. Three transgender women and professional dancers, while running away from the scene after police raided the event, were handcuffed, arrested and harassed. One transgender woman, Beyonde, was reportedly beaten by a policeman for resisting arrest. It has become a trend for Ugandan police to arrest, harass, humiliate, and in some cases shoot at unarmed civilians. Two months ago, a video of an armed and uniformed policeman half-undressing and squeezing the breast of a prominent female politician was making the rounds on the Internet. Police anywhere in the world are mandated to enforce the law, not to break it. In my country they are breaking it. State security officials have unlawfully raided three LGBT gatherings in the past six months. While the Anti-Homosexuality Bill is still being debated for passage, it should be made clear that it is still proposed legislation. Enforcing a not-yet-passed bill as law is not only unlawful; it is a gross violation of human rights. Similarly, the growing trend of labeling any gathering of LGBT people a "gay wedding" is an affront to human rights and a red herring informed by utter ignorance and speculative fear of the unknown. While religious fundamentalists in the West are now clutching at straws as laws against same-sex marriage are repealed, they are exporting their homophobic values to Africa. We have learned enough from Christian missionaries, such as Holocaust revisionist Scott Lively, to know that when Western conservative narratives are exported to Africa, African politicians see an opportunity to further criminalize same-sex persons. As we proudly and loudly showed up at the Beach Pride parade last week at the Botanical Gardens in Entebbe, we were simply demanding our right to peaceful assembly, expression, and association -- the same rights enjoyed by all other Ugandan citizens. Val Kalende is a Fellow at the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and a doctoral student at the University of British Columbia. This article first appeared in The Huffington Post’s Gay Voices.