The report of a gay man beheaded and mutilated in Uganda quickly made the rounds among bloggers over the last couple of days. My initial reaction to the story found on Changing Attitudes was to link it to a disturbing NTV report about a man’s head found in a latrine in Uganda. However, I was unclear about the details and about who had identified him as a gay man. Read here for the details and the updates which established that the story was some kind of hoax.
Late today, Sexual Minorities Uganda released a statement indicating that they knew nothing of the man and are unaware of any gay man who has met such a tragic end. The man may have been gay but he was not an activist or known to their coalition. Apparently, someone made up the gay angle, perhaps assuming bloggers would report it falsely, thus causing their credibility to be questioned.
Here is SMUG’s statement:
July 7, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – UGANDA
Beheaded Ugandan NOT an LGBT Activist
This statement is in reference to the disturbing news reports that the Ugandan man who was found beheaded identified as Pasikali Kashusbe was a gay-rights activist working as a volunteer with Integrity Uganda.
SMUG nullifies these reports and we are not aware of any LGBTI activist who has been beheaded. However, details of the mutilated body are yet to be revealed by the Ugandan Police.
Speaking to the Chair of Integrity Uganda, Bishop Christopher Ssenyonjo, “I have never worked with anyone who goes by the name Pasikali in my organization. I also did not make any comments as quoted in earlier statements made by Rev. Erich Kasirye, Rev. Erich Kasirye no longer has any legitimate connection to Integrity Uganda and the e-mail address [email protected] is no longer available as a link to the leadership of Integrity Uganda”.
SMUG stands in solidarity with Bishop Ssenyonjo, who has worked and supported SMUG and the entire Ugandan LGBTI community for a long period of time.
Integrity Uganda which is a member organization of Sexual Minorities Uganda is a faith-based LGBT organization which gives counseling and guidance to LGBT people.
SMUG disassociates the Ugandan LGBT community from these reports, until we have substantial information.
http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/category/international
Shocking News: Uganda Gay Activist Pasikali Kashusbe Beheaded
Press contacts:
- Frank Mugisha, Executive Director – SMUG Tel: +256 772 616 062 [email protected]
- Bishop Ssenyoonjo – Chairperson – Integrity Uganda Tel: +256 772 448 958
I am very sad for the man’s family and angry that his life has been hijacked for this hoax. I am also sorry for fueling the fire with my initial report. Even though I qualified my report, I thought it was credible and wrote it that way. I think the likelihood of anti-gay violence is pretty great in Uganda and I fear that we might be reporting a real situation sooner than later. However, nothing is particularly clear about this one, except that a man has been killed and someone made a false report about the circumstances.
While it’s true that someone did make up the gay angle, there is absolutely no evidence as yet re who or why. Yes, it could have been some internet savvy person with a secret desire to damage credibility. But, it’s just as likely that it was a mistake. Could it have been Colin Coward’s?
Box Turtle provided a link to a news story that said that police spokewoman Judith Nabakooba said the body was believed to be that of Pascal Kashushu. Colin said that Judith Nabakooba identified the head as Pasikali Kashusbe. I’ve been looking for the story where she actually identified the head and, as yet, I can’t find it. So I wonder if Colin maybe got caught up playing ‘connect the dots’ and took Nabakooba’s ‘believed to be’ and heard ‘identified’.
“Connect the dots” would have supported this presumption. Anti-gay foul play was already suspected in the disappearance of the man whose missing status inspired the search. There was the timing of the Martyr’s Day remembrance. Pasikali did go missing. The latrine was not far from where he worked. (On a TV cop show, the detective would be shouting “C’mon, man, we already KNOW what happened; now we just have to prove it.”)
And the web, whether the story is true or false, whether the falseness is innocent or contrived…the web is a web and the compelling stories or opinions travel at lightning speed. (And, just like that cop show, any voices that speak against the prevailing theory are shouted down. We unconsciously elevate it to ‘fact’ status.) I’m not sure if I’m the only one who suggested that we were jumping to a conclusion but I recall three responses. One was an appeal to Box Turtle’s record of credibility; another simply responded “Connect the Dots”; still another questioned ‘why must you always take the other side?”. (BTW: Box Turtle IS credible but even credible people are fallible; ‘connect the dots’ IS a logical process but is sometimes impacted by bias; the ‘why must you always take the other side’ approach plays well in a debate but not on a fact-finding mission.)
Following the web-trail, it seems that Colin may have inadvertently started this. Box Turtle picked it up from him. Warren seems to have picked it up from Box Turtle. As I’ve scanned the sites that subsequently ran with this story, most seemed to cite either Box Turtle or Warren.
Please, I am not attempting to disparage the credibility of Box Turtle, of Warren or even of Colin. I’m not even sure if Colin was the inadvertent originator of the false story. His article provided no links so I don’t know if he actually had a source that said that Nabakooba identifed the head as Pasikali’s. BUT, if the story DID originate with a mistaken word choice and conclusion by Colin, THEN our subsequent theories of a hoax and all the possible motives behind it are without merit.
I sincerely hope that we’ll be able to uncover how this bogus report got started. If it was a purposeful hoax, I want to know that. It will help me to understand the nature of who it is we’re dealing with. And if it was an honest mistake, I hope that we’ll take from it whatever lessons we can.
Evidently (and as expected) you missed my point. Please don’t follow one very forgiveable mistake with another. THAT could damage credibility. We don’t know yet if this was a hoax!
A hoax is something intended to deceive or defraud. By continuing to refer to it as a hoax (rather than find another word or qualify with ‘possible’ hoax) , you run the risk of being caught in hasty judgement if it would turn out that there was no ‘intent to deceive or defraud’…if it turns out that someone mistakenly read into the events and circumstances.
Stick with the smug, though. It served you well the first time around.
Whether intended as a hoax, it was a false report planted by a former founder of Integrity Uganda. Planting a false report may have many motives but the person making the initial report had to know it was false. A quote was made up and attributed to a specific person and an affiliation was attributed which was not true. Someone who originally made it up knew it and said it anyway.
Oh dear… so does that mean Uganda is going to declare war on Canada, the United States, Great Britian, Germany and most of the rest of western and northern Europe? Sure would do away with the hypocrisy of the situation and all those states could end their donations to Uganda.
Don’t worry. There’s no risk of that.
When we very publicly and strongly announced the hoax, we gained credibility rather than lost it. People trust you more when you have the integrity to admit a mistake.
Without waiting for 18 months.
Dear Warren,
Your comment above sounds more like a wish and an attempt to cover-up your embarassing “goofery”. If Frank Mugisha and other pro-gay puppet commentators are able to live in Uganda and speak openly about the “greatness of homosexuality” without being hanged, drawn and quartered, then I will say that Ugandans are peaceful hospitable people and you will have to wait for eternity to report any genuine case of mass violence against practitioners of gayism. BTW, just because we are friendly and hospitable to outsiders, doesn’t mean that we will sit meekly and do nothing when our culture and traditions is under foreign attack.
Timothy — Where’s my “like” button?
andy – Maybe you missed this:
The reason I quickly included the updates was to be candid with the facts. I did not say Ssempa or his students was responsible. Look again, I did not say this anywhere.
I did say that the rhetoric surely was inflamatory and if deaths occur, they would not be far away from what Christians were calling for there. The documentarian said the students were from Makerere’s youth group. And Ssempa produced a video where he featured a man calling for death to gays. I am not interpreting anything there, simply reporting it. Your tactic here is to take the attention off of the awful things Ssempa and followers say and put it on this report which turned out to be at least partly false.
What you cannot deny is the actual words of those I quoted.
andy – Maybe you missed this:
The reason I quickly included the updates was to be candid with the facts. I did not say Ssempa or his students was responsible. Look again, I did not say this anywhere.
I did say that the rhetoric surely was inflamatory and if deaths occur, they would not be far away from what Christians were calling for there. The documentarian said the students were from Makerere’s youth group. And Ssempa produced a video where he featured a man calling for death to gays. I am not interpreting anything there, simply reporting it. Your tactic here is to take the attention off of the awful things Ssempa and followers say and put it on this report which turned out to be at least partly false.
What you cannot deny is the actual words of those I quoted.
@ Warren.True We know now that the head wasn’t his (Pasikalis). Well..good
It may have been a hoax, right. But I think we would have stopped on reporting a missing gay activist, but not accusing certain people for his lose.
Quote below are the wards you used.
This is a baseless statement, there is no proof that the man in the video is a student to Ssempa. And then the whole argument in your blog is that the Church and people who are anti gay killed Pasikali! Which is a pure lie and has no proof.
Quoting your wards again
You claim that Martin Ssempa, and the Christians and muslim in Uganda are responsible for the missing priest Rev Henry Kayizzi and the death of Pasikali!
Professor I find your reports about Uganda a ‘hoax’ and very annoying only aimed at inciting anger and hatred against the people of Uganda and all their partners.
@ Warren.True We know now that the head wasn’t his (Pasikalis). Well..good
It may have been a hoax, right. But I think we would have stopped on reporting a missing gay activist, but not accusing certain people for his lose.
Quote below are the wards you used.
This is a baseless statement, there is no proof that the man in the video is a student to Ssempa. And then the whole argument in your blog is that the Church and people who are anti gay killed Pasikali! Which is a pure lie and has no proof.
Quoting your wards again
You claim that Martin Ssempa, and the Christians and muslim in Uganda are responsible for the missing priest Rev Henry Kayizzi and the death of Pasikali!
Professor I find your reports about Uganda a ‘hoax’ and very annoying only aimed at inciting anger and hatred against the people of Uganda and all their partners.
Warren–
I’ve been visiting numerous sites this morning and I have yet to find evidence for this claim:
The ‘former founder of Integrity Uganda’ is Kasirye.
In Colin’s article that appears to have escalated the circulation of the story, this is the only quote directly attributed to Kasirye:
When I read these remarks, it seems that someone could have said to Kasirye that the murdered body and head were Pasikali’s and asked for a statement. Note that Kasirye doesn’t address the murder at all. It is also quite possible that he did not identify himself as the general secretary of Integrity Uganda but that the reporter assumed he still held that position.
I still want to know who attributed the statement to police spokeswoman Judith N. (Her name is elsewhere in this thread and my brain is fatigued from all the spellings I’m unaccustomed to.) that the severed head was believed to be Paschal’s/Pasikali’s. We know now that the head wasn’t his BUT if she made the statement re ‘believed to be’ and someone went with that to Kasirye as ‘identified the head as’…the rest could have played out as it has. One recent statement attributed to the bishop (sorry, I forgot to link that one) suggests that Pasikali was never missing at all and that he also had no ties to Integrity Uganda. If this is true, then it does bring the suspicion back to Kasirye since, in his quote, he states that Pasikali and his partner joined Integrity in 2007. Kasirye was already gone by then but he doesn’t simply reports it as a fact with no indicator that he was there at the time. Then the question is…did he make that up or did he have bogus information that they were members?
Believe me, Kasirye is no prince. While it is noted that he was compelled to leave Integrity Uganda in 2004, the reports that he went swiftly to ‘the other side’ may not be true. From this link, it appears as recently as 2008 that he had organized a pro-gay student support group at King College.
http://ilga.org/ilga/static/uploads/files/2010/3/3/Homophobia%20in%20Ugandan%20Schools.pdf
From Colin Coward’s original release, the reference to what the bishop said isn’t attributed to anyone. So, yes, ‘a quote was made up and attributed to a specific person’ but Colin has yet to specifically say that it was Kasirye that provided that quote to him. (NOTE: If he has, would someone please link to it. My head is already spinning from the fact checking efforts of this morning.) And “an affiliation was attributed which was not true”. Not sure if this refers to Kasirye as still being a part of Integrity Uganda, to Pasikali and Abbey being members of Integrity Uganda or to an affiliation the bishop has.
Colin had another statement in his original piece:
This is quite specific. Because it is positioned so closely to Kasirye’s actual quote, there’s a temptation to think that Kasirye supplied this information but Colin doesn’t say that. (I find it hard to believe that Colin would go to publication having only one source.)
In Colin’s correction post he cites Victor Mukasa’s letter stating:
While the last portion of his sentence parallels Mukasa’s opening paragraph, Mukasa doesn’t cite Kasirye at all. (See link.)
Uganda.http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/about_this_blog/ugandan_gay_murder_story_may_b.html
In his corrective story, Colin also references Kasirye’s ‘extensive quote’ that was contained in his original breaking story. But the only ‘extensive quote’ from the first story was the first long quote that I supplied in this comment.
So it seems we still have several possible theories. 1) Kasirye was part of an intentional hoax. 2) Rumors of gay disappearances were circulating in Uganda and people (including reporters) jumped to conclusions when this head was found and , in their haste to put out a story, saw ‘believed to be’ as ‘identified’…and wound up inadvertently creating a story. 3) That Colin himself made that mistake and that it led him to misread other events and statements.
And I suppose it’s even possible that there are more possible explanations. So, either a hoax or a false report. But, if a false report, perhaps not intentional. I certainly wouldn’t think that, if it was Colin, that he was intentional. And, if a reporter, possibility is either way–intentional or not.
Warren–
I’ve been visiting numerous sites this morning and I have yet to find evidence for this claim:
The ‘former founder of Integrity Uganda’ is Kasirye.
In Colin’s article that appears to have escalated the circulation of the story, this is the only quote directly attributed to Kasirye:
When I read these remarks, it seems that someone could have said to Kasirye that the murdered body and head were Pasikali’s and asked for a statement. Note that Kasirye doesn’t address the murder at all. It is also quite possible that he did not identify himself as the general secretary of Integrity Uganda but that the reporter assumed he still held that position.
I still want to know who attributed the statement to police spokeswoman Judith N. (Her name is elsewhere in this thread and my brain is fatigued from all the spellings I’m unaccustomed to.) that the severed head was believed to be Paschal’s/Pasikali’s. We know now that the head wasn’t his BUT if she made the statement re ‘believed to be’ and someone went with that to Kasirye as ‘identified the head as’…the rest could have played out as it has. One recent statement attributed to the bishop (sorry, I forgot to link that one) suggests that Pasikali was never missing at all and that he also had no ties to Integrity Uganda. If this is true, then it does bring the suspicion back to Kasirye since, in his quote, he states that Pasikali and his partner joined Integrity in 2007. Kasirye was already gone by then but he doesn’t simply reports it as a fact with no indicator that he was there at the time. Then the question is…did he make that up or did he have bogus information that they were members?
Believe me, Kasirye is no prince. While it is noted that he was compelled to leave Integrity Uganda in 2004, the reports that he went swiftly to ‘the other side’ may not be true. From this link, it appears as recently as 2008 that he had organized a pro-gay student support group at King College.
http://ilga.org/ilga/static/uploads/files/2010/3/3/Homophobia%20in%20Ugandan%20Schools.pdf
From Colin Coward’s original release, the reference to what the bishop said isn’t attributed to anyone. So, yes, ‘a quote was made up and attributed to a specific person’ but Colin has yet to specifically say that it was Kasirye that provided that quote to him. (NOTE: If he has, would someone please link to it. My head is already spinning from the fact checking efforts of this morning.) And “an affiliation was attributed which was not true”. Not sure if this refers to Kasirye as still being a part of Integrity Uganda, to Pasikali and Abbey being members of Integrity Uganda or to an affiliation the bishop has.
Colin had another statement in his original piece:
This is quite specific. Because it is positioned so closely to Kasirye’s actual quote, there’s a temptation to think that Kasirye supplied this information but Colin doesn’t say that. (I find it hard to believe that Colin would go to publication having only one source.)
In Colin’s correction post he cites Victor Mukasa’s letter stating:
While the last portion of his sentence parallels Mukasa’s opening paragraph, Mukasa doesn’t cite Kasirye at all. (See link.)
Uganda.http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/about_this_blog/ugandan_gay_murder_story_may_b.html
In his corrective story, Colin also references Kasirye’s ‘extensive quote’ that was contained in his original breaking story. But the only ‘extensive quote’ from the first story was the first long quote that I supplied in this comment.
So it seems we still have several possible theories. 1) Kasirye was part of an intentional hoax. 2) Rumors of gay disappearances were circulating in Uganda and people (including reporters) jumped to conclusions when this head was found and , in their haste to put out a story, saw ‘believed to be’ as ‘identified’…and wound up inadvertently creating a story. 3) That Colin himself made that mistake and that it led him to misread other events and statements.
And I suppose it’s even possible that there are more possible explanations. So, either a hoax or a false report. But, if a false report, perhaps not intentional. I certainly wouldn’t think that, if it was Colin, that he was intentional. And, if a reporter, possibility is either way–intentional or not.
Professor, I find all your reports very annoying and disturbing, because they are baseless, only aimed at inciting anger and hatred against the people of Uganda and all their partners. It is very dangerous to name someone a “murderer” to the whole world basing on rumors and baseless information like you give. Go slow please.
Andy – What is baseless about all my reports? When this one surfaced, I indicated that it might not be accurate and quickly reported the facts as they became known.
Who did I name as a murderer?
Professor, I find all your reports very annoying and disturbing, because they are baseless, only aimed at inciting anger and hatred against the people of Uganda and all their partners. It is very dangerous to name someone a “murderer” to the whole world basing on rumors and baseless information like you give. Go slow please.
Andy – What is baseless about all my reports? When this one surfaced, I indicated that it might not be accurate and quickly reported the facts as they became known.
Who did I name as a murderer?
Evidently (and as expected) you missed my point. Please don’t follow one very forgiveable mistake with another. THAT could damage credibility. We don’t know yet if this was a hoax!
A hoax is something intended to deceive or defraud. By continuing to refer to it as a hoax (rather than find another word or qualify with ‘possible’ hoax) , you run the risk of being caught in hasty judgement if it would turn out that there was no ‘intent to deceive or defraud’…if it turns out that someone mistakenly read into the events and circumstances.
Stick with the smug, though. It served you well the first time around.
Whether intended as a hoax, it was a false report planted by a former founder of Integrity Uganda. Planting a false report may have many motives but the person making the initial report had to know it was false. A quote was made up and attributed to a specific person and an affiliation was attributed which was not true. Someone who originally made it up knew it and said it anyway.
Timothy — Where’s my “like” button?
Don’t worry. There’s no risk of that.
When we very publicly and strongly announced the hoax, we gained credibility rather than lost it. People trust you more when you have the integrity to admit a mistake.
Without waiting for 18 months.
While it’s true that someone did make up the gay angle, there is absolutely no evidence as yet re who or why. Yes, it could have been some internet savvy person with a secret desire to damage credibility. But, it’s just as likely that it was a mistake. Could it have been Colin Coward’s?
Box Turtle provided a link to a news story that said that police spokewoman Judith Nabakooba said the body was believed to be that of Pascal Kashushu. Colin said that Judith Nabakooba identified the head as Pasikali Kashusbe. I’ve been looking for the story where she actually identified the head and, as yet, I can’t find it. So I wonder if Colin maybe got caught up playing ‘connect the dots’ and took Nabakooba’s ‘believed to be’ and heard ‘identified’.
“Connect the dots” would have supported this presumption. Anti-gay foul play was already suspected in the disappearance of the man whose missing status inspired the search. There was the timing of the Martyr’s Day remembrance. Pasikali did go missing. The latrine was not far from where he worked. (On a TV cop show, the detective would be shouting “C’mon, man, we already KNOW what happened; now we just have to prove it.”)
And the web, whether the story is true or false, whether the falseness is innocent or contrived…the web is a web and the compelling stories or opinions travel at lightning speed. (And, just like that cop show, any voices that speak against the prevailing theory are shouted down. We unconsciously elevate it to ‘fact’ status.) I’m not sure if I’m the only one who suggested that we were jumping to a conclusion but I recall three responses. One was an appeal to Box Turtle’s record of credibility; another simply responded “Connect the Dots”; still another questioned ‘why must you always take the other side?”. (BTW: Box Turtle IS credible but even credible people are fallible; ‘connect the dots’ IS a logical process but is sometimes impacted by bias; the ‘why must you always take the other side’ approach plays well in a debate but not on a fact-finding mission.)
Following the web-trail, it seems that Colin may have inadvertently started this. Box Turtle picked it up from him. Warren seems to have picked it up from Box Turtle. As I’ve scanned the sites that subsequently ran with this story, most seemed to cite either Box Turtle or Warren.
Please, I am not attempting to disparage the credibility of Box Turtle, of Warren or even of Colin. I’m not even sure if Colin was the inadvertent originator of the false story. His article provided no links so I don’t know if he actually had a source that said that Nabakooba identifed the head as Pasikali’s. BUT, if the story DID originate with a mistaken word choice and conclusion by Colin, THEN our subsequent theories of a hoax and all the possible motives behind it are without merit.
I sincerely hope that we’ll be able to uncover how this bogus report got started. If it was a purposeful hoax, I want to know that. It will help me to understand the nature of who it is we’re dealing with. And if it was an honest mistake, I hope that we’ll take from it whatever lessons we can.
Hey warren. I follow your blog but rarely comment. I thought you might be interested in this. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/11/30/091130fa_fact_levy?currentPage=all
Do you remember the case of Caster semenya the south african runner who had the whole world guessing if she was a woman or not? The iaaf really bothced her case up. Anyway the article above discuses some things realating to intersexuality. THe article suggests that Caster may have Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. What i thought you might be intereseted in is the fact allueded to by a South African intersexual advocacy worker. (apparently there is a higher incidence of intersexuality in South africa than anywhere else) that all of the girls who have AIS are lesbians. AIS people are gentically male but have exterior female sex organs. Am i wrong to suggest that here is very good evidence that sexuality is then passed in the genes??
Hope your well
Keep up the good work of our Lord
Richard Cronin
Hey warren. I follow your blog but rarely comment. I thought you might be interested in this. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/11/30/091130fa_fact_levy?currentPage=all
Do you remember the case of Caster semenya the south african runner who had the whole world guessing if she was a woman or not? The iaaf really bothced her case up. Anyway the article above discuses some things realating to intersexuality. THe article suggests that Caster may have Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. What i thought you might be intereseted in is the fact allueded to by a South African intersexual advocacy worker. (apparently there is a higher incidence of intersexuality in South africa than anywhere else) that all of the girls who have AIS are lesbians. AIS people are gentically male but have exterior female sex organs. Am i wrong to suggest that here is very good evidence that sexuality is then passed in the genes??
Hope your well
Keep up the good work of our Lord
Richard Cronin
Oh dear… so does that mean Uganda is going to declare war on Canada, the United States, Great Britian, Germany and most of the rest of western and northern Europe? Sure would do away with the hypocrisy of the situation and all those states could end their donations to Uganda.
Based on what I’ve seen to date, I’d guess that Maazi and those who think like him are more likely to err on the side of not sitting meekly rather than on the side of friendly and hospitable.
Dear Warren,
Your comment above sounds more like a wish and an attempt to cover-up your embarassing “goofery”. If Frank Mugisha and other pro-gay puppet commentators are able to live in Uganda and speak openly about the “greatness of homosexuality” without being hanged, drawn and quartered, then I will say that Ugandans are peaceful hospitable people and you will have to wait for eternity to report any genuine case of mass violence against practitioners of gayism. BTW, just because we are friendly and hospitable to outsiders, doesn’t mean that we will sit meekly and do nothing when our culture and traditions is under foreign attack.
Based on what I’ve seen to date, I’d guess that Maazi and those who think like him are more likely to err on the side of not sitting meekly rather than on the side of friendly and hospitable.