Tag: anti-homosexuality bill 2009

Kampala court told gays have gone into hiding; will rule in 2 weeks

The first report from Kampala on the Rolling Stone trial comes from the Deutsche Presse Agentur via Monsters and Critics:

Kampala – Uganda’s gay community has gone into hiding after a local tabloid published 100 of their names and pictures, their lawyer told a High Court judge Friday.

Kampala-based weekly Rolling Stone in October published the names and images of people they said were homosexuals, accompanied by the headline: ‘Hang Them, they are after our kids: Pictures of top 100 Homos.’

Gay activists filed a petition in court to restrain the tabloid from further publication of pictures and anti-gay stories, and sought damages and costs incurred following the publication of the article.

‘By publishing the identities of these people and places they were frequenting for dinner, and their residences, it was tantamount to a violation of their rights,’ lawyer Henry Onaria told the Kampala court.

‘Homosexuals have always been harassed but this time they have been put in danger, they cannot move freely and they are in total hiding after this publication,’ he added.

Justice Kibuka Musoke, hearing the petition, said he would rule on the case in two weeks.

There is a small but growing community of gays and lesbians in the East African country, but its members have frequently complained of harassment by both the government and sections of the public.

Last year, a lawmaker presented a bill in parliament spelling out tough penalties for homosexuality, ranging from a few years in jail, to life imprisonment and hanging.

The move prompted a furious reaction from human rights bodies and Uganda’s western donors. The bill was subsequently put on ice.

One would think that a press organization would read other reports or actually cite sources, but not here. What does “put on ice” mean? The Anti-Homosexuality Bill has been stuck in committee, but as readers of CNN, Box Turtle Bulletin or this blog know, those supporting it are claiming that it will move during this session of Parliament.

AOL News gets it wrong on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill

In what is otherwise a report on a tiny sect from the US in Uganda, the AOL News mischaracterizes the status of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. With the reporting from CNN, etc., it is difficult to see how this reporter missed it.

Jenkins’ view breaks from that of the American Christian evangelicals who arrived in Uganda last year claiming homosexuals were conspiring against the traditional African family. That helped whip up anti-homosexual hysteria in Uganda and led to the drafting of anti-homosexual legislation, which originally called for the death penalty for homosexual offenders.

In May, a government committee determined that Uganda’s anti-gay bill possessed “technical defects in form and content,” and anti-homosexuality fervor has quieted considerably since then.

Not so. To several news outlets as well as here, bill sponsor David Bahati and most recently Minister of Ethics and Integrity Nsaba Buturo both say the bill is on deck for action and still contains the death penalty.

Uganda’s Rolling Stone blames terrorist attacks on gays

Escalating their war on homosexuality, Uganda’s Rolling Stone is blaming the Kampala bombings on gays, as well as making up links to terrorist Joseph Kony in the North. The following images are from the November 15-22 issue out now.

Click on the image on the right to read the Rolling Stone’s claims. As you will see, no sources are offered, no proof is provided. Perhaps in a nod to the recent court ruling in Uganda, the editors said that none of the bombings were carried out by people named in previous issues. That might be the only accruate statement in the entire article. However, a variety of terroristic activities are blamed on gays without any evidence whatsoever.

The article has no author and cites unnamed sources, but claims that the July attacks in Kampala during the World Cup were plotted by “deadly homosexuals living abroad.” The article claims homosexuals are angry that the government won’t respect their rights. The article claims without awareness of the contradiction that the government sent troops to Somali to cover the real story. The tale gets taller when the paper claims that homosexuals from the Middle East paid Somali terror group Al-Shabaab to bomb Kampala due to outrage over the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Finally, gays are blamed for funding the Lord’s Resistance Army who have committed atrocities in the North.

This is another disturbing development in a series of such happenings. I will have more to say about this Monday, but I spoke yesterday with the mover of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, Hon. David Bahati, and he confirmed to me that he expects the bill to be considered during the lifetime of this parliamentary session. It seems likely that the Rolling Stone’s campaign is designed to increase pressure on the Museveni government, facing a surprisingly strong opposition heading into upcoming elections, to move the Anti-Homosexuality Bill toward passage (e.g., read the Rolling Stone’s editorial).

UPDATE: Boxturtlebulletin also has these images as well as images of one of the other tabloid focused on gays, The Onion. BTB provides one article acknowing that Martin Ssempa has lost support over his support of the AHB.

Uganda Observer reports on Rolling Stone, Martin Ssempa; confirms attack

The Uganda Observer has an article this morning reporting on the ongoing controversy over the Uganda Rolling Stone tabloid. Also, for the first time, a Uganda paper reports on the Canyon Ridge Christian Church story:

Ssempa loses funding

Meanwhile, the Canyon Ridge Christian Church (CRCC), which has been supporting Pastor Martin Ssempa’s work on HIV/AIDS in Uganda, has announced it is “looking to re-direct” its resources to other people. They cite Sempa’s support of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

When contacted, Ssempa declined to confirm whether he had been notified of the decision. The statement, however, can be found on the CRCC’s website.

Indeed, the statement is on their website, with a link on the frontpage. How odd…Rev. Ssempa is not shy to talk to the Rolling Stone but he declined to comment to The Observer.

As noted here, Oral Roberts University continues to list Ssempa on their Board of Reference.

The Observer leads with the Rolling Stone story:

A Ugandan story about homosexuality that went largely unnoticed at home is hitting headlines in the foreign media, with CNN and BBC among those raising its profile.

Julian Pepe Onziema, the Programmes Coordinator of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), an NGO that lobbies for the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals (LGBTS), has had interviews with these media houses, and others like the SABC of South Africa and Aljazeera, over persecution of this group in Uganda.

She is currently in Gambia to discuss the rights of homosexuals before the African Commission and her days continue to be filled with a lot of advocacy work following the reports.

On October 2, a newspaper, Rolling Stone, which entered the Ugandan market only in August this year, carried pictures of people it claimed were homosexuals under the headline, ‘Kampala’s top homosexuals’.

The newspaper was quick to realize that the story was good for publicity abroad, so there was a follow-up in its latest November edition.

It ran graphic photos of people said to be gay, their names and addresses. In one of the photos, a woman said to be a lesbian is lying seductively on a bed wearing a figure-hugging dress with a caption saying, “She claims to be hot but is only interested in relationships with women. She seduces women.”

Next to hers are other pictures of male genitalia inflicted with lymphogranulama, a disease the newspaper alleged is eating up the homosexual community. Strewn around are pictures of other individuals said to be homosexuals, as well as activists and sympathizers.

The Observer has established that one of the people listed as a lesbian was attacked by her neighbours with stones and had to be rescued by friends who sneaked her out of the house. Other attacks have been reported but couldn’t be confirmed.

Statement from Ugandan LGBT coalition; Judge rules against Rolling Stone

It was an eventful day in Uganda. The Rolling Stone distributed part 2 of their “hang the gays” tabloid, and a Ugandan judge ordered the tabloid to cease outing gays. Just a bit ago, Sexual Minorities Uganda made the following comments and press release.

Kampala.  2.11.2010

Uganda: Court issues an interim order restraining the “ROLLING STONE”

In two of its publication issue No 5 and Issue no 6. The Rolling Stone a Ugandan weekly Tabloid., “outed” Uganda  LGBTI People. These outings increased hostility and harassment for LGBTI Ugandans.

In response Sexual Minorities Uganda – SMUG, the Ugandan LGBTI community and the civil society coalition on human rights and constitutional law sued the Rolling Stone.

Before His Lordship Justice V.F  Musoke Kibuka in the presence of  Ms. Sengendo Rose Counsel for the applicant at the high court of Uganda.

The Court issued an interim order restraining the respondents, their servants and agents, from any further publication in the publication called ROLLING STONE or any  other publications  by the respondents , their agents or servants, the identities by name or pictures or any relevant implication of the person or person perceived by the respondents to be gay, lesbian or homosexual in general.

The Interim Order is to remain in place till the hearing and disposal of Misc Cause No. 163 of 2010

Costs on the cause.

The Rolling Stone editorial team was not in court; hearing for the case has been scheduled for 23rd .11 . 2010.

And then the press release…

PRESS RELEASE

KAMPALA – November 01, 2010

GAY ACTIVISTS SUE THE ROLLONG STONE TABLOID

The Ugandan Rolling Stone tabloid published an article entitled “100 Pictures of Uganda’s Top Homos Leak” calling for “the hanging of homos” in Uganda in its issue of Vol.1, No. 5, 2 – 9 October, 2010. This article shows pictures of some of the 100 alleged homosexuals and other Human Rights Activists, alongside their names and a description of their professional jobs and private life, including where they live or work.

The publication has affected the day to day lives of the individuals mentioned and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender [LGBTI] community as a whole. Therefore Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender human rights activists have taken the tabloid to the High court.

Through this litigation the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community is seeking to bring to an end the violations. They will also educate and raise awareness that everyone in this society deserves and should be protected by the government and the law irrespective of race, age, color, tribe, creed, sexual orientation and gender identity.

We call on;

1. The MEDIA to immediately desist from using press freedom to incite violence against any person.

2. The Government of Uganda to intervene immediately and take all appropriate measures to put an end to this blatant incitement to public violence against a particular group of citizens.

3. The Government of Uganda should recognize and seize the opportunity to ensure the protection of human rights, which is entrusted to its authority, and uphold the Ugandan Constitution as well as the international and regional Human Rights Instruments to which Uganda is a signatory.

For further information please contact:

Frank Mugisha –

[email protected]