ence made a difference—and led to the anti-homosexuality
act—that I amoneof theclaimants suinghimfor crimesagainst
humanity under the alien tort act in theU.S. There is also evi-
dence that he has helped to engender the same sort of hatred
elsewhere, notably inRussia,whichadopted itsowndraconian
anti-gay legislation last year.
Ugandan supporters of the anti-gay law say they are com-
bating “foreign influences” that embrace homosexuality. In
signing the law, President Museveni wanted “to demonstrate
Uganda’s independence in the face of Western pressure and
provocation,” as if thiswere an act of neocolonial resistance.
It is simply not true that homosexuality is “un-African.”
Same-sex sexual conduct existed in various forms throughout
Africabefore the colonial period. Same-sex relationshipswere
knownamongseveral groups inUganda, including theBahima,
the Banyoro, and the Baganda. KingMwanga II, the last pre-
colonial rulerofwhat isnowUganda,was said tohaveengaged
in sexual relationswithmale courtiers.
I ama gayman. I amalsoUgandan. There is nothing un-
African about me. Uganda is where I was born, grewup, and
callmyhome. It is alsoa country inwhich I havebecome little
more than an unapprehended criminal because of who I am. I
wantmy fellowUgandans tounderstand that homosexuality is
not aWestern import. It is instead the current wave of homo-
phobia that’s been imported fromthe “developed”world.
HowU.S.EvangelicalsSowedHatred inUganda
F
RANK
M
UGISHA
The following is adapted fromapiece that appearedon thewebsiteof
TheGuardian
of London,UK, onMarch20, 2014 (theguardian.com).
G
ROWINGUPinUganda, homosexualitywasnot some-
thingwe talkedmuch about. I knew I was gay froma
young age, and I came out to those close tomewhen I
was a teenager in the early1990s. Some inmy family accepted
it,whileothers refused toacknowledge it.Homosexualitywas-
n’t always acceptedbut itwas largely ignored.
There were characters frommy youth that I remember as
openly gay. Therewere snide comments and rude names, but I
didnot experiencehatred.Tobegay inUgandaback thenwas a
fairlyunremarkable thing.As aCatholic, I knewthechurchand
religious leaderswere homophobic. They preached themantra
that homosexuality is a sin, but that’swhere it ended.
Today’sUganda is a different story.As the director of Sex-
ualMinoritiesUganda, the country’s leadingLGBT rights or-
ganization, I have been on an advocacy trip inEurope and the
U.S., encouraging the international community to speak out
against the recentlypassedanti-homosexualityact,which I and
a core groupofUgandans are nowchallenging in the constitu-
tional court.
As I prepare to return home, I knowa lawhas been passed
thatwill tyrannizemy lifeand that ofmanyUgandans.Theout-
look isbleak.As agayUgandan, I knowI amoneof thousands.
But as someonewhohas chosen tobe “out” inUganda, I amin
aminorityof fewer than twentypeople.
Adayafter theanti-gay lawwaspassed, theUgandan tabloid
RedPepper
publishedmyname andpicture in a list of the “top
200 homos.” The last time a similar article was published in
2010by thenow-defunct
RollingStone
, it listed thenameofmy
friend and colleague David Kato. He and others successfully
sued the paper, butweeks laterDavidwas bludgeoned todeath
at home, undoubtedly as a result of his sexuality.
Manypeople that I havemetwithover thepast fewweeks,
including Britain’s foreign secretary, William Hague, have
askedme:What has changedsodramatically? It is true that ho-
mosexual acts between consenting adults have been illegal in
Ugandaever since theBritish introduced their penal codeat the
beginning of the 20th century. But this recent era of expanded
criminalization andvirulent homophobia has been another gift
fromtheWest, this time fromtheU.S.
Well-fundedAmerican evangelical organizations have for
over ten years been relentlessly stoking a disgust and loathing
of sexualminorities, as illustrated in the2013documentary
God
Loves Uganda
. Nowwe are told that Uganda will not bow to
“thegayagenda”—aphrase I hadnever hearduntil a fewyears
agowhenAmerican evangelicals introduced it.
Among themwas the firebrand pastor Scott Lively, who
first came to Uganda in 2002 and began peddling his hot-
headed variety of homophobia. He addressedmany congrega-
tions, fueling a type of public outrage that was entirely new to
Uganda. His profile gave himdirect access to leading govern-
ment andmedia figures. So stronglydo I believe that his influ-
GUESTOPINION
May–June 2014
5
