GROWING ANTI-GAY HYSTERIA IN UGANDA

There is growing anti-gay hysteria in Uganda following a press conference by eight “formerly-gay men” and government threats to crack down on LGBT people.

The eight men were accompanied by George Oundo, who had earlier admitted to “recruiting” school children to become homosexuals, reports the New Vision website.

During the press conference in the Grand Imperial Hotel in Kampala last week one of the men, Emma Matovu, said “We have been involved in recruiting homosexuals, spreading the gospel of homosexuality, and we know the operations of homosexuals.”

“Homosexuality is dangerous and dehumanising but is growing fast in Uganda. We shall do all it takes to eliminate the practice…” he added.

According to the website, another man, Charles Asiimwe said that homosexuality had “spread” to government offices, churches, schools and hotels.

“We shall expose those who refuse to abandon the practice and we shall not be intimidated because we are protected by Jesus,” he said. “We know their operations, including a restaurant in the city centre where homosexuals wait for clients from nearby hotels.”

Meanwhile, the Ugandan government said that it is planning to take action against “homosexuality and lesbianism”.

Reacting to a petition by anti-gay groups, the State Minister for Ethics and Integrity, Dr. James Nsaba Buturo said that the government would stamp out this “moral corruption” of Ugandans.

The growing focus on the LGBT community in Uganda follows a controversial anti-gay conference held in the capital earlier this month which was attended by leaders from the American ‘ex-gay’ movement.

Homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda and carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. In December last year however, the High Court ruled in case concerning two LGBT activists who had been harassed by police, that gays and lesbians should be accorded the same rights as other Ugandans.