DAVID KATO BOOK IN THE WORKS

A Ugandan university is compiling a book on the life, work and legacy of David Kato, the LGBTI activist who was murdered in January.

Kato, considered a founder of Uganda’s LGBTI human rights movement, was bludgeoned to death with a hammer in his home. It remains unclear if his murder was tied to his activism and/or sexuality.

The biography is being developed and written by researchers in the Law, Gender and Sexuality Research Project of the Faculty of Law at Makerere University in Kampala.

The researchers have called for submissions for the book including essays, fiction, poetry, web blogs, art, crafts, photographs, film, documentaries, speeches, diaries, letters and other correspondence, music and academic publications “that reflect any aspect of the life and work of David Kato”.

The materials will be collected alongside interviews and focus group discussions conducted in rural and urban Uganda among those who knew David Kato.

The language of the biography will be English and relevant materials written in Luganda, Kiswahili, French, Portuguese, Spanish and any other African tongue will be translated for inclusion. The deadline for submission is 16th December 2011.

Enoch Nsubuga, who confessed to murdering Kato, has reportedly claimed that he did not intend to kill Kato but was defending himself after the activist tried to force him to have sex.

Many activists believe that Kato’s murder is related to anti-gay sentiment in Uganda. He reportedly received death threats after his picture was published in a local newspaper identifying him as gay with a headline calling for gays to be hung.

For more information or to submit material for the David Kato book e-mail snyanzi@law.mak.ac.ug or stellanyanzibah@googlemail.com.