SOCCER COACH IN GAY SCANDAL

The former head of Uganda’s national football team, Chris Mubiru, has been arrested on “sodomy” charges.

Mubiru, who previously coached the team, was the subject of a report by the notoriously anti-gay Red Pepper tabloid in December last year.

A picture from a video of him allegedly having sex with a young footballer was published on its front page with the headline: “SMOKED OUT! Uganda Cranes boss nabbed sodomising players.”

The Ugandan media reported on Monday that Mubiru has now been arrested, a year after the initial reports.

Police publicist Judith Nabakooba appealed “to members of the public who have evidence of being sodomised by former Cranes Captain Chris Mubiru to present it at Central Police Station where we have opened a general inquiry file.”

According to the Daily Monitor, Mubiru was arrested on Monday morning in Kampala and interrogated for more than four hours. He remains in detention.

It appears that Mubiru may also be charged with having sex with minors, but the authorities have not yet established the ages of those seen in the tabloid photos.

Mubiru has reportedly denied that he is the man in the video from which the pictures were sourced.

The Red Pepper tabloid has a history of sensationalistic stories that have helped fuel homophobic sentiment in Uganda.

Since 2006, it has dangerously outed gays and lesbian in its pages, often revealing private information that would easily allow them to be found.