A Documentary film about Gay Rights Activist David Kato

This is the one year anniversary of the human rights activist David Kato's death. David was a fierce fighter for gay rights in Uganda and worked tirelessly to bring about change to the people.

Since then, Katherine Fairfaz and Malika Zouhali-Worrall created a documentary focusing on David's life and work. It is called, "Call Me Kuchu".

Here's more from the creators:

The more time we spent documenting his work, the more evident it became that, contrary to the M.P.’s claim, David and his fellow activists were, in fact, generating real debate in Uganda. Kampala’s kuchus had begun to dismantle the country’s discriminatory status quo, and were working tirelessly to change their fate and that of others across Africa. 

Today, as we revisit our memories of David, we remember his fortitude and remarkable legal achievements, boldly guided by his vision of establishing a Ugandan gay village. But perhaps most of all we recall these words, spoken with more logic than defiance: “If we keep on hiding, they will say we are not here.”

Here is the trailer

Call Me Kuchu - Trailer from Call Me Kuchu on Vimeo.

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WATCH: Occupy Anti-Gay Scott Lively

Scott Lively is one of the masterminds behind Uganda's Anti-Gay movement. Watch as protesters give him a reality check

Ugandan Health Minister Christine Ondoa Thinks the Power of Prayer cures AIDS

In the box of crazy ass beliefs, here's a new one for you. Ugandan Health Minister Christine Ondoa thinks prayer cures AIDS and saves our demonic souls:

Along with her role as a medical professional, Christine Ondoa also serves as pastor in the Life Line Ministries of apostle Julius Peter Oyet, one of the most powerful clerics leading Uganda's ongoing crusade against gay rights.

Julius Oyet's Life Line Ministries runs a Uganda branch of an international faith healing ministry under Wagner apostle Cal Pierce, head of the International Association of Healing Rooms. Cal Pierce's Healing Room Ministries lists almost 400 healing room branches in cities and towns across the United States, and well over 1,000 internationally.

Since her appointment as Health Ministry head, Ondoa has promoted the claim, an established tenet of Peter Wagner's apostolic movement, also advanced by Oyet's Life Line Ministries, that HIV/AIDS can be cured through prayer. According to a story published September 2008 in the Uganda Daily Monitor, "Unverified faith healing is posing a threat to adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) by persons living with HIV/Aids."

Girl please, there is no power of prayer and how does she have a job like this?

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Ugandan Cabinet Drops the 'Kill the Gays' Bill, but Parliament could move the Bill Forward

Today, I found out about the Ugandan Cabinet tossing the 'Kill the Gays' Bill:

The decision to throw out the Anti-Homosexuality Bill was made at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday where Mr Mwesige, according to sources, told ministers that the Bill was unnecessary since government has a number of laws in place criminalising homosexual activities.


“We agreed that government should search the law archives and get some of the laws, enforce them rather than having another new piece of legislation,” a source said. “He [Mwesige] said the Bill is overtaken by events and that donors and other sections of the public were not comfortable.”

While that's good news, Warren Throckmorton post that Parliament still have the bill:

Parliament spokesperson, Helen Kawesa, said that the bill ”is in the Parliament now. It’s Parliament’s property.” She added the Cabinet ministers will “have to argue it out in the Parliament” since the bill is controlled by Parliament and has not yet had a vote.

Kawesa added, “If the Cabinet has issues with it, they will be brought in to the floor of the House.”

Currently, budget meetings are on the agenda but a budget is slated to get a vote by next Wednesday. After that, other business, including the anti-gay bill could be considered. As of now, according to Kawesa, there is no official action scheduled for the Anti-Homosexuality Bill but she said the bill could come up at any time after the budget has been passed.

Will this ever end? KILL THIS BILL already!

Ugandan Gay Activists Launch a New LGBT Campaign

Gay activists have gathered together to start a new LGBT campaign in Uganda. It's called The Hate No More Campaign and it's lead by the Freedom and Roam Uganda (Farug) and the Uganda Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law (UCSCHRCL).

Here's more:

Activist Kasha Jacqueline, the Farug Director said the campaign will call on all Ugandans to protect the rights of homosexuals and promote sexual diversity.

“This is a four month long national campaign and will involve us engaging civil society, political leaders, religious leaders, and the general public in asserting our voices against psychological and physical hate against those who we perceive to be different from us. It will therefore start with a press conference Wednesday. Come and join us in raising our voices against hate,” Mr Geoffrey Ogwaro, an officer with the UCSCHRCL, the co-organisers of the campaign said.

This campaign hopes to effectively confront hatred and discrimination against the gays in Uganda.

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David Bahati will Continue to push the 'Kill the Gays' Bill in Uganda

On Friday, the Parliament in Uganda ended the day without discussing the anti-gay bill. However, David (Snake Face) Bahati will fight to bring the bill up for a vote.

Bahati told the news agency that he would re-introduce his bill in February.

“We have made important steps in raising the issue and that will continue,” he said.

I honestly don't see what he would gain from this silly crusade. Other countries have threaten to cut all aid to Uganda. Their credibility will be at stake and David will be a pariah rather than the hero of Uganda. 

With the possibility of losing so much, is this stupid bill worth it?

Somebody better talk to David and his cronies. They could the ones labeled as the fools who destroyed Uganda. 

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REMIX: Uganda Drops the 'Kill the Gays' Bill from Agenda, But It's Back on for Friday

After several threats from different countries, Uganda has supposedly dropped the anti-gay bill from their agenda.

The future of the bill remained murky. Wednesday was parliament’s last scheduled day of session, and President Yoweri Museveni was scheduled on Thursday to be sworn in after his February re-election. It wasn’t clear if the bill could be carried forward to the next session or if the bill’s author would have to offer a new bill, which he has said he will do if needed.

The original bill would mandate a death sentence in some cases, part of the reason it attracted global attention. The bill’s author, David Bahati, has said a new version of the bill would not contain the death penalty, but no amended version has been released publicly.

One member of parliament, John Alimadi, said Wednesday that the bill may have been dropped from the agenda because of the worldwide outcry against it.

There were petitions, threats of cutting funds and more. I see that parliament didn't want to take the risk. But is completely dead? Only time will tell.

UPDATE Well, time told and vote is back on for Friday!

Helen Kawesa just told me that Parliament has adjourned but will reconvene on Friday to consider the remaining bills on the agenda. They will begin in the morning and work until all of the bills are considered. The intent is to address all bills. The AHB is the last one and is the most vulnerable but with an all day session, it is possible for it to get a third reading. According to Kawesa, Friday is absolutely the last day however as the new Parliament is sworn in on Monday.


According to bill author, David Bahati, the Parliament will meet at 10am and address the remaining four bills on the current order paper. He declined to predict the response of the Parliament but felt sure that the bill would get a debate and discussion.

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Interesting Quote: Barney Frank

“I’m disturbed by the news that Uganda is considering going ahead with a measure that denies the humanity of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.”

“I was pleased when the Financial Services Committee overwhelmingly, in a bipartisan way, voted in favor of my amendment urging the Secretary of the Treasury to oppose any financial assistance from multilateral development institutions to countries that persecute people on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identity or religious beliefs. In the discussion of the amendment I offered, I specifically mentioned the deeply troubling case of Uganda, which is now considering legislation to legally deprive people of these basic human rights.”

“If the bill before the Ugandan parliament becomes law, it must be the policy of the United States government to oppose any aid to Uganda from the World Bank, the African Development Bank, or any other international financial institution of which we are a member.”

Barney is saying cut off the money honey if Uganda can't get it together

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In Uganda: 'Kill the Gays' Bill will have a Hearing

This is not good news. Just when you thought the worse was over for the 'Kill The Gay' bill in Uganda, it rears in ugly head once again.

I read over at GayUganda, that the bill is being heard and considered in parliament. Here is his take

Now, the anti-Homosexuality Bill is at present being discussed in the parliament of Uganda. Just today, as I write. Yes, today, Friday the 6^th of May 2011. Committee hearings are reportedly going ahead.

Now, remember that this is the lame duck session of parliament. And, remember that it is supposed to end soon, on 11 May 2011.

And, that on 12 May is the coronation of the King. Uh, do not think that am using my words without real care.

Why is the Anti-Homosexuality Bill being discussed today in parliament? And as a matter of urgency? Pure and simple. DIVERSION.

Less than a week ago, the opposition parties started a 'walk-to-work' peaceful protest. The government responded with over whelming violence. Currently, as I write, the major opposition leader is in neighbouring Kenya, for medical attention for injuries he received during one of his 4 arrests. They sprayed tear gas and pepper direct into his face, after breaking down his car windows. And, this was in full view of the press.

The next day, riots paralysed the country. It was after the video of that arrest was shown on TV. Ugandans, the citizens of the country were appalled. They came out on strike. And, the government responded with overwhelming violence again. So bad that the spectre of Idi Amin Dada, famous dictator and life president of Uganda was raised.

So, the country is in a ferment. With the coronation to happen in just a few days time. So, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill is beind discussed... and ready to be passed.

So, it is a DIVERSION. The government needs a heady diversion for the country. For the outraged citizens of Uganda.

There is more info here. My heart goes out the fam in Uganda. I can not imagine the constant pain and suffering they go through just to be who they were born to be.

Friends fight to save a Gay Ugandan Man from US Deportation

Openly gay Justice Bokombe faces deportation to Uganda and his friends fear for his life.

Right now, Bokombe is being held by U.S. immigration officials and is on the verge of being deported. Bokombe, a musician, arrived in the United States five years ago from Uganda on a cultural exchange visa, which expired several years ago. Friends said Bokombe was afraid to go home and was detained more than a year ago.

In 2009, fueled by religious forces, the Ugandan government began considering a law that would impose the death penalty for certain homosexual acts. Though the government recently backed off the bill, in Uganda, homosexuality remains illegal and despised. In January, a tabloid printed the words, "Hang them" next to the picture of a gay activist. Soon after, he was murdered.Akwanya, a Ugandan native, said he believes Bokombe would face a similar fate."Actually I don't think even past the airport. They just get him and then put him in detention. In detention, he can get poisoned or [they will] hire some people in jail to kill him," said Akwanya.

Justice's friends has started a petition to keep him here in the U.S.

Those grim prospects led Hector Martinez to begin a petition drive to help Bokombe's appeal for asylum. Bokombe volunteers at a church and for several local groups, including Mental Health America of San Diego County, which is the mental health non-profit Martinez works at.

"He's a part of our community and people care about him. He deserves to live freely," said Martinez.So far, Martinez has collected more than 240 signatures, which will eventually be submitted to a judge. 
That petition is posted at http://www.change.org/.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement released this statement to 10News: "Over the course of the last year, Mr. Bukombe's immigration case has undergone extensive review by judges at multiple levels of our legal system. In those proceedings, the courts have held that he has failed to establish a legal basis to remain in the United States. ICE is now in the process of seeking to carry out the deportation order handed down by the immigration court."

This is intense. If you can, sign the petition.


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In Uganda: 2 Million sign a petition to bring back the 'Kill the Gays' Bill

This is unbelievable to read! After all the protests, the UN support and even threats of losing international funding; 2 million Ugandans want the 'Kill the Gays' back on track.

Anti-homosexuality activists have presented a petition in Parliament, calling for the passing of the anti-gay Bill. The petition, signed by two million people countrywide, was presented to the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Edward Ssekandi, yesterday by anti-gay activists led by Pastor Martin Ssempa.


“We are not here to hang the gays as people have speculated but to protect young men and girls being recruited into the practice,” Pastor Ssempa said. They also listed 19 organisations which they claimed are promoting homosexuality in the country.
Mr Ssekandi promised that the Bill would be debated.


“The mover of the Bill (David Bahati) is still a member of the 9th Parliament and even if the current Parliament doesn’t debate it, the new Parliament will do it,” Mr Ssekandi said.
He added: “Since the Bill was tabled, I have received numerous calls from the international community to throw it out but I always tell them that I don’t have those powers.”


Mr Ssekandi also told the team that their petition would be considered by the committee.
The Bill, tabled in Parliament by Mr Bahati as a private members Bill in 2009, seeks among others to imprison for life anyone convicted of “the offence of homosexuality,” punish “aggravated homosexuality” and offences like having gay sex while HIV-positive by a death penalty upon conviction.


It also forbids any “promotion of homosexuality” and incarcerates gay-rights defenders.
Pastor Ssempa said there were allegations of huge sums of money being brought into the country to influence people against passing the Bill.


The Bill is still before the parliamentary Committee on Legal and Parliament Affairs although the committee chair said government Bills before his committee take precedence. 

Who are these people? And do they realized what they are agreeing to? I can't help but to think about the message this sends to the overall LGBT community there. I hope this rejected and thrown out!

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Uganda puts away the 'Kill the Gays' Bill, for now

The anti-gay bill is shelved for now, but the hateful bastard David Bahati will continue to push it.

Information minister Masiko Kabakumba appeared Thursday on NTV to announce that the administration of President Yoweri Museveni had determined the Anti-Homosexuality Bill to be redundant because other laws already criminalize gay people in the country. The new proposal, which sparked international outcry when it was introduced in 2009, would magnify the penalties to include execution for “aggravated homosexuality,” such as having sex when HIV-positive.


Kabakumba said that another law, the Sexual Offenses Bill, would cover any outstanding concerns, but Bahati, the lawmaker with connections to antigay American evangelicals, insisted that a “specific and clear” law is still needed to fight the “promotion” of homosexuality. In addition, Warren Throckmorton reports that Bahati has been assured by legal and parliamentary affairs committee chair Stephen Tashobya that debate on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill will proceed.


Bahati said that “95%” of Ugandans do not support homosexuality, a claim that Kabakumba did not challenge.


“Of course we are concerned,” she said. “We don’t condone homosexuality in our country.”

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The 'Kill The Gays' Bill is Alive and Moving Forward

This damn bill just won't die! There were warnings before, but this looks legit. The anti-gay hate bill is heading to the House in Uganda.

The controversial Anti Homosexuality bill is one of several bills that Members of Parliament on the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs committee are set to debate when the House resumes business next week.

The bill, which has caused uproar from human rights activists and donors since it was tabled in Parliament in 2009, seeks to criminalize the act, with one of the controversial clauses calling for death penalty for those who are found guilty of aggravated homosexuality.

Speaking to the media at Parliament today, the committee chairman, Stephen Tashobya said though the bill has created both local and international concern, it is up to Parliament to pass the bill.

Tashobya says the committee will hold public hearings where stakeholders’ views will be heard and a report made to the House for debate and possible passing before Parliament closes the 8th Parliament.

Ndorwa West MP and mover of the bill, David Bahati welcomed the development and said he would continue to lobby Ugandans to support the bill, whose intention is to protect the Ugandan traditional family and children. 

 I hope the message the Obama team sent to UN get on this fast!

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Wikileaks reveal that Gay Activist David Kato was Mocked during the UN Human Rights Meeting

Wikileaks released a lot of info on David Kato's speech back in 2009 United Nations meeting on human rights. According to the info, David was teased and laughed at during the anti-homosexual bill debate.

Murdered gay rights activist David Kato was mocked at a UN-backed debate on Uganda's anti-homosexuality bill, according to a US diplomat in Kampala in a leaked American embassy cable.

The diplomat said Kato, who was bludgeoned to death near his home in the capital, Kampala, last month, delivered a well-written speech against the bill, but his words were almost inaudible due to "his evident nervousness". Throughout his talk a member of the Ugandan Human Rights Commission "openly joked and snickered" with supporters of the bill, the diplomat claimed in the cable.

The "consultative meeting" in December 2009, organised with funding from the UN, aimed to discuss the bill, which would impose the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality" and life imprisonment for consenting adults who have gay sex.

In the cable, dated 24 December 2009, the diplomat claimed Ugandan politicians, including the author of the anti-homosexuality bill, David Bahati, had channelled anger at the country's socio-political failings into "violent hatred" of gay people.

Other confidential memos sent between Kampala and Washington in 2009-2010 and sent to WikiLeaks paint a picture of a worsening human rights climate in the runup to Ugandan elections on Friday . They chart Uganda's "chilling" descent from tolerance to violent homophobia and a deepening fear among gay activists, who claim they are being increasingly monitored and harassed.

The memos, classified as confidential, also reveal US diplomatic attempts to combat the draconian bill – which is at the parliamentary committee stage.
Under the heading Comment: Homophobic Demagogues, the diplomat reports in the Christmas Eve cable that Bahati, a born-again Christian MP from the ruling party, had become "further isolated" following "recent condemnations" by high-profile Pastor Rick Warren and other US-based individuals who are against the bill. However, it was clear he would not yield to international pressure.

Referring to Bahati, the diplomat said: "His homophobia … is blinding and incurable."

Here's more info and the complete posts.

New Documentary: The World's Worst Place to Be Gay?

BBC Three has a documentary about being gay in Uganda. Gay DJ Scott Mills travels there to see the madness for himself. Here are a couple of clips:




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NAACP Denounces Anti-Gay Action in Uganda. WATCH the Press Conference

The NAACP came out against the mess besetting Uganda. Trans African Forum and the National Black Justice Coalition joined forces to tell Congress to stop all anti-gay legislation in Uganda.

Washington Blade has the story:

In a news conference on Capitol Hill, officials with Trans Africa Forum, the NAACP, the National Black Justice Coalition and black church leaders said a growing number of mainline U.S. civil rights groups were beginning to speak out against anti-LGBT persecution in Uganda.

The civil rights group leaders and Frank Mugisha, an official with Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), who also spoke at the news conference, said they were especially troubled that an atmosphere of hostility toward LGBT people in Uganda appears to have been “imported” by U.S. fundamentalist Christian organizations.

“Trans Africa is very concerned about the situation in Uganda and all over the continent of Africa, where we see homophobia on the rise,” said Nicole Lee, president of Trans Africa Forum. “And one of the ironic concerns, frankly, is that this homophobia is not home grown,” she said.

“We have found that this homophobia is imported from the United States and Europe. And we really want to make clear that black civil society organizations here in the United States will not stand for this.”

Lee and the other U.S. civil rights leaders participating in the news conference said they were prompted to take a more vocal stand on LGBT-related developments in Uganda following the Jan. 26 murder of Ugandan LGBT rights leader David Kato, who was found bludgeoned to death in his home near the capital city of Kampala.

Hilary Shelton the NAACP’s executive vice president said that the anti-gay actions in Uganda is like the lynchings and “Jim Crow” policies of segregation and discrimination faced over 50 years ago.
This is a great step in the right direction. Nice to see NAACP tackle more international issues too.

Here is the press conference

Capitol Hill Press Conference The Violence Against Sexual Minorities in Uganda from LIPTV 1 on Vimeo.

Rachel Maddow talks about the Murder of Gay Activist David Kato

David Kato's killer claims he was Forced to murder him.

Hera Help me! The man who murdered David Kato, has the worst claim ever. He said that he was forced into gay sex with him and David never gave him the gifts he was promised. So, he killed him. Pure mess if you ask me.

Police spokesperson Judith Nabakooba said the suspect had been hiding in Nakabago village, Mukono District. “It is true the suspect has been arrested but we need to record his statement first before giving a formal statement,” Ms Nabakooba said yesterday. But a police source, who preferred anonymity because he is not authorised to talk to the press, said the suspect confessed to killing Kato because he was reportedly tired of engaging in homosexual practices.

“We have taken him to Mukono Magistrate’s Court to record an extrajudicial statement,” the source said. “He told us that he killed Kato after he failed to give him a car, a house and money he promised as rewards for having sex with him,” the source said.

Kato is alleged to have bailed the suspect out of Kawuga Prison on January 24, where he been remanded on charges of theft of a mobile phone. The suspect told police that he stayed with Kato for two days. He accused the deceased of having sex with him and promising to pay him during the period. 

I believe this is a lie. And I hope the cops don't take this seriously.


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Police Arrested a Man who confessed to the murder of Gay Rights Activist David Kato

Police say Enock Nsubuga confessed to the murder of David Kato. So far, he is the main suspect.

The prime suspect, Nsubuga Enock, was arrested today at around 4pm when he went to visit his girlfriend," police spokesman Vincent Ssetake told Reuters.

"He has confessed to the murder. It wasn't a robbery and it wasn't because Kato was an activist. It was a personal disagreement but I can't say more than that."

Ssetake said that Enock would appear in court on Wednesday evening.
Police said last week that Enock, whom they described as a "well-known thief," had been staying with Kato after the activist bailed him out of prison on January 24.

Kato's driver was also arrested in connection with the murder. Police spokespeople could not confirm whether he had since been released.

More to come

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Madness at LGBT rights activist David Kato's funeral

At David's funeral, a pastor start his sermon by attacking gay people, telling David's friends and supporters that homosexuality is wrong. This angered David's friends, but the pastor continued...

"People are turning away from the scriptures. They should turn back, they should abandon what they are doing. You cannot start admiring a fellow man."
Gay activists, wearing T-shirts featuring Kato's face with sleeves coloured with the gay pride flag, then stormed the pulpit and grabbed the microphone.


"It is ungodly," the pastor shouted, before being blocked from sight.


"ONLY GOD CAN JUDGE US"


An unidentified female activist then began to shout from the pulpit.


"Who are you to judge others?" she shouted. "We have not come to fight. You are not the judge of us. As long as he's gone to God his creator, who are we to judge Kato?"


Locals intervened on the side of the pastor and scuffles broke out before he was taken away to Kato's father's house to calm the situation.


Villagers then refused to bury the body at which point a group of Kato's friends, most of whom were gay, carried his coffin to the grave and buried it themselves.

It is horrible to read this. David should have been given the respect he deserves in death, and yet foolishness and hate won't allow him peace. I am happy that his friends were there fighting for him. I hope their actions continue to send Uganda a strong message about the LGBT struggle.

Rest in Peace, David. Your work will not be in vain.


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