THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO (still): ¨ Kill Gays Bill¨ promoters alive and spiritually/emotionally unwell in Uganda

Uganda Pastors Accuse U.S. Of Spreading ‘Gayism,’ Imposing ‘An Agenda For Homosexuals’

¨PBS’s Newshour featured a segment on Uganda’s ongoing struggle for LGBT equality Thursday, and the nation’s hostility to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s historical call to treat gay rights as human rights. Polls still show that 95 percent of Ugandans favor criminalizing homosexuality — and many back the infamous “kill gays bill,” which would impose harsh penalties on homosexual behavior.

The piece includes Pastor Joseph Serwadda, who heads an association of Pentecostal and evangelical churches, accusing the West of spreading “gayism” and imposing “an agenda for homosexuals in Uganda.” He claims that “Nobody has gone to jail; nobody has been harassed; nobody has been ostracized because of their sexual orientation” and says that he has never met a gay person. Watch it: HERE

·  Thanks to PBS, Newshour
·  Thanks to Igor Volsky
·  Thanks to Think Progress, sidebar
·  Thanks to U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton
·  Thanks to U.S. President, Barack Obama

NOT-SO-GAY-UGANDA: POSSIBLE EXTORTION, PERJURY AND FRAUD INVESTIGATION REQUESTED AGAINST PASTOR MARTIN SSEMPA

Gay Man Claims ¨Pastor Martin¨ Ssempa Paid Him To Say He Was ‘Ex-Gay’; Ssempa’s ‘Ex-Gay’ Also Testified in Favor of Anti-Homosexuality Bill Under What Appears to be Coercion and Duress

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Truth Wins Out today called on Ugandan authorities to investigate anti-gay activist Martin Ssempa for potential extortion, perjury and fraud, following the New York Times’ discovery that Ssempa may have paid and pressured a witness to give false testimony in favor of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

In a last ditch effort to bring the “Kill the Gays” bill up for a vote, Ssempa brought so-called “ex-gay” activist George Oundo to a meeting with the speaker of Parliament, Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi. In the meeting, Oundo said that he had gone from gay-to-straight and strongly urged the speaker to pass the notorious measure. HERE

The New York Times reports HERE that Pastor Martin Ssempa bribed George Oundo $42 to provide testimony in support of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009 to Uganda Speaker of Parliament Ssekandi.

In a secretive debriefing after his testimony, Oundo stated that he was against the bill and that “David Kato was murdered; it was a plot.”

¨ Brenda and Georgina¨

Mr. Oundo, 26, a transgender person who used to go by the name Georgina, went next.

“I used to call myself the Queen Mother and Lady of the City,” Mr. Oundo said. “I was recruited into homosexuality many years back, when I was 12.”

¨Pastor¨ Martin Ssempa ¨incites anti-gay genocide¨  HERE

“When I joined Mr. Ssempa, I told him all my problems,” he said. “I had to come out and join the struggle.

“Please help us; let the bill pass,” he said.

But an hour later, in a quiet hotel, Mr. Oundo recanted much of what had been said at the meeting.

“David Kato was murdered; it was a plot,” Mr. Oundo said. “I don’t support the bill.”

As for being a “former homosexual,” that, too, was not true.

“I’ve always been gay,” Mr. Oundo said, in a timid but growing voice. “I didn’t choose it.”

Anglican Gay Activist, David Kato, murdered, RIP

“David Kato was the first one who taught me to protect my human right,” Mr. Oundo added.

Mr. Oundo said that his presence alongside Mr. Ssempa at Parliament had been to “protect” himself and that he had been contacted only that morning by Mr. Kagaba about the meeting and offered about $42 to attend. He said Mr. Ssempa had offered him about $2,000 in 2009 to repent and switch sides in the debate, but later reneged. Either way, Mr. Oundo became a poster-child for Mr. Ssempa’s anti-homosexuality movement.

Mr. Ssempa declined to comment on the allegations.

Mr. Oundo admitted that he had picked up boyfriends at high schools and universities, what the antigay movement calls recruiting. But he said Uganda’s gay population was full of “natural-borns,” like himself.

“If I live or die, I am gay, and if I am buried, bury me gay,” he said.

At the end of the meeting in Parliament, Speaker Ssekandi thanked the delegation but warned that there had been “very different reactions” to the bill, and that it was unlikely to be debated before Parliament’s session ended. HERE

Pastor Martin Ssempa's blog has George Oundo's "ex-gay" story, the one that earned him $2,000 in 2009. HERE

You can read more about the Oundo saga on Gay Uganda's blog. HERE

President Museveni, Uganda, ¨encouraged by committee members to withdraw anti-Gay legislation¨

In other news, it appears that President Museveni setup a sub-committee meeting with MP David Bahati about the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009. He was encouraged by committee members to withdraw the legislation since it overlapped the current penal code and other bills in the committee. HERE

·  Thanks to Truth Wins Out, sidebar
·  Thanks to Wayne Besen
·  Thanks to African Activist, sidebar
·  Thanks to THE NEW YORK TIMES
·  Thanks to Gay Uganda
·  Thanks to George Oundo
·  Thanks to President Museveni, Uganda
·  Thanks to Box Turtle Bulletin, sidebar
·  Thanks to Amplifying Africa's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) Voices

UGANDAS MARGINALIZED COMMUNITY: ¨...many people have taken advantage of our oppression to satisfy their political, economic, and social greed and bigotry.¨



Kasha Jacqueline:  ¨“Enough is enough! These guys can’t get away with this!”

 In January a judge ruled in favour of a group of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) individuals exposed in the Rolling Stone tabloid stating that all Ugandans, regardless of their sexual orientation, have a right to privacy and dignity.

Kasha Jacqueline, one of the plaintiffs, recounts her story in the Kampala Dispatch. This article went to press as news broke about plaintiff David Kato's murder.

On the 4th of October, I woke up as usual, with my niece sleeping near me. She was put in my bed every morning so that when I awoke, the first thing I see is her smiling face. I was flying to Geneva that evening for a Human Rights conference where one of the topics of discussion would be Uganda’s proposed anti-homosexuality bill. Everything seemed normal about that morning, until I checked my e-mail. In addition to the normal e-mails, I found one from a man named Josh Kron, a reporter from the New York Times, in New York. The subject was: “Is it true?”

The proud publisher/pusher of Ugandas ¨Rolling Stone¨ (not affiliated with U.S. Publication)

The body of the e-mail consisted of a few simple questions asking whether or not a Ugandan tabloid called The Rolling Stone had written about me, naming me as a lesbian. I had never even heard of the The Rolling Stone and wrote him back to tell him I wasn’t aware of ever having spoken with such a publication. Shortly afterwards, Frank Mugisha, a friend of mine, who had also been listed by the tabloid as a gay Ugandan, sent me an e-mail with a scanned copy of the tabloid newspaper. There it was: my picture, my name, and the headline: “100 PICTURES OF UGANDA’S TOP HOMOS.” Beneath the headline were the words, “Hang Them!”...

When I got a full copy of the paper that night, I passed it around, and began to shout, “Enough is enough! These guys can’t get away with this!” But for the next two weeks, I felt too scared to do anything. I was afraid that if I spoke up, someone would hurt me. The following week, Rolling Stone printed more photos, and I knew that if I didn’t do something to stop them, eventually, someone would get hurt. All the news I got from home was terrible. People who had their photo published had been attacked, had rocks thrown at them, and some had to leave their homes. They were too afraid to even file police reports. I decided I had to stand up for them. I was a known human rights defender, I could risk my name. I contacted many people around the world who supported me and pledged to help me throughout the whole process of suing the Rolling Stone.

I talked to my colleagues David Kato and Pepe Onziema, and learned that they were also planning to sue, so we teamed up to lodge a case against The Rolling Stone.

We sued them on grounds that should be important to all Ugandans, whether gay or straight: Our right to privacy and the safety we all have against incitements to violence. Let me be clear: I have never at any one time in my affidavit denied my sexual orientation. Our issue concerned the rights that Ugandans should have to be protected from the incitement of violence and violation of our privacy. No one should ever wake up and see a call for violence and his home address published in a newspaper...

This verdict has shown that indeed, justice is possible in this world and more so in this country. Coming from a marginalized community, many people have taken advantage of our oppression to satisfy their political, economic, and social greed and bigotry. We are victims of oppression in so many ways. And for being just who we are, many have turned us into targets of oppression. But we refuse to be silent. The stories of people fighting against injustice have always been about a minority, because social justice struggles are fought by a minority for a majority.

The court verdict reminded us all that Uganda is no place for hatred and impunity. Irresponsible journalism has no place in this country. The Rolling Stone tabloid and its editors may not have anticipated that they would be victims of their own actions but we would never wish for or call for them to be “hanged.” A media that is based on untruthfulness is an enemy of the nation. Let this be the beginning of responsible journalism for justice and equality. read it all in the Kampala Dispatch, HERE

·  Thanks to Kasha Jacqueline,  Uganda
·  Thanks to Kampala Dispatch
·  Thanks to African Activist,  HERE
·  Thanks to Amplifying Africa's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) Voices

THE NEW KENYA: ¨There is no rich or poor, man or woman, tall or short, homosexual or heterosexual¨

As Archbishop Eliud Wabukala and his brother ANGLICAN BISHOPS were in UGANDA--demeaning LGBT CHRISTIANS--he/they LOST THE TRUST of the ¨NEW¨ KENYANS! HERE


¨On August 4, 2010, Kenyans voted on a new Constitution that heralded a new beginning for Kenya. After more than 20 years of painstakingly struggle, disappointments and many other obstacles, Kenyans were able to experience the joy and satisfaction of getting a new Constitution. The gay community in Kenya, encompassing lesbians, transgender, bisexuals, intersex and gay men, voting as Kenyans, were part of this historic process. Putting aside any selfish motives and pushed on by a sense of patriotism and urgency to experience freedom, they voted in a new dispensation that they hope will make a better Kenya for every single individual, including them.¨

"INEXHAUSTABLE POTENTIAL"

¨The gay community is of myriad of different personalities with competent skills, overwhelming expertise and inexhaustible potential. Coupled with education and availability of resources, the gay community has significantly contributed to the growth of Kenya and they can do much more if given the invitation and space. In subtle yet concrete ways they have worked, dug trenches, wrote with chalk, sawed dressed, made laws, shared and ate with the rest of Kenyans. It is a community that does not ask for any special treatment or be treated a class above the rest. Recognizing our roots as Kenyans first, we seek the greater good of our sisters and brothers; but as a team, together. Once this Constitution is signed, we usher in a Nation that respects the rights of everyone and where each individual lives free and safe...

When it comes to Kenya, we leave aside any special character or grade and we seek a common interest which is Kenya. By indentifying as one people, both heterosexual and homosexual can indeed do a lot of things that will make Kenya better and brighter. In closing, we quote these famous words – ‘There comes a time when the nation is more important than an individual.’ Indeed August 27th is that time. There is no rich or poor, man or woman, tall or short, rich or poor, homosexual or heterosexual but on August 27th we are all a nation, a people.¨ HERE

HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS COMMEND KENYA’S NEW LAW

Kenya’s president Mwai Kibaki and prime minister Raila Odinga praised and thanked Kenyans for approving the new constitution saying that it signaled a new beginning for Kenya..¨ HERE

· Thanks to African Activist, sidebar
· Thanks to Denis Nzioka, Gay Kenya (GALCK)
· Thanks to Amplifying Africa's LGBTI Voices
· Thanks to Behind the Mask, Africa, sidebar