GAY UGANDA aka ´GUG´ SPEAKS OUT AGAIN: Dr. Paul Semugoma has come out as gay and he has much to say!

Dr. Paul Semugoma, OUR HERO!

Dear Friends at the foot of the volcano,

For many years I´ve blogged almost every word, every mood, every hope and every time of frustration written by ¨Gug¨ at the blog ¨Gay Uganda¨ (still available at the bottom of sidebar).  Over a year ago ¨Gug¨ stopped his entries. He quite literally stopped writing and many of his loyal supporters and worldwide friends were quite distressed as he´d been repeatedly and hatefully, threatened week after week in his ¨comments¨ section.  Our Gay Activist friend David Kato had already and recently been murdered in Uganda and the well-being of ´Gug´ and his partner of 10 years mattered to us. 
Dangerous it IS to be Gay in Uganda.  

I worry no more and send Dr. Paul Semugoma, my longtime online friend, ¨Gug¨ my very best wishes and great hope for the personal happiness, for he and his beloved partner, during the next part of his very vital life.  Leonardo Ricardo

¨As far as coming out stories go, this one should have been the lead story on all the television stations in Africa, plastered across CNN, the BBC, VOA and every well-meaning cyber news media. It wasn’t.

It should have been the headline carried on the multitude of Uganda’s radio channels and extensive interviews of the man (and reactions from his friends) ought to have been conducted by Uganda’s four main television stations with the intention of making the story dinner-time viewing for the entire country. None of that happened.

Paul Semugoma’s coming out on Facebook should nonetheless go down as a watershed moment in the struggle for Ugandan (and African) gay men and women to live their lives freely in their own countries without having to apologize or justify themselves to vengeful pastors and idle government ministers.

For those who don’t know it, Paul Semugoma is the blogger who, for years, wrote the extremely erudite, albeit ‘cry in the wilderness’ John-the-Baptist GayUganda blog...¨  please read it all, I´m so happy our very own dear friend ¨Gug¨ and his ¨quiet ferocity¨ of a voice have been found  HERE

·  Thanks to Gay Uganda, sidebar
·  Thanks to Dr. Paul Semugoma aka ¨Gug¨
·  Thanks to Sebaspace
·  Thanks to Box Turtle Bulletin, sidebar

¨GAY UGANDA¨ NOT FORGOTTEN: ¨Such is the strength of the human spirit: we are gay, Ugandan, and we live and work in the country. Life is tough.¨ October, 2010



¨...we gay Ugandans hide so well, and are gracefully camouflaged, that fellow Ugandans frequently ask themselves who the "evil gays" are. Of course, we are their kin.¨

 ¨GAY UGANDA¨ We are thinking of you and to all the Kuchus of Uganda we send you our best wishes and prayers for well-being, everyday safety and personal happiness too. Leonardo Ricardo, Central America

¨I woke early to an empty bed. Partner not around. Gone for a seminar in Mukono, just outside Kampala. It's not far, but I can't be with him. That means a cold bed for me. Cold food, too, because I am hopeless in the kitchen. He bears those burdens, literally looking after me. I know, I take it too far, but I do love being looked after. He makes me feel special; and I am missing him.


We live in the suburbs of the Ugandan capital, and have been together for 10 years. And we are gay. He is a man. I am a man. We are both Ugandans, living, working in Uganda. So, how is it to be gay, and Ugandan, today? We live in interesting times and we have lived a kind of terrifying history.


When we met and moved in together, I was living with my brother. I sat him down and told him: "You know I am gay. I am going to have my lover move in with me." He nodded. I told him that he had the option of living with his dad, if he objected, but I was determined to stay with my lover.


I was simply tired of the hiding, the subterfuge, the lies. My brother did know that I was gay, since we lived in the same house. But not the rest of my family, and not the neighbours. That could not happen.


So, 10 years ago I got a "room-mate" who coincidentally shared the bed with me. We were deeply closeted at the beginning. We thought (hoped, prayed) that nobody knew. After all, though we are grown men living together, sharing a house in Kampala is no big deal. I mean, in Kampala, in Uganda, with the depressed economic conditions, what was more notable was that there were only three of us in the house rather than 10.


I was involved in gay rights issues – some very early, nascent activities. Self-confidence, independence of income and some education helped me, as did a sense of growing anger at my world of duplicity, shame and enforced lies. My partner was more cautious. Not all the things that I did were below the radar, or underground.


It was at his insistence that I made my Gay Uganda blog as anonymous as possible. His was always the voice of caution: wait, don't do that, don't expose yourself, remember that it is no longer you alone.


And, he was correct. I did heed his voice. Because, for a gay Ugandan, life is not safe. Being known to be gay is tough. It is a life of reckless fear, not courage. We do what we do, not because we can, but because there is no other option. From the very first inkling of our sexuality, we learn to hide. And we do hide.


In fact, we gay Ugandans hide so well, and are gracefully camouflaged, that fellow Ugandans frequently ask themselves who the "evil gays" are. Of course, we are their kin. But they don't believe their brothers, sisters, cousins, relatives can be the "evil gays".


In the beginning, I think it was the religious questions that led to my activism. I was baptised into an Anglican family. While in high school, round about the time that I realised my sexuality, I became an evangelical Christian.


But being gay in Uganda and Christian is a real challenge. Ugandans are highly religious and, coming out to myself later, I knew I couldn't reconcile my faith and sexuality. I decided to repudiate faith. But then I went further and became angry at the faith as shown in Uganda. And why not?


The words and actions of our religious leaders are full of hate. Mufti Mubajje, titular head of Muslims in Uganda, believes that all gay Ugandans should be marooned on an island in Lake Victoria. We would then die out and solve the country's gay problem.


When we came out at a press conference in 2007, all the sermons in churches and mosques over the following days were about the evil of homosexuality. An anti-gay demonstration was organised, ultimately limited to a rally at Kyadondo rugby ground. And, there, ministers – both political and religious – railed at the evil homosexuals who had dared to show their faces (even though we were wearing masks).

The KUCHUS are strong and staying afloat in Uganda

It was a tough time. I remember, we were home that evening, with some gay friends – kuchus, as we call ourselves. They were a bit worried, because I had been at the press conference and the radio was talking about the imminent arrests of gay men.


That was when my dad revealed his knowledge. He came to our door, anxious. He had heard a rumour that we were all going to be arrested. "Who is going to be arrested?" I asked him, shocked, more by the fact that he knew, than that he was warning me. "You," he indicated towards me and my partner.


Fortunately, the rumours of arrest were unfounded. But, we had been exposed and the exposure was going to grow. Now that gay Ugandans had "come out", we were the target of any newspaper seeking to make a quick buck. I was known. My partner was known.


The anti-homosexuality bill of 2009 further flushed us out of our closets. We found ourselves targeted by a truly horrible piece of legislation, seeking to kill and imprison us for life, all in the name of "family and cultural values". We had to fight, and we had to come out of the shadows to fight.


Death and life imprisonment. No access to information or help. The danger of being reported to "relevant authorities" by pastors, doctors, parents. Mandatory HIV tests. All these are provisions of the Bahati bill. We had to show our faces. We had to, and we did.


But, though the international outcry enabled the government to go slow on the bill, our exposure was not reversible. Now a tabloid has published the photographs of alleged gay Ugandans, under the headline "Hang Them".


No, it is not easy to be gay and Ugandan. Whether it is denial of HIV prevention services for gay men, or the need to bribe police when you are reported, it is not easy.


Such is the strength of the human spirit: we are gay, Ugandan, and we live and work in the country. Life is tough. But, I dare say, having come through the fire, we are as tough, if not tougher.¨ Gay Uganda HERE

· Thanks to Gay Uganda, sidebar
· Thanks to The Guardian, United Kingdom
· Thanks to Nsubuga
· Thanks to Public Radio, U.S.A.

MURDER IN UGANDA: Remembering Anglican ¨Integrity Uganda¨ Member and Gay Rights Activist David Kato, May You Rest in Peace and Rise in Glory

UGANDAN POLICE CONCLUDE KATO MURDER INVESTIGATION: In a ¨excellent development¨ the case has been moved to the Uganda High Court

David Kato, LGBTI Activist/Uganda

¨The murder case of late gay rights activist David Kato has been transferred to the Ugandan high court during the third hearing on 17 March 2011, at the Grade II Magistrate court in Mukono, however the actual date for the next hearing is yet to be announced.

Frank Mugisha, Director for Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) told Behind the Mask that the accused was brought to court for the hearing and that since police seemed to have finished the investigations they asked the court to forward the murder case to the high court and the magistrate approved.

Mugisha said that once again the court room was filled with activists who came to support and journalists.

He also explained that the accused was handed a “document with charges of murder” and was asked to find a lawyer or ask the government to give a lawyer, however the accused didn’t say anything and was further remanded in custody.

During the last court appearance in the case of the Republic of Uganda vs. Nsubuga Sydney Alias Enoch, the case was mentioned in court and adjourned without a hearing for further investigation. The first and second court appearances were held on 17 February and 3 March 2011 respectively.

Ongoing Questions About the Murder Investigation

Human Rights Watch released a report this week documenting the torture, forced confessions and killings by the Kampala-based Rapid Response Unit (RRU), the very unit that located and interrogated the suspects in the murder of David Kato.

The unit's mandate is to investigate violent crime...Human Rights Watch also found that the unit routinely uses torture to extract confessions. Sixty of 77 interviewees who had been arrested by RRU told Human Rights Watch that they had been severely beaten at some point during their detention and interrogations. In 2010, at least two people died of injuries from beatings during interrogations, and four people were shot and killed in the course of an arrest...Several former detainees told Human Rights Watch that RRU personnel forced them to sign statements under duress, while the detainees were being beaten or threatened with further violence.

We know that MP David Bahati, author of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009 about to be considered by Uganda's Parliament, and the supporters of the bill, Pastor Martin Ssempa, Giles Muhame and Scott Lively, provided motives for David Kato's murder to the world press five days before the arrest and interrogation of the prime suspect. The motives prefigure the confession of Enoch Sydney Nsubuga almost exactly.

In a 9 February 2011 editorial in The Monitor, Ugandan journalist Charles Onyango-Obbo wrote:

So, here comes the hard part. It is possible Kato was murdered by the anti-gay brigade. The Uganda Police is not famous for its great investigative skills, so any time they quickly parade suspects who confess to a crime, the public has every right to be suspicious that the whole show has been fixed.

In a similar vein, blogger Gay Uganda has consistently questioned the Kato murder investigation in the context of the Rapid Response Unit. He wrote today about the Human Rights Watch report:

This is common knowledge in Uganda. The beatings, the torture, the confessions. This is why I doubted the 'confession' of David Kato Kisule's purported murderer. I don't know whether he killed him or not. And, I don't know whether I can trust the police on a high profile case like David's murder became. Not with such outside pressure and interest...The people who do these things, the numerous security agencies that do these, are effectively immune.

The European Parliament has called on Ugandan authorities to investigate individuals who publicly called for the killing of David Kato:

Calls on the Ugandan authorities to carry out an in-depth and impartial investigation into the killing and bring the perpetrators to justice, and to do so in respect of any act of persecution, discrimination and violence against LGBT people and all other minority groups; calls on the Ugandan authorities to investigate individuals who publicly called for the killing of David Kato, as well as their organisations, role and funding.

The Uganda High Court

With the police investigation concluded, it is an excellent development that the case has been moved to the Uganda High Court which recently issued a permanent injunction against the Rolling Stone for publishing David Kato's picture under the caption "Hang Them."

Perhaps the Uganda High Court can sort through the evidence in an unbiased way so that David Kato receives justice. ¨ please read it all
HERE

¨Torture, Beatings, Confessions, Courtesy of Uganda Police...

This is common knowledge in Uganda. The beatings, the torture, the confessions.

This is why I doubted the 'confession' of David Kato Kisule's purported murderer. I dont know whether he killed him or not. And, I dont know whether I can trust the police on a high profile case like David's murder became. Not with such outside pressure and interest.

Here is the article,from the New York Times and a large excerpt. Rights Group Accuses Ugandan Police of Torture and Killings..¨ please read it all HERE

Prayers ascending for Justice for David Kato and all the ¨kuchus¨ in Uganda

·  Thanks to African Activist, sidebar
·  Thanks to Gay Uganda, sidebar
·  Thanks to Frank Mugisha, Director for Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG)
·  Thanks to Behind the Mask, sidebar
·  Thanks to The New York Times

MADNESS ALERT/UGANDA -- TO DR. JAMES NSABA-BUTURO: Distortion of the Word of God is ungodly, perpetuates superstition, instigates ignorance/violence against LGBTI citizens and reveals your ¨abnormality¨

¨Ethics Minister¨ Buturos Uganda:  ¨You too can change under a proper environment...

¨Now, here, courtesy of Uganda Urgent Action, is the suggested response of Dr Nsaba-Buturo to any Ugandan who writes to their member of parliament saying that they should not be persecuted. Here is the supposed official response from the government of Uganda.¨

OFFICIAL SUGGESTED RESPONSE:

Dr. Buturo used a letter he had written to someone who
self-identified as gay and it was this reply which he
suggested as a template for other MPs to use.

Dear _________________ ,
What you have described yourself as is a disorientation proper! It is an abnormality per excellence! In their wisdom, most Ugandans see that state of affairs which you are caught up in as an abomination. It does not mean homosexuality does not exist in our society. It does as yourself can testify. There are over 60 former homosexuals whom government is supporting in their rehabilitation effort. They are reverting to their former heterosexual status before they were lured into homosexuality. You too can change under a proper environment. Clearly, it is wrong to ostracise, harass or take harmful measures against the likes of you that have, following different reasons found yourself in that class. You need all manner of support with a view to rehabilitation. I hope that Members of Parliament, in their wisdom will pass a law that protects the human race (Ugandans) while at the same time suuportive of measures that help victims of the abomination. I believe that Homos are human beings with rights to protection and love that we all need. This must not be denied. What should not be acceptable is promotion of a practice that even animals don't practice! Distortion of the Word of God for purposes of selfpreservation is ungodly.


Dr. Buturo

Nsaba-Buturo perpetuates dangerous lies:   ¨What should not be acceptable is promotion of a practice that even animals don't practice!¨  HERE

Homosexual behavior in animals

Homosexual behavior in animals refers to the documented evidence of homosexual and bisexual behavior in animals. This article covers non-human species, for homosexuality in humans, see read Homosexuality. Such behaviors include sex, courtship, affection, pair bonding, and parenting among same sex animals. A 1999 review by researcher Bruce Bagemihl shows that homosexual behavior has been observed in close to 1,500 species, ranging from primates to gut worms, and is well documented for 500 of them.[1][2] Animal sexual behavior takes many different forms, even within the same species. The motivations for and implications of these behaviors have yet to be fully understood, since most species have yet to be fully studied.[3] According to Bagemihl, "the animal kingdom [does] it with much greater sexual diversity — including homosexual, bisexual and nonreproductive sex — than the scientific community and society at large have previously been willing to accept."[4] Current research indicates that various forms of same-sex sexual behavior are found throughout the animal kingdom.[5] A new review made in 2009 of existing research showed that same-sex behavior is a nearly universal phenomenon in the animal kingdom, common across species.[6] Homosexuality is best known from social species.

The observation of homosexual behavior in animals can be seen as both an argument for and against the acceptance of homosexuality in humans, and has been used especially against the claim that it is a peccatum contra naturam ('sin against nature').[1] For instance, homosexuality in animals was cited in the United States Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v. Texas which struck down the sodomy laws of 14 states.[7] Whether animal sexuality has logical, ethical, or moral implications in human sexuality is also a source of debate (see appeal to nature).[8][9][10] For more about arguments regarding homosexuality in Humans, see homosexuality. read it all, HERE

¨There is now a large body of research evidence that indicates that being gay, lesbian or bisexual is compatible with normal mental health and social adjustment. Because of this, the major mental health professional organizations do not encourage individuals to try to change their sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual.¨

Ex-gay is a term and concept used to describe persons who were once considered to be gay, lesbian or bisexual, but who no longer assert that identity. The ex-gay movement consists of people, support groups and organizations that support people in changing their ego-dystonic sexual orientation, refrain from pursuing same-sex relationships, develop heterosexual attractions, and possibly enter into an opposite-sex relationship.

When the term ex-gay was introduced to professional literature in 1980, E. Mansell Pattison defined it as describing a person who had "experienced a basic change in sexual orientation."[1] Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International, has distanced himself from the term's usage, because he believes "We are all so much more than our sexual expressions."[2]

There is now a large body of research evidence that indicates that being gay, lesbian or bisexual is compatible with normal mental health and social adjustment. Because of this, the major mental health professional organizations do not encourage individuals to try to change their sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual.[3][dead link][4]

Ex-gay organizations began in the U.S. with Evangelical Christians, but have since spread to include Catholic, LDS, Jewish, Muslim and non-religious groups[5] in several countries. Ex-gays are considered a protected class in Washington DC after a court order.[6][7] read it all HERE

What follows are 10 key myths propagated by the anti-gay movement, along with the truth behind the propaganda.

¨These fairy tales are important to the anti-gay right because they form the basis of its claim that homosexuality is a social evil that must be suppressed — an opinion rejected by virtually all relevant medical and scientific authorities. They also almost certainly contribute to hate crime violence directed at homosexuals, who are more targeted for such attacks than any other minority in America.


Purposedriven hysteria:  Grandstanding Anglican OPPORTUNIST Archbishop Henry Orombi/Uganda ¨most certainly contributes to the hate crimes¨ directed against LGBTI Ugandans/others by claiming that foreigners fund the recruiting/converting of heterosexual children into Gays and Lesbians in Ugandan schools (not one example given of course).

 ¨Ever since born-again singer and orange juice pitchwoman Anita Bryant helped kick off the contemporary anti-gay movement more than 30 years ago, hard-line elements of the religious right have been searching for ways to demonize homosexuals — or, at a minimum, to find arguments that will prevent their normalization in society. For the former Florida beauty queen and her Save Our Children group, it was the alleged plans of gays and lesbians to “recruit” in schools that provided the fodder for their crusade. recognize all the myths. read it all, HERE

· Thanks to Gay Uganda, sidebar
· Thanks to Flickr Photo Sharing
· Thanks to Wikipedia
· Thanks to The U.S. Supreme Court, Lawrence v. Texas
· Thanks to Evelyn Schlatter and Robert Steinback
· Thanks to Southern Poverty Law Center, sidebar

HONOURED, IN DEATH: Friends from around the World have joined Ugandan ¨Kuchus¨ to celebrate the life of David Kato. Part Ten

Friends in Central America join together with the heroic ¨Kuchus of Uganda¨ to celebrate the life of David Kato

¨I feel a funny kind of pride, seeing the way friends. From across the world have joined Ugandan kuchus to celebrate the life of David Kato.

Celebrating the life, work and passion of David Kato

I no longer talk about it as a mourning. We must, up and go. And that includes turning from the tears which are too ready to flow, to celebrating his life, his work, his passion. He died. But, we still live, and there is much to do. Not least shown of course by the vicious campaign of dishonour which is going on at the same time.
But, I speak of honour here.

Friends all over the world have been part of it.¨ read it all HERE

· Thanks to Gay Uganda, Kampala
· Thanks to The Heroic Kuchus of Uganda
· Thanks to David Kato, Uganda, Worldwide Unity

GAY UGANDA: ¨You can hate me all you want. But, I will simply not lie down and die because you hate me.¨

I try and keep TRUTH flowing regarding LGBTI people and their everyday lives in Africa.  Real life information for all to see/read at my blog.  There are many sources for factual/inside LGBTI news that help keep my quest active and honest.  Bloggers and information sources direct from Africa report on-the-ground fact regarding their lives.   These ¨truths¨ reported by real LGBTI people in Africa have become a matter of life and death for us to understand.  Unthinkable persecution is running rampant in Africa and directed toward millions of innocents who are living secret lives and are mostly unable to speak out and defend themselves freely. 

Opportunist Bishops and Politico ¨scavengers¨

At the Anglican Communion we have viewed endless slander directed against ¨Gay¨ Anglicans/others for years now--untruth/lies spread at Church that has been/are generated/repeated by many corrupt and opportunist archbishops, bishops, clergy and politicans.  

Men, and they are mostly men, who have launched a non-stop hate campaign that has now reached epidemic levels of fear and hate-mongering...a negative, evil and destructive bigotted energy that is promoting a massive acting-out with deadly consequences for our brothers and sisters in Christ/others.  Lesbians, Gay people, Bi-sexuals and Transgenders who have become the marginalized, the despised and the ¨abomination¨ for all to see and openly ridicule are in immediate danger and many have died. 

Think about it...all promoted by hateful religious people who harm, abuse and murder others with their despicable and ignorant gossip/lies and selective/misunderstood HERE   Scriptural superstition preached at Church.  

Lord have mercy

The ¨Kuchus¨ of Uganda

WHY DO I FIGHT?
by Gay Uganda

¨...There is so much need all around me. I am a privileged person. I have internet. I have a job. I have an income. I have..., so many things which the rest of my people do not have. I am even sure that I will get a meal today. Reasonably sure.

So, why do I fight the wars about my sexuality? No worthier causes? [Well, my life might depend on it, life and liberty. But, I am a chameleone. I do not have to fight. I can blend in and hide for life. Yes. I can.]

And, this fight is a bitter one. So many chances of failure, of not getting through. The rewards? Uh, they can be bitter like lemons. Offered asylum to get out of the country? Or some regard by fellow kuchus? Or, the monies that many believe are my motivation?

Its complicated. Like the Facebook relationship status.

Why I fight, why I do whatever I do. It is complicated. Cant even begin to explain it to myself.

But, some news out of Africa. Maybe these things do offer a clue to the why of my 'fight'

The other day was World AIDS Day. And, the Independent ran this article. The bigotry that keeps Aids alive...¨ ...read it all from Gay Uganda,  HERE

The Rt. Reverend Christopher Ssenyonjo,  the ¨Desmond Tutu of Uganda¨

UPDATE:  Bishop Christopher Ssenyonjo does God's work helping LGBT people in Uganda

¨California Senate Resolution honoring his equality efforts to be presented Dec. 2 in San Diego

SAN DIEGO – The Right Rev. Christopher Ssenyonjo could have retired in 1998 as Bishop of the Diocese of West Burganda, Uganda, with his pension and the satisfaction of serving the Anglican Church faithfully for many years.

But in 2001, he felt a calling to help the young people who came to his private counseling service for advice on how to deal with coming out in this east African nation of 33 million people where homosexuality is illegal and where gays and lesbians are routinely tormented and harassed.

So Bishop Christopher, as he is fondly known and who is often referred to as the Desmond Tutu of Uganda,, was compelled to help the confused and frightened young gays who had mustered up the courage to seek his counsel.

The bishop, sipping tea this week at Caffe Carpe Diem in the trendy North Park neighborhood of San Diego, shared his fascinating and tragic story of how he went from being a distinguished bishop in Uganda to becoming an outcast in the Anglican Communion.

His outreach to LGBT people has cost him his pension, made him a persona non grata among Anglican religious leaders in Uganda, and the victim of homophobic lies that accuse him of being a pedophile who is recruiting 100,000 Ugandan children to become homosexuals.

A scandalous tabloid in Uganda called Rolling Stone (not U.S. Magazine) even put his image on the front cover of a recent edition that called for the hanging of LGBT people, putting his life in danger. Never mind that the bishop is straight, and is a husband, father and grandfather.

To his enemies, Bishop Christopher turns the other cheek. He believes he is doing God’s work – and so do many of his supporters across the globe.  HERE

· Thanks to Göran Koch-Swahne, sidebar
· Thanks to Gay Uganda, sidebar
· Thanks to Flickr Photosharing
· Thanks to Bishop Christopher Ssenyonjo, Uganda
· Thanks to SDGLN, San Diego, California
· Thanks to Ken Williams - SDGLN Editor in Chief
· Thanks to Wounded Bird, sidebar
· Thanks to Mad Priest, OCICBW, sidebar

AFRICAN LGBTI REALITIES: Are You Listening? Meet Denis Nzioka, Steave Nemande, David Kuria - Arguably Africa's most prominent/out gay activist citizens

Left to Right--Denis Nzioka, Kenya-Steave Nemande, Cameroon-Senate Candidate David Kuria, Kenya

I salute our brave LGBTI Activist Brothers and Sisters in Africa....all of them, seen and unseen, for taking the necessary steps forward to face a world of discrimination, persecution and often hounded by hate crimes, personal/intimate violations and even death. 

Each of us will perservere, as best we can, sometimes silently and sometimes boldly.

As I look into the picture of the three Men above (and think of our devoted brother Gay Uganda too who can´t be pictured because of the current pogrom in Kampala) I see joy and I feel joy too...the kind of joy that people like me experience when we are free ¨to be¨ the authentic people that God created us to be...it´s quite a celebration to feel joyous and FREE after being oppressed and despised! 

Make no mistake, ¨we¨ are ¨authentic¨ (even if you can´t see us, we are standing shoulder to shoulder with you) in our families, amongst our coworkers and friends. We are assimilated with you, our fellow citizens and join you in all that we collectively do at all levels of society...we are like them and you but we can no longer ignore the demonization and degration that has been spewn at us for lifetimes. 

We must say no to fear/superstition, hate, bigotry and lies.

Most of US are like OUR dear friends pictured above in Mother Africa--we have always been here next to you and we aren´t going away...ready or not, believe it or not, we are also the beloved and we are ¨now proud¨ and look forward to sharing our lives living productively amongst all of you.  We need not go far to do that as we are together already.

The unified LGBTI emerging voice in Africa:  ¨We are responsible¨

· Thanks to Gay Kenya, sidebar
· Thanks to Gay Uganda, sidebar
· Thanks to Cameroon
· Thanks to African Activist

¨NOT ANONYMOUS ENOUGH¨ IN UGANDA: ¨If they don't know about me, they will not attack me. They will not out me, they will not call for my hanging...¨

If they don´t know about me, they won´t lynch me

¨Anonymity is my most consistent defence. If they don't know about me, they will not attack me. They will not out me, they will not call for my hanging. They will not lynch me. They will not know where to get me to persecute me for imaginary ills like 'recruiting their children'. They will not accuse me of things that cannot be done.

Because I am different from them.

Why do I risk prosecution, prison, even judicial death? Why do I so consistently risk overt persecution from them?

¨Who are they?¨

My neighbours. My country-mates. The people, the anonymous, common but unknown others who move on the streets of Kampala, of Uganda.

My people, my relatives.

¨I look like them¨

And, I have worked on perfecting that image. So, why have I risked outing myself?

¨Have my lover on the side¨

Why not burrow deeper, get married to a woman, have blessed children, continue having my lover on the side?

Why do I expose myself recklessly? Why don't I take the easier road? Why...

Sorry. The questions have been in my head.

¨lifting the veil of anonymity

Had to be, since I realised the risk that I ran, lifting the veil of my anonymity to that extent (CNN International filmed interview).

¨The promise was the veil would hold¨

No, Anengiyefa, ¨the interview wasn´t anonymous enough¨ HERE  (CNN International interview) I didn't know that it would have been like so. The promise was the veil would hold. And, I didn't hold the cameras. Truth be told, I don't know how that is done. The experts, they did. And, the promise was I wouldn't be recognised.

In any battle it´s hard to gauge the risks

 Of course, in any battle, hard to gauge the risks taken. Are they worth it? Only if, and when the battle is won. When the war is at an end.

The war is on going in Uganda

Hard to say, when the war is on going. And, in Uganda, it is ongoing. read it all, by anonymous ¨gug¨ at Gay Uganda  HERE

Anglican MP David Bahati, author of ¨Kill the Gays¨ Bill before the Parliament of Uganda

HERE

· Thanks to Gay Uganda, sidebar
· Thanks to Flickr Photo Sharing

HANG THEM ALL: President Museveni, Bishop Orombi--KUCHUS ARE TOUGHER because of facing persecution demonizing and deadly/hysterical threats in Uganda!

The fear of being gay and Ugandan

Despite the latest calls in Uganda for gays to be hanged, we have come through the fire and are tougher because of it

¨I woke early to an empty bed. Partner not around. Gone for a seminar in Mukono, just outside Kampala. It's not far, but I can't be with him. That means a cold bed for me. Cold food, too, because I am hopeless in the kitchen. He bears those burdens, literally looking after me. I know, I take it too far, but I do love being looked after. He makes me feel special; and I am missing him.

We live in the suburbs of the Ugandan capital, and have been together for 10 years. And we are gay. He is a man. I am a man. We are both Ugandans, living, working in Uganda. So, how is it to be gay, and Ugandan, today? We live in interesting times and we have lived a kind of terrifying history.

When we met and moved in together, I was living with my brother. I sat him down and told him: "You know I am gay. I am going to have my lover move in with me." He nodded. I told him that he had the option of living with his dad, if he objected, but I was determined to stay with my lover.

I was simply tired of the hiding, the subterfuge, the lies. My brother did know that I was gay, since we lived in the same house. But not the rest of my family, and not the neighbours. That could not happen.

So, 10 years ago I got a "room-mate" who coincidentally shared the bed with me. We were deeply closeted at the beginning. We thought (hoped, prayed) that nobody knew. After all, though we are grown men living together, sharing a house in Kampala is no big deal. I mean, in Kampala, in Uganda, with the depressed economic conditions, what was more notable was that there were only three of us in the house rather than 10.

I was involved in gay rights issues – some very early, nascent activities. Self-confidence, independence of income and some education helped me, as did a sense of growing anger at my world of duplicity, shame and enforced lies. My partner was more cautious. Not all the things that I did were below the radar, or underground.

It was at his insistence that I made my Gay Uganda blog as anonymous as possible. His was always the voice of caution: wait, don't do that, don't expose yourself, remember that it is no longer you alone.

And, he was correct. I did heed his voice. Because, for a gay Ugandan, life is not safe. Being known to be gay is tough. It is a life of reckless fear, not courage. We do what we do, not because we can, but because there is no other option. From the very first inkling of our sexuality, we learn to hide. And we do hide.

In fact, we gay Ugandans hide so well, and are gracefully camouflaged, that fellow Ugandans frequently ask themselves who the "evil gays" are. Of course, we are their kin. But they don't believe their brothers, sisters, cousins, relatives can be the "evil gays".

In the beginning, I think it was the religious questions that led to my activism. I was baptised into an Anglican family. While in high school, round about the time that I realised my sexuality, I became an evangelical Christian.

But being gay in Uganda and Christian is a real challenge. Ugandans are highly religious and, coming out to myself later, I knew I couldn't reconcile my faith and sexuality. I decided to repudiate faith. But then I went further and became angry at the faith as shown in Uganda. And why not?

The words and actions of our religious leaders are full of hate. Mufti Mubajje, titular head of Muslims in Uganda, believes that all gay Ugandans should be marooned on an island in Lake Victoria. We would then die out and solve the country's gay problem.

When we came out at a press conference in 2007, all the sermons in churches and mosques over the following days were about the evil of homosexuality. An anti-gay demonstration was organised, ultimately limited to a rally at Kyadondo rugby ground. And, there, ministers – both political and religious – railed at the evil homosexuals who had dared to show their faces (even though we were wearing masks).

The Kuchus are strong and staying afloat in Uganda

It was a tough time. I remember, we were home that evening, with some gay friends – kuchus, as we call ourselves. They were a bit worried, because I had been at the press conference and the radio was talking about the imminent arrests of gay men.

That was when my dad revealed his knowledge. He came to our door, anxious. He had heard a rumour that we were all going to be arrested. "Who is going to be arrested?" I asked him, shocked, more by the fact that he knew, than that he was warning me. "You," he indicated towards me and my partner.

Fortunately, the rumours of arrest were unfounded. But, we had been exposed and the exposure was going to grow. Now that gay Ugandans had "come out", we were the target of any newspaper seeking to make a quick buck. I was known. My partner was known.

The anti-homosexuality bill of 2009 further flushed us out of our closets. We found ourselves targeted by a truly horrible piece of legislation, seeking to kill and imprison us for life, all in the name of "family and cultural values". We had to fight, and we had to come out of the shadows to fight.

Death and life imprisonment. No access to information or help. The danger of being reported to "relevant authorities" by pastors, doctors, parents. Mandatory HIV tests. All these are provisions of the Bahati bill. We had to show our faces. We had to, and we did.

But, though the international outcry enabled the government to go slow on the bill, our exposure was not reversible. Now a tabloid has published the photographs of alleged gay Ugandans, under the headline "Hang Them".

No, it is not easy to be gay and Ugandan. Whether it is denial of HIV prevention services for gay men, or the need to bribe police when you are reported, it is not easy.

Such is the strength of the human spirit: we are gay, Ugandan, and we live and work in the country. Life is tough. But, I dare say, having come through the fire, we are as tough, if not tougher.¨ Gay Uganda HERE

· Thanks to Gay Uganda, sidebar
· Thanks to The Guardian, United Kingdom
· Thanks to Nsubuga

ANGLICAN AFRICAN BIGOTS EXTRAORDINAIRE:

David Bahati’s ongoing plan/desire for ¨GAY GENOCIDE¨ in Uganda

Anglican Church of Uganda Member and Member of Parliament/MP David Bahati, is a budding butcher, Bishop Henry Orombi protege, and proud author of the ¨Kill Every Last Gay Person¨ Bill pending/tabled before the Parliament of Uganda. HERE

Global South-Gafcon/Anglican demonizing-opportunist Archbishop Henry Orombi/Uganda

Archbishop Henry Orombi--Are you ¨listening¨ to ¨People with Atypical Sex Development¨ in Uganda? HERE