Kampala (dpa) – Uganda's beleaguered homosexual community is braced for more discrimination and abuse, after a government minister pledged to intensify a crackdown and “fight the gay people.” Last week, Ethics and Integrity Minister Simon Lotodo shut down a gay rights workshop, scaring a leading activist into hiding. He has now warned other activists to stop assembling. “They cannot organize any other meeting. Let them remain at their homes and suffer their illnesses from there. For the love of God and humanity, I will leave no stone unturned until I defeat them and dissuade them from recruiting young people,” Lotodo told dpa in an interview. “The constitution, the penal code and the cultural virtue of Uganda does not allow homosexuality. It is an abomination,” he charged. Lotodo, accompanied by police, raided the workshop in Entebbe, south-east of the capital Kampala, dispersed the participants and attempted to arrest the conference organizer, Jacqueline Nabagesera, a winner of international human rights awards. Nabagesera managed to flee the building and escape arrest. She told dpa last week that she is in hiding after the incident, fearing for her own safety amid the growing campaign against gays in the country. A legislator in January re-introduced a draconian anti-homosexual bill, which demands tough punishments for people convicted of living a gay lifestyle, including sentences ranging from a few years in jail to life imprisonment and even death. The bill was first introduced in 2009, but was shelved following an outcry from international donors and the murder last year of gay activist David Kato. While anti-gay sentiment has been ratcheted up in recent years by preachers at churches and by politicians, a homosexual rights community has also been established, pushing for equality. The two camps are increasingly at loggerheads. Lotodo's ministry is responsible for programs against corruption, immorality, and violation of cultural norms but it has no officially sanctioned powers of arrest or prosecution – despite his attempts to arrest Nabagesera. According to the minister, he is protecting people allegedly being “recruited” by gays, saying they were suffering from physical and mental illnesses. “Every day, I get one or two young men who have been recruited by these activists and they tell me they need help. Their backs were destroyed through the same sex activities. They have been mentally destroyed and need counseling,” the minister said. Lotodo claims the gay community is paying people to join its ranks. “One of these young men says he got a house and was given money to take his siblings to school. Now he came to me saying he is sick and needed help. I am defending the human rights of these young people. I will fight the gay people by the love of God, ” said the minister, who is also a Christian clergyman. Nabagesera, the activist in hiding, said Western governments should re-consider giving assistance to Uganda as the donations were being used to stifle the freedom of assembly and speech. In response, the minister said he was not concerned, laughing off the idea. “They (Western governments) should mind their business and know that homosexuality is un-African. These people are acting illegally and contrary to culture and this is unacceptable,” Lotodo said. Uganda's existing anti-homosexual legislation was introduced under British colonialism, though now London and other Western powers are indicating they will link their foreign aid to human rights policy, including the treatment of minorities. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/V1ZMH Tags: LGBT, rights, Uganda Section: Culture, East Africa, Human Rights, Latest News
