Uganda, the Hunting Grounds Against Gay

The number of times I have traveled to Europe as a singer, few people could remember Uganda without the mention of former President Idi Amin Dada (R.I.P). Uganda Indian community best remember him more than anybody else. According to Idi Amin Dada, God visited him in a dream and asked him to expel Ugandans of Asian origin from the country. He allowed them 90 days of which to pack up their property and leave the country, or else spend the rest of their lives in jail. Interestingly, three decades down the road, the same God is expelling Gays and Lesbians from Uganda. It is important to note the comparison between the two Uganda leaders; you need not be a gay to understand the circumstances. Nearly, 90% of Uganda supported Idi Amin to expel Indians from the country. Under similar circumstances, President Yoweri Museveni enjoys equal support to expel gays and Lesbians. Furthermore, Idi Amin made use of the International Media as a means to send message to the West including the United States, United Kingdom and Canada to stay away. He banked on his friends in the Arab world, Russia, and China to support the Ugandan Economy. In a similar pattern, President Museveni has taken the same path to criminalize homosexuality; gays either leave the country or are stored away to rote in Uganda jails for life. The only difference is that whereas Idi Amin expelled Asians of Indian origin at the advice of friends from the Arab World, President Museveni expelled gays and lesbians at the advice of American Evangelical pastors including Rick Warren, Lou Engle and Scott Lively. Nevertheless, the two scenarios depict actions of state sponsored organized crime. Our team spent a cool three years doing research to come up with first hand information concerning the situation of gay people in Uganda. The team had to go under-cover including but not limited to attending conferences and public rallies over which local and American based evangelical pastors mounted a campaign against homosexuals in Uganda. Some people suggest that Ugandans should be left to decide on what is best for their society on the issue of sexual minorities but let us not forget that quite a number of people are born that way. They deserve to leave, and not to spend the rest of their lives roting in prison or quarantined under sexual starvation. The one thing many in Africa and the religious scholars have failed to acknowledge is that homosexuality is not an out break or a calamity that requires killing victims or containing them in a particular locality. In fact, such a behavior is a crime against humanity, and ring leaders should be brought to book. Minority rights are never subject for debate and governments ought to safeguard them at all costs. If only the Evangelical pastors from both United States and Uganda could sit back and take a second thought about the massive suffering of gays and lesbians in Uganda, then a solution to the equation would be near possible. Since creation, Africa in general and Uganda in particular have acted home to both gay and straight. According to the law, offenders caught in acts of homosexuality are sentenced to life imprisonment, while those who fail to report existence of gays in their vicinity face up to seven years in jail. Anyone mentioning the words gay, gays, lesbians, and homosexuality is considered to be a promoter of the same and therefore liable to a jail term sentence of not less than fourteen years. Therefore to those traveling to Uganda, avoid carrying along with you gay books, or even reading gay books on kindle while while in the country. It is possible that your kindle is being monitored by an Internet Service Provider for purposes of prosecution. This book is not a Uganda travel guide, but one giving an account of whatever is happening to the gay community under the anti-homosexuality law, You need not be gay to join their struggle to fight for their rights to life. One day one time, that person may be your own loved one.