February 24, 2011
KAMPALA, Uganda — In this staunchly anti-homosexual country, Allen Mutebi has gotten used to moving – five times within the last two years to be exact.
“They suspect. They talk. Threats are made. I move on,” shrugs Mutebi (not his real name).
But following the killing of prominent gay rights activist David Kato two weeks ago, Mutebi plans to make one final move – out of Uganda. Read the rest of this entry »
February 21, 2011
KAMPALA – “Since you didn’t pay him the bribe, there’s nothing we can do,” announced the bald plainclothesman with the gap-plagued mouth.
I recounted to him how the short officer in the blue camouflage had charged across the dark, desolate roundabout waving a machine gun and demanding money from my girlfriend and me, insisting we had no right to be strolling through the town center (as if we were still living under Idi Amin, when violators of the night curfew were known to be shot on sight). Read the rest of this entry »
February 13, 2011
Not long ago, I was riding home when my boda-boda (motorcycle taxi) driver swerved to avoid a mud-like heap in the road which soon gave way to the unmistakably sweet stench of cow shit.
Cars and bicycles plowed through it, churning up green-brown flakes in their wake. Passers-by barely turned if at all.
Must be common, I thought, but my driver assured me the sight was new to him. And yet he proved equally unconcerned. Read the rest of this entry »
February 1, 2011
KAMPALA – On Sunday I attended the church service of one of Uganda’s most talked-about pastors, Martin Ssempa, a leading voice championing homophobia in the country. David Kato, a gay rights activist Uganda, had been murdered under mysterious circumstances a few days prior, causing international outcry. In light of the tragedy, I wanted to know if Ssempa thought anti-gay hysteria here had gone too far? Did he feel partly responsible? Did he feel compelled to preach a more moderate message? Read the rest of this entry »
