Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Uganda; Anti-gay Witch hunts

 


With the bill at the President’s desk, of course we expect flustered, concerned Ugandans to, err, find and deal with those big, bad, dangerous homosexuals.

And, they are. In different ways.

One prominent pastor and televangelist was on his radio and television station Sunday [his church]. Calling out another prominent pastor and televangelist.
These ‘Pastors Wars’ as I called them before are uniquely Ugandan. Or African. Or whatever!

So, I don’t know whether or not Pastor Televangelist Robert Kayanja is gay or not. Fellow pastors seem obsessed with ‘outing’ him. And I am not sure what they achieve by outing him…, he seems Teflon coated.
In 2014-5, the Pastors Wars went right up to court. The inimitable Pastor Ssempa was the vanguard. Accusing Kayanja of being gay, Kayanja denying, and taking Ssempa to court. The witness(ses) proved Ssempa in the wrong… or that is what court seemed to agree

Personally, I think the whole outrage is the big green devil jealous. Kayanja has been remarkably successful at his business. Its not much of a surprise that his peers would be jealous. It is not real anger at a ‘man of god’s improprieties. Our dear pastors are all scandal magnets. Always attacking one another.

This time, it is the SALT media mogul pastor and televangelist, Aloysius Buggingo lobbing the accusations. Blast from his pulpit.

Now, this dude (Buggingo) has his own issues. Living with one lady, (customary marriage), married to another (ahem, legal marriage, since a divorce was not granted?). Apparently a life of celibacy and an African man are not mutually compatible! The law is a wondrous, ponderous thing. Loopholes were made to be exploited.
And, he is coming out loud voiced calling on Kayanja to do what? Am not clear on what Pastor Kayanja should do to convince the Pastor Buggingo of his lack of alternative sexuality. Specifics…

Isnt it a Bible verse that cautions against trying to remove a stick in another’s eye when you have a log in yours? Irony is sweet!

That singular debate spilled out just outside my window.
Two acquaintances. One apparently a ‘mulokole’, and listening to SALT media mogul excoriate Kayanja on the radio. At first it was clearly an anti-gay sermon, but it was not clear who the target was. Then Buggingo named names.

Surprise, surprise; of the two guys listening to the radio program, the ‘saved’ guy came out flatly against Buggingo. Wondering why they was a biff about two adults having sex, even if they were men. It is the other guy who was supportive of the message. [for him all gays are pederasts]
I was amazed. Seems as if when it hits home, the homophobia is not fully accepted as given.

Those are the pastor wars. Pastor against pastor.
Not immensely edifying, but they are an important part of Uganda’s anti-gay environment. And complications.

[My sexuality…, so many people demand a say in my sexuality that I wonder whether it is ‘my sexuality’ or ‘our sexuality. Whose ‘sexuality is it?]

But, even less prominent witch hunts are spilling off into the papers.
Apparently 6 youths were arrested in Jinja, within this month. The story from the papers is a bit confusing, but apparently a gay porn flick they made went viral and was noticed. And someone reported to police, and they were raided.

 

A group of guys who were streaming themselves having sex? In Jinja. Apparently a porn movie they featured in was circulating. Reports are not clear whether the circulating porn movie was or wasn’t historical. .
Or a disgruntled lover setting off a mob at another school again in Jinja, where a teacher was rumoured to be lesbian Or even lynching when a couple checkedinto a lodge

Any gay story in Uganda is hot news at the moment. And the media here is not that discriminating on the accuracy of news that they report on. But, it is evident that kuchus anywhere are not safe. Yes, of course it also means that any ‘rumoured’ to be kuchu is the one who is at risk.

Yeah, seems as if it one shouldn’t have to tell kuchus to lie low [am I the only one on the downlow here?], but maybe it should be actually articulated. The environment in Uganda is such that state and non-state actors are going to kick in a presumed Kuchu’s doors. Be careful!

Kuchu in Uganda alert; Be Careful in your carelessness!

 

gug

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