Otunnu gay???

Oh, Uganda the Beautiful, is a wonderful country.

Don’t go by what I write here. It is home, I love it, and swear by it… But some pretty interesting things happen on the ground, I mean interesting as in stupid. Or not so stupid.

This caught my eye.

KAMPALA — A prominent Ugandan diplomat who recently returned from 23 years in exile and is seen as eyeing the top job in 2011 polls on Monday accused the regime of spreading rumours about his sexuality.

Olara Otunnu, a former senior UN official who made a much-publicised homecoming last week, accused President Yoweri Museveni of trying to discredit him among the country's electorate.

"What is being alleged, what is being put out there to discredit and intimidate me, is that Olara Otunnu is a homosexual and HIV positive," he told AFP in an interview.

Otunnu was UN undersecretary general for children in armed conflict from 1997 to 2005 and Uganda's foreign minister prior to Museveni's military takeover in 1986.

A seasoned diplomat, he is seen as a potential rival to Museveni in presidential elections scheduled for 2011 although neither has officially declared his intention to run.

Otunnu, who denied being either homosexual or HIV positive, said he trusted the public to ignore the allegations he said were being relayed mainly by politicians at the local level.

"I am completely confident Ugandans will see through this for what it is: a package of contemptible lies," he said.

Uganda's regime has in recent years moved increasingly under the influence of ultra-conservative Pentecostal pastors and caused international outrage by repeatedly describing homosexuality as the source of the world's woes.

The government denied it was engineering a campaign to undermine Otunnu.

"Otunnu's allegations are really outrageous. He is desperate for any publicity. The government does not have time for such underhanded smear campaigns," Fred Opolot, a government spokesman, told AFP.

You know, care of the Ssempa & Co. campaign, being homosexual is the ultimate smear campaign. It has been used before. Will be used again.

No, nothing about it but politics. By the way, being HIV positive was used by the President in the first campaign against Besigye. And, he then went to court to 'proove' that Besigye is indeed HIV Positive. Duuuhhhhhhhhh!
------


Just been reminded, looking through the days news, it happens in America too. Where else? Check this out. Though the motivation seems to be distinctly different.


Thing is, 'homosexual' is a curse word if, and only if it is allowed to do so. If stigma is played up. When it is novel, and ignoble to be homosexual. To be gay.


gug