Yes I would.
That is why I went to him when I felt I needed to come out to my family. That is why I went to him with an almost impossible request. I love him. We differ in many things, but, he is blood, and he is my brother.
Where I grew up, I learnt that family, extended family, clan, tribe. Those were the things that mattered.
I have other brothers, and other sisters. I know that they know my sexuality. With most, I have not talked. With some, I am not that close. But, they are family. They are blood. And, that small fact wipes out all our differences. Even if I am gay.
But, David Bahati would report his brother to the police. Indeed, he would arrest him himself. Here.
It is the first bill Bahati has ever written, and he calls it a "very wonderful piece of legislation." His bill would impose the death penalty on adults who have gay sex with minors. And it would jail anyone who fails to report gay activity to police within 24 hours.
And what if his brother were engaging in homosexual activity?
"I'd arrest him myself and take him to the police," Bahati says.
I think that simple statement has made me radically revise my estimate of him. I just cannot understand this betrayal of family. Again, I ask myself, would my brother, my brothers do that? I hope not.
Was it hyperbole? Just a boast?
But, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, with the aim to wipe out homosexuality from Uganda, that bill which he authored and, before any changes are made, that bill sees for the homosexual Ugandan only two options. Death. And life imprisonment.
Was he joking?
I just dont think he was. He is deadly serious.
I was shaken.
Sometime ago, I saw a guy who was in a bad fix. His younger brother, a young man, used to live with him, at his home. One day the brother in a pique of anger lashed out at his nephew, his brother's son, a seven year old boy. He hit him in the side, and, something broke. The boy was rushed to hospital and died, and the young man was arrested.
Despite losing a son, the elder brother felt the need to defend his younger brother. That is a true story. That is how strong, and how un-forgiving the bond of brotherly love I have learnt is. A brother can anger you. They often do. You may quarrel, fight, shout.
But, a brother, a sister remains that. Shared blood.
That is what I learnt.
Hon. David Bahati would report a brother who was a homosexual. Even knowing that that report would lead to prosecution, him as the witness, and, a life time imprisonment or death for his brother.
Yes. I am shaken.
I am more shaken by that than the other revelations in the article.
Bahati says
"This is a defining bill for our country, for our generation. You are either anti-homosexual or you're for homosexuals, because there's no middle point. Anybody who does not believe that homosexuality is a crime is a sympathizer," Bahati says.
Who said that? GWBush? wasnt it? either for, or against...!
and, people are afraid to oppose him. Here is one member of the opposition.
Erias Lukwago, a first-term lawmaker, says he doesn't like the bill but can't afford to disagree with it in parliament.
"I'm telling you I cannot. I fear the reaction of society to be associated with gays — highly stigmatized, ostracized. Even for this interview alone it might be perceived that the gay community is paying me," he says.
Until the political climate changes in Uganda, Lukwago says he is keeping his mouth shut.
Yes, people are afraid. Even those who can do something. And, who will vote. They are afraid.
And, of course there is Steven Langa.
"Providing literature, writing books about it, standing up and saying it is OK — you should be arrested. Even if you are not in the act, you should be arrested. Anybody who tries to promote it should be arrested. That's why we need a stronger law," Langa says.
But, to me, the most shocking thing is that, David Bahati, in his defence of the Traditional family that is enshrined in the bill, he would seek to tear the family as I know it. All in the name of, God?
That shocks me.
gug
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