The Power of A Story

 

Most Kuchus (LGBTQ+ Africans) on the continent relate to this strongly. We have been accused, heavily and with deep passion, of targeting children ‘recruiting children to homosexuality’. That was the Church of Uganda Anglican Archbishop’s 2022 Christmas message. Anti-LGBTQ+ advocates preach of our legendary perversity. Politicians shed crocodile tears. Apparently we have recruitment centres in schools!
Its infuriating. Most kuchus know it is simply untrue. Reputed allies are disturbed by the possibility. I commented on Rev Gideon Byamugisha’s fear here once. Anti-gay activists repeatedly harp on it, a dishonesty I will hold to their feet. They are liars. Many know they are. It is simply impossible to believe the likes of Martin Ssempa don’t know that most kuchus are not paedophiles. That he harps on it is a simple sign of his capacity at lying. Oh, I once blogged about Ssempa and his lies…, He has mastered the Art of the Big Lie. And if that demonises kuchus, that is well and good. Yes, I know.., he is a Pentecostal Pastor.

Back to the power of a story, or anecdote.

As opposed to a statistic, a story is something that an audience hears, understands and relates to. Real people, in real circumstances, doing real things, good or bad. A story communicates very well, to a wide audience.

I remember watching tv during the early days of CORVID-19; A press conference, President Trump and Dr Fauci.
The President was advocating for some weird treatment; chloroquine, or bleach as a cure. And Fauci stands up, quite bravely, contradicting His Excellency. What His Excellency had stated was not true: He had told a story, an anecdote, of a treatment curing corvid. But that was a story of one person, one patient, one individual. "n is equal to one”, said Fauci, puzzling us all.
You don’t make decisions from an anecdote; they might help you understand what is happening, but you need a bigger and better sample size of thousands or millions, instead of one.

What does that have to do with kuchus and LGBTQ+ individuals and ‘recruiting’ of children in Africa, what we are blamed for?
Very simple. The anti-gay people are picking and choosing anecdotal information, pointing to show what the ‘dreaded homosexuals’ are; and coming for your children.

Remember Ssempa in 2012-14 showing gay porn in church and other public spaces. Gross, XXX pics and movies of extreme sex; that that’s how we (‘homosexuals’) had sex! Which kuchu would dare contradict the ‘man of god’? He was the expert, the Anti-Gay Saint of Uganda, expert on homosexual sex.

The press in Uganda and Africa does the same. Stories on ‘homosexuality’ or ‘sodomy’ sell papers. The more lurid, sensational (and fabricated, pushed by anti-gay activists), the better. A straight line to silent, bewildered kuchus.

Here is one such story.
Of ‘defilement’ Ugandanese term for sex with an under-age person. A child (under 18, Uganda). The child is the 'victim’.
It is not a pretty story. A 19 year old man allegedly had penetrative anal sex of a 2 year old male child; neighbour’s child. The lurid details.

Almost as an afterthought, the following statement ends the report.

~~~

~~~

‘Defilement’ cases in Uganda are almost exclusively of male perpetrators. That report of is 12,780 cases of heterosexual ‘defilement’, with the rest being of male victims, and thus presumed ‘homosexual defilement’. And this is from the Police Annual Crime report for the calendar period 2022.

From that report springs out the factoid, small but significant. Most of the reported cases of sex with under-aged, children, were heterosexual in nature.
My calculator of those figures shows that heterosexual ‘defilement’ cases of 2022 reported by Uganda Police in their annual report were actually 98% of the total. The presumed ‘homosexual defilement’ cases were 2% of the total number of reported cases of defilement.

So, the lurid story in that article ’19 year old detained over sodomy’ represents 2% of cases of defilement occurring in Uganda over a calendar year.

This article, useful in demonising ‘homosexuals’ in Uganda, represented 2% of cases.
Instead of a wave of ‘homosexual recruitment of your children’, what is happening is in fact ‘heterosexual recruitment’ of the said children.

That is the power of the ‘anecdote’ in the minds of the masses.
The story can be cherry picked, not representative of reality on the ground, can be picked to mask the real story, hiding what should be obvious in plain sight and might be a distraction. That is what happened with Fauci and Trump above. That is  what is happening in Uganda.

It is sad, on very many levels.

We are an insignificant, demonised and stigmatised minority. Prejudice by the majority is a heavy blanket muting us. Even our cries of ‘that’s a lie’ are not heard.
The politicians say we are the ones lying. The pastors and sheikhs and bishops all say we are the ones lying. We don’t even have a place and space to say we are not lying. That would be ‘Promotion of Homosexuality’.

But, the facts and figures don’t lie.
We are accused of ‘homosexual recruitment’ of Ugandan children. In actual fact, ‘heterosexual recruitment’ of Ugandan children is occurring. Instead of what is happening in 98% of cases being discussed and solutions sought, anecdotes from 2% of case reports are blown up and out of proportion, and used to bay for our blood, in the literal sense.
Sleight of hand, yes. Quite effective, true. Doesn’t solve the problem; only masks the issues and scapegoats a minority. Yeah; Ugandan, and African style.

 

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Kuchus and HIV in Africa; The Failure of Africa’s Medics & Health Care Workers (2)

 

We esteem our doctors, medical and other health care workers tremendously in Africa. We should. In a continent with a dire lack of education, they are our educated elite. They also struggle to work under some pretty tough conditions, because of a lack of funds, lack of necessary instruments of care, and lack of political and other support.

With knowledge comes power, socially.

Medicine and the health sciences have a very rich background of study of my sexuality, because we are different from the common heterosexuality. It is not a new thing.
 I mean, we Kuchus (LGBTQ+) human beings, have been under study since life immemorial. We are a uniquely different part of humanity that persists in life to the contrary of expectations.

So, why are our African medical and health care professionals so clueless with regards to sexuality and other sexualities?
The excuse that it is not taught in African medical schools is not a good one. This is the internet age.
But our doctors have failed to explain issues. Yeah, Museveni asked twice, but I don’t think he wants a real answer… But his questions reflect a lot of the ignorance in Uganda. He is not wrong to ask our in-house docs. Even while he doesn’t listen.

Even lay people can educate themselves about a subject as interesting as homosexuality, and of course human sexuality.

The words of a Seniour psychologist and professor in Ghana pulled me down this line of reflection. I posted on it: - Kuchu Mental Health in Africa; The Failure of Africa’s Medics & Health Care Workers (1)

But, there is an even more immediate and urgent example of medics in Africa failing Kuchus as individuals and our nations collectively  because they are prejudiced on homosexuality. The case of HIV/AIDS.

When the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023 was signed into law by the President of Uganda, UNAIDS/PEPFAR/Global Fund released a cautionary statement on the possible impact of the law.

 

“.., are deeply concerned about the harmful impact of the Ugandan Anti- Homosexuality Act 2023 on the health of its citizens and its impact on the AIDS response that has been so successful up to now.”

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“Progress has been made thanks to the implementation of large-scale prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care programs, all provided on the principle of access to health care for all who need it, without stigma or discrimination. This approach has saved lives. The strong health systems built to support the AIDS response serve the entire population of Uganda.”

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“Uganda’s progress on its HIV response is now in grave jeopardy. The Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 will obstruct health education and the outreach that can help end AIDS as a public health threat.”

 

The resulting media storm was quite embarrassing. Shouts of ‘imperialism’, ‘colonialism,’ ‘promotion of homosexuality’, ‘blackmail’.
Winnie Byanyima, a Ugandan our country woman, currently Director General of UNAIDS was vilified and shamed in the papers and the people of her old constituency in Mbarara.

And why blame Uganda’s medics?

The issue was HIV/AIDS. Ugandan trained medical workers have a good grasp of HIV/AIDS. When UNAIDS, literally the World’s Most Important Specialist Doctor on HIV/AIDS comes out with such a statement, It was reasonable to expect Uganda’s HIV specialists to explain why UNAIDS was concerned. What was wrong? Why was there a problem? Why would PEPFAR, UNAIDS and Global Fund gang up on poor, homophobic Uganda?

And where were Uganda’s specialists to explain the problem?

They did. Medics say no to UN, US claims on gay Aids was the title headline in the Monitor.
The text revealed tremendous ignorance and our under current of homophobia. Of course these, our Ugandan medics, were much more believable than UNAIDS, even headed by Winnie Byanyima.

 

says Dr Daniel Kyabayinze, the head of public health affairs at the Ministry of Health

““Americans are trying to frame it as if we are against certain groups. I don’t know why they are attaching the Anti-homosexuality Act to the Ministry of Health. It has nothing to do with health,””

 

Sorry Dr Daniel Kyabayinze for calling you out, but that statement is really…, out there ignorant. That the Head of Public Health Affairs at the Ministry of Health of Uganda can actually state that legislation that criminalises Kuchus (LGBTQ+ individuals) has nothing to do with health and HIV/AIDS programming reveals considerable ignorance, and prejudice.
Blaming the Americans for our ignorance is not okay. HIV/AIDS has been about LGBTQ+ individuals and communities for the last 40 years of the pandemic. Why don’t you know it?

In Dr Kyabayinze’s defence, not many medics in Africa equate HIV/AIDS to homosexual sex. Heterosexual sex, yes. But Dr Kyabayinze is the Head of Public Health Affairs of the Ministry of Health. He is not ‘all doctors’.

If the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 doesn’t concern the Ministry of Health, why is it a long time policy of UNAIDS to strongly advocate for decriminalisation (removal of laws that criminalise homosexuals)?
This is a long standing policy of UNAIDS, the ‘Americans’ are not to blame...

As Head of Public Health in the Ministry of Health, Dr Kyabayinze should have been explaining to the Parliament of Uganda and the President, this long standing HIV prevention measure, and why it is important.

Another influential medic, and person living with HIV, also couldn’t help but reveal his ignorance. And his bias.

 

Dr Stephen Watiti, a person living with HIV/Aids (PLHIV), and chairman of the National Forum of People Living with HIV/Aids
““I know some of them who have HIV. [But] the majority of those people are not even HIV positive. Many LGBTQ members also get their medicines from abroad. The majority of those who are speaking here don’t even have HIV,””

 

The chairman of the National Forum of PLHIV should be aware of the actual issues. To him the problem was the politics, not the science. As a heterosexual person living with HIV, he doesnt understand. He has no understanding of the DOUBLE STIGMA of HIV and homosexuality.
Rev. Gideon Byamugisha also showed this lack of understanding even though he is also a PLWHIV. It is a reality of our kuchu lives.

And Dr Watiti, according to the statistics, I most kuchus living with HIV are actually Ugandans living in Uganda.

It was a crucial point in time.
At that time, the hype making the rounds was all about the big and bad and dirty, extremely evil Americans who were daring to caution that there was a problem with the very beautiful and lovely Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2023.
In these cringe worth moments, when fellow Ugandans are puffing out their chests and loudly shouting how tough they are in standing up to ‘the Americans’, proof of their holy aims…,

And, our doctors, who should be in the know, failed us. Spectacularly.

 

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Myths and misconceptions from Gideon Byamugisha’s article

Reading Reverend Gideon Byamugisha’s article, a few things rubbed me the wrong way.

True, ours is a toxic environment, and his was a great call out of the pharisees in the churches, but I had to remind myself that allies are allies.
Kuchu (LGBTQ+) allies are necessary.., we are a minority. In our countries, in most of Africa, our allies literally speak for us. In many cases that is because we cannot speak on our behalf, for one reason or another.
But, they don’t necessarily truly know us.

We are a minority, however much the haters mobilise more hate by painting the farce of us ‘taking over’, or ‘turning the world homosexual’ as Archbishop Kaziimba and President Museveni believe. Sincerely held beliefs.
(Snigger, ridiculous and sad as it is, the President and Archbishop believe we homosexuals have an agenda to literally destroy the world.., in some way, and that is from their own mouths.)

Reverend Byamugisha is also a person in the Ugandan environment. He has been influenced by the lies, disinformation and myths that are peddled without challenge in Uganda. (Just like we, kuchus, internalise the homophobia in our environment).

In the first paragraph Byamugisha states

 

“Our grave challenges from some selfish homosexual practice recruiters and promoters notwithstanding…”

 

It is important to assert, again and again. We do not ‘promote’ homosexuality. We don’t need to promote what comes naturally to us. We just are. The rest is an invention of those who literally hate and tell lies about us.
In the same breath, we kuchus have to assert, we do not recruit into homosexuality. If one really thinks about it, it is a very ridiculous assertion, a BIG LIE that has taken root, especially in Uganda, promoted literally by anti-gay activists like Martin Ssempa, transplanted as is from the American Far Right. We kuchus, LGBTQ+ people, do not recruit! We don’t make people gay. We dont have an army to ‘recruit’ for. That language and the lies have only one purpose, to dehumanise and demonise kuchus, making us feared and hated by the public. To increase the prejudice against kuchus.

It infuriates me.., that the world has fallen for this false narrative of LGBTQ+ ‘recruiters and promoters’.
Byamugisha is stating what is general belief in Uganda. Homosexuals are dangerous because of ‘recruiters and promoters’. Apparently we as homosexuals have the itch to increase in some way. Thus the ‘recruiting and promoting’.

It is not only in Uganda. It is not only the ‘under-educated’ masses in Africa who believe this nonsense, though we are an easy mark. The anti-gay activists like Family Watch International (FWI), right wing proselytisers have been quite successful pushing the narrative that we kuchus of the world are ‘recruiting and promoting’ homosexuality. And of course the icing on the cake, we homosexuals are supposed to be ‘coming for your children’.

And the world believes that nonsense.

It shows a basic lack of understanding of sexuality. And an underlying desire to believe any and all evil of a stigmatised group. A willingness to suspend common sense, when the target is wrapped in ignorance, myths and there are some willing to push the big lie, in the name of religion or culture, or sovereignty…, or for whatever the reason is.

It is a lie. It is believed. And that is what is…

Yet I still wouldn’t want an ally to drop into the cesspool of thinking that we kuchus have this agenda to ‘recruit’, ‘promote’ and of course ‘come for their children’.

Yes. I know. ‘Promoting’, in the minds of anti-gay forces, especially in Uganda, means me defending myself, like I am doing in this post, debunking myths. That is what is called promoting…, and it is currently illegal in Uganda (Bite me. If that is promotion, I will promote…!). This blog is a shameless promoter of homosexuality.

Rev. Byamugisha also states

 

“Just like people living with HIV/Aids, suspected homosexuals suffer…”

 

Byamugisha has experienced first hand the stigma and prejudice of HIV/AIDS. And in his mind, the stigma and prejudice of ‘homosexuality’ in Uganda might seem similar.

I don’t think it is, though the processes might be similar in social psychology. Ultimately, HIV/AIDS is an infection. Its stigma was largely based on fear. The stigma and prejudice due to homosexuality especially in Uganda and much of Africa is different. Most people don’t realistically fear that they will become homosexual. We are a small, marginalised population which is not growing, despite the anti-gay hype. We are not going to make YOU homosexual! Most adults confident in their sexuality would not believe it so…, but, the anti-gay activists play to that fear, extensively.

HIV infection particularly affects kuchus. We then suffer a double stigma. Stigma of HIV infection and the stigma due to our sexuality.
In Uganda, at the moment, it is easier to come out as a person living with HIV. It is much, much harder to come out as kuchu. And those of us who are forced to come out would embrace being HIV positive before we embrace or come out as kuchu. That is brutal, but it is what is on the ground.

In the end, Rev Godfrey Byamugisha was very, very courageous. Calling out one’s bosses for moral failings is suicidal…, metaphorically speaking. But, he does it. And he does it on behalf of a minor, marginalised, persecuted social group, the kuchu in Uganda.

Damnation…, whenever I start cementing my belief in the evil of religion; Christian and Islam in Uganda and Africa…, there comes someone with the guts to call out my budding prejudice.
Most Christians and Moslems would lynch me, literally and metaphorically in Uganda and Africa, because of my sexuality. But, most does not mean all. There are a brave few willing to challenge the rivers of hate flowing.
Yeah, they do deserve a certain respectful notice. The Godfrey Byamugisha’s, Justin Welby and Pope Francis’ of this world. They are boulders rolling against the flow of rivers of institutionalised hate, and deserve my respect.

 

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Reverend Gideon Byamugisha; Breath of (fresh) good air

 

Reverend Gideon Byamugisha. An interesting man of courage. It is definitely courageous for a Ugandan to come out with a pro-gay attitude. Political correctness in Uganda is to be virulent, emotional, hyper-holy,  anti-homosexuality. And, as a priest in the Church of Uganda, with the bishops and Archbishop of the Church leading the anti-gay crusade in Uganda…, I must say it is courageous of him, penning and having that article published.

True courage. When he first publicly admitted that he was living with HIV, it was at the height of anti-HIV prejudice in the country. The virus was feared, and taken as a curse to the wicked. And here came a Reverend, a man of god, admitting that he was living with the virus. A special kind of courage indeed.

And what does he say about the debate on homosexuality in the country?
I think the most important thing is that he is talking with the gravitas of an elder, and church person, steeped in the Ugandan psych.
Yeah, condescending. But, that kind of tone is the norm in Uganda. His points are stated in a way that resonates, or would resonate with Ugandans. Fact, he is not going to be listened to, because the prejudice is embraced by too many ‘influencers’, religious and otherwise.

 

“I find the moral language used, the emotions generated, and the levels of psychic aggression and spiritual violence generated around this community unreligious and uncultured too”

 

Interesting language. A basic call out to decency. Common decency. The likes of Martin Ssempa of the Pentecostals, Stephen Kaziimba of the Anglicans and Archbishop Ssemogerere of the Catholic Church embrace anti-gay rhetoric as THE confession of their holiness and righteousness. Calling them out, in the face of their continued publicly embraced opinions will exert a price. Because it is accurate, and few would say otherwise. They say it is a matter of African Culture. And our African religion. Bullshit…, but, that is what they embrace. And he is calling them out, as a matter of common decency.

 

“It is not correct to continue glossing over our own spiritual shortcomings, our moral gaps, and our pastoral care failings towards those we unfairly stigmatise and self-righteously ridicule year after year without a deep reflection on how our own individual and collective actions or inactions could have contributed to their unique ‘being’ and ‘experience’.”

 

Blasphemous…, Rev Gideon Byamugisha.
How dare you accuse Uganda’s anti-gay Saints of ‘spiritual shortcomings, moral gaps and pastoral care failings’? How dare you go beyond not joining the anti-Homosexual Crusade, to actually attacking the leaders of the Crusade?!!! Blasphemy… I can imagine Martin Ssempa spitting on your metaphorical grave on live TV. HOW, DARE, YOU?!

A quirky turn of phrase..,

 

“.., equally loveless and non-repentantly self-righteous.”

 

Spot on…, in my clearly biased view. We, Ugandans are the typical, proud Pharisees of the times of the Nazarene… We are actually out-christianing the people who brought the religions in our colonial periods, demanding that they ‘repent’, of the sin of loving homosexuals, of course! More angel than the very angels, indeed!

Oh, Byamugisha doesn’t spare the self-righteous tools of the men, and women of god.., the sneaky politicians.

 

“I pray that in the future, our Members of Parliament should not table and debate laws against minority Ugandans with such deep and toxic levels of personal anger, social prejudice, civic disgust, and spiritual hate.”

 

Come on, Rev Byamugisha. How else would the honourable politicians take advantage of such a popular ‘moral’ issue? How would they deflect from the stealing of mabaati from the desperate Karamojong citizens of Uganda? How would they duck the heady winds of corruption? Good theatre, claiming the moral high ground;  the expression of ‘such deep and toxic levels of personal anger, social prejudice, civic disgust, spiritual hate’. All good politics…, and you want to deny them claim of that rich political capital, in the name of some spurious benefits (with the sins are so ‘self evident’?)
You, Rev Byamugisha, are only one person. They have shade from the influential Bishops, Archbishops and mega pastors!

I am gay, a Ugandan kuchu. I confess that, unreservedly. But, Byamugisha calling out the simply evil ways that anti-gay forces in Uganda operate is interesting. And funny. And a poke in the eyes of influential, powerful others..

 

“When people or certain communities divert most of their energies from innovation and production to spying on, lying about, hunting, and destroying each other; …”

 

Oh yes.., remember the ‘Pastor Wars Saga’, which are continuing, even if low key at the moment.
Am kuchu. It is funny realising that all the sins and evils that I am accused of in Uganda are actually a daily tool of choice by those who are supposedly holy and immaculate in their righteousness.
Byamugisha calls them out.

Will Rev Byamugisha be heeded?
Most probably not. Strike that…, Byamugisha will certainly NOT be heard or even listened to. Too many politicians, of the state and the churches and mosque are invested in anti-gay rhetoric. He will most likely be punished, if not openly, but definitely covertly. He dares to be ‘pro-gay’. Even Archbishop Welby of the Church of England was derided for being a homosexual promoter and demanded repent of the sin, by none other than Archbishop Kaziira of the Church of Uganda, who is Rev Byamugisha’s superior and boss.
But, it is good to have a breath of good air, in the toxic anti-gay smog and fog in Uganda. Byamugisha does the one thing that I fail to do.., speak in language that is understandable to Ugandans.

 

 

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Toxic Environment: Kuchu in Uganda, Africa.

 

Without a doubt, for a Kuchu (LGBTQ+) individual living in Uganda, and pretty much of Africa, the environment is quite toxic.
We discount it.., a matter of personal safety, physical and personal mental health. We have to grow calluses to our sensitivity. We have to have skin the thickness of crocodile hide to weather the hate and toxicity around. When the state and its politicians, church and mosque, and every influencer of note preach firmly the belief that we kuchus are horrible people, it is simply a wonder if and when we don’t start believing the same.

Of course we are human beings. We, kuchus inhale the poison and toxicity. We are insane in our sanity. We internalise the homophobia. That is a matter of fact.

Stephen Fry, prominent British comedian, had reason to visit Uganda during the hysteria surrounding the Anti-Homosexual Act 2014. He met and talked to Simon Lokodo in 2012, then Uganda’s Minister for ‘Ethics and Integrity’, and prominent, official anti-gay activist..., and Stephen Fry went back to his hotel room and attempted to commit suicide.
An adult LGBTQ+ individual, from a country and environment that accepts people of differing sexualities. Fry just had a whiff of the air in Uganda…, and he was lucky he survived. True, he leaves with bipolar disorder, which most likely made our daily lived reality precipitate, for him. It was reported

 

“he was prompted to attempt suicide after conducting a television interview with Uganda’s minister for Ethics and Integrity, Simon Lokodo, in 2012. “[He] was a foaming, frothing homophobe of the worst kind [and] behind the bill in Uganda that was supposed to make homosexuality a capital offence, in other words a death sentence,” says Fry”

 

And the ‘foaming, frothing homophobe’ is a literal and accurate description of many of Uganda’s anti-gay activists, including the churchmen Martin Ssempa and Stephen Kaziira, and the politicians of course.

Wonder how damaged we kuchus on the ground are, in comparison?
Oh yes. We are damaged individuals. We wouldn’t be human, to live in this toxic environment and come out sparkling. We are simply human.

Wonder what effect that reality has on the children, teens questioning, discovering their sexuality?
Well, we are damaged…, But, that is life. We have to bear with it. Yeah, quite a few die, by suicide and otherwise. And of course we hide, however we can. That is the basic of survival, as and when one can.

Why the introspection?

An article in the Monitor newspaper. A guest writer, Reverend Gideon Byamugisha. He is a churchman. And, as a person living with HIV, he shattered perceptions when he came out positive, saying he had HIV. Put a face to the virus, confronted the prejudice, in and out of the church… And apparently he remembered. And remembers.

The article.
Yes, it has a lot of issues…, Reverend Gideon Byamugisha happens to be a Ugandan, and he believes quite a number of myths and prejudices that are taken as truth in Uganda. But, he also comes from a time and space that is intimately conversant with the might and cruelty of majority prejudice.

A simple breath of less polluted air, in the toxicity of ‘debate’ in Uganda about my sexuality.
It is not enough. We need a cleansing wind to remove the fog and smog. But, we don’t have winds in the foulness of air in Uganda. We only can celebrate this little breeze.

To contrast, the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda is calling for a Crusade, Africans to ‘evangelise’ the world.., presumably with the gospel against homosexuality. Should we be thankful he is not yet calling for a pogrom?
The Moslems think us beneath the notice of a Jihad, thankfully. At least that is what I hope. The President of the Republic believes Uganda should lead Africa to save the world from homosexuality.

How astonishing, and embracing, for a churchman, a Ugandan, living in Uganda, to come out and assert that “Anti-gay anger is neither Christian nor African”.

Breath of fresh air, in a toxic smog indeed.

 

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