Burundi: Interesting take on what is happening there

For the past month or so, this tiny country long forgotten by most of the world has been in the spotlight for the one thing people may have never suspected ” a mirage-legislature rising up against both the president and the allies ” the missionary churches dotted throughout the country.

There are few things as unpopular in Africa as homosexuality. It is seen as a particularly virulent and sinister strain of the West’s unwelcome foray around here. To be gay is to be evil, criminal, and un-African. You can lose your family, livelihood, and sometimes your life.

There just happens to be no law against it in Burundi. It hadn’t made much of a difference until one was proposed by the president and defeated by his senate. It was a blow to the president, and a temporary confidence-booster for people who live in secrecy and fear.

An article in an amendment to the national penal code that would have made homosexual acts punishable by up to two years in prison was pulled out by the Senate on February 24. It was a shock to the system in Burundi, where legislatures more often than not are rubber stamps of the head of state. President Pierre Nkurunziza took it as a slap in the face.

The president’s power is weakening, said Pancrace Cimpaye, chairman of the opposition party and member of senate. We must take advantage.

 

Burundians are deeply religious. The church and the Word of God are transcendent. That includes President Nkurunziza, who attends the local Church on the Rock in Bujumbura. Though founded in Texas, much of the Church on the Rock operates abroad, in places like Burundi, Third World states where fates and livelihood still hinge on the mercies of nature. From Rwanda to Brazil to the Philippines, these modern-day missionaries have found converts and a powerful voice.

So, in the past weeks, the government, together with this and other churches, has gone on an all-out campaign to reverse the Senate’s decision.

Just the other day, roughly 15,000 people marched in protests led by factions of the government against the senate’s decision.

If we love our country, if we love our culture, we must ban this practice that will draw only misfortune, said the chairman of Burundi’s ruling party, Jeremie Ngendakumana. The protests were organised using radio advertisements and cellphone text messaging.

This was a huge manipulation of the people, said Mr Cimpaye. It was demagogic.

The albinos wanted a protest last week because they are being killed. They wanted to have a demonstration, but the government refused, saying it would take away from the working day, said an anonymous NGO worker in Bujumbura. But when 15,000 march against gays on a working day, it’s okay.

Being albino may be one of the unluckiest things in this part of the world, where people are hunted for their skins, sought for magical protection by bush-doctors. To be one of Burundi’s approximately 400 gays isn’t much better.

 

We have so many children who have been rejected by their family because of being gay or lesbian, and many of them are forced to work as sex slaves to make money, says George Kanuma, co-ordinator for ARDHO, Burundi’s only gay advocacy group. This law would make it all the worse for them.

But a fighting spirit remains. Use my name, says Kanuma. To see it in the newspapers is protection for us. That’s exactly where those names have been. Since the protests, homosexuality has been on the tip of tongues of the country.

Parliament, which received the amended legislation from the senate, swiftly put the article criminalising homosexuality back into place.

Churches and non-governmental organisation have held press conferences, radio shows, and television programmes on the issue.

It is political propaganda ahead of the 2010 elections, says Christian Rumu, vice-president of Burundi’s gay association.

In the National Assembly, a heated debated rages on, with opposition leaders calling for a national referendum on the issue. According to the constitution, if the two sides cannot come to agreement, it will be parliament that makes the decision. Few here believe the president will allow the law to pass without criminalising homosexuality.

As the story makes larger waves around both the region and world, the government’s forces are clamping down on journalists. Although one newspaper editor was released recently, two more journalists were arrested.

We are in danger, and must work in secret, says a stringer in Burundi for the international press. The government does not want reporting on the homosexuality. We are supposed to write only good things.

An Afternoon

Been blogging sad things. But, even the deep, heavy rainclouds sometimes lift, even if it is momentarily...

I would like to share a poem about this lovely land of mine.

 

sprinkling of

hot, golden bright sunshine on

the deep, emerald jewel

green of leaves;

 

It covers all,

does the sun-

even the buildings

rust red and browns;

the crumbling slum

rooftops that like

mud of an overflowing

river touch valley bottoms.

 

The roads,

deeply holed asphalt

arteries peopled by an

abundance of men and

women, children, an overflow

like real blood cells do,

 

In the richer

suburbs trees tall and green

leaf the air-

mature compounds mimic

the solid, long gone green

cover of natural rainforest

and huge houses peep

jewels of colour in

green cloth of nature.

 

Kampala the

beautiful, indeed.

 

 

 

(c) gayuganda 02 April 09

Ugandan Homosexuals cry out over Victimisation

Ugandan Homosexuals cry over victimization

First published: 20090331 10:26:44 AM EST

Gay rights activists in Uganda have cried foul over a campaign by some Christians and government leaders to project homosexuals in Uganda as rogues who are sponsored by foreign interests to spoil the morals of children in Uganda.

A group of Gay activists today addressed a press conference in Kampala and said the campaign led by Stephen Langa of Family Life Network is misinforming the public in order to make Ugandans hate homosexuals.

 

Victor Mukasa, the coordinator of the Uganda Minority Sexual Rights group says the campaign against homosexuals in the country is based on wrong information that homosexuality is an acquired behavior which can be taught to people.

 

Mukasa says homosexuals are naturally born attracted to people of the same sex and do not “change like weather”. Mukasa says it is wrong for Langa and his group to accuse homosexuals of being in a campaign to recruit and change school children into homosexuality. He says these allegations are aimed at making Ugandans to hate homosexuals and force the government to become punish homosexuals.

Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda but the High Court last December ruled in a landmark case that homosexuals should be accorded the same rights as other Ugandans.

But the Family Life Network recently presented a group of former homosexuals who claimed they used to recruit students through offering them money and friendship.

Mukasa says the people claiming to have been working to promote homosexuality in schools have been paid to talk bad about homosexuals in order to make Ugandans hate homosexuals, instead of appreciating their differences.

Stephen Langa recently told parents in a seminar that homosexuals are on a campaign to recruit students into homosexuality a practice he says is immoral.

Mukasa however says homosexuals are normal people born like any child but develop a natural attraction to the same sex.

Gay Rights, and the Father Musaala Saga

UPDATE: 1900hrs

This is interesting.

The government is homophobic. Very. Now, gay groups are coming out to fight for their rights, and here is the response of the government.

MPs want gay group's activities regulated

MPs want government to regulate the activities of homosexuals who have come out publicly to defend their rights.

Kawempe North MP Latif Sebaggala says Government should not allow homosexuals to hold press conferences to iron out their issues because the vice is illegal.

However, Government Chief Whip Daudi Migereko says there are No laws that prohibit homosexuals from holding press conferences.

Migereko says that the ministry of Internal affairs will track homosexuals and take action against them.

A little bit of interpretation. Gay Ugandans are so dangerous that it is important to have their activities monitored. Whatever that means, by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Ok, understood?
And the regulators? The very people who are talking of lynching, marooning, outing and wiping out homosexuality from Uganda. We do have a lot to thank our dear Christian brothers, don’t we?

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I found the latter part of this article interesting, so you will bear with me if I put it first.

For a full week lies have been getting out of hand. People have held press conferences, mass rallies, and have got multiple front pages in the government owned news paper. We try to write to the papers, we try to present our point of view. Not a whiff of truth dares come out.

So, we do what we fear most. Come out, expose ourselves, and read a small press release. The country is amazed, and infuriated. How dare we!

So, the government will soon show its teeth.

At Parliament, MPs criticised the Government for allowing self-confessed homosexuals to address a press conference and promote their activities. The conference took place at the Metropole Hotel in Kampala on Tuesday.

Latif Sebaggala (DP) said the Government was tolerant because donors had threatened to cut funding if homosexuals were stopped. “We are worried about our children. If the Government is silent, it means it is silent approval,” he said.

Henry Banyenzaki (NRM) blamed poor enforcement of laws which he said had escalated homosexuality, rape, defilement and child sacrifice. In reply, Daudi Migereko, the Government chief whip, argued that anybody was free to hold a press conference without permission from the Government.

However, he said, by doing so, the gays had exposed themselves and the Government would go after them.“Homosexuality is illegal. The Minister of Ethics, Dr. Nsaba Buturo, has been clear on the matter. Those involved will face the long arm of the law,” he said.

Henry Kajura, the second deputy Prime Minister, said the Government would not compromise on moral and cultural values because of donor pressure.

“The Government will soon show its teeth,” he warned. “Our society abhors homosexuality.”

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On the Musaala saga some people below would like me to confirm that Musaala is gay. They will not accept me denying or saying I don’t know. They want me to confirm. Funny world this is…!

Musaala has gone ahead and issued lots of information. Do they believe him? Well, you do have all rights to believe, or not believe, don’t you think so?

But of his defence I do take some exception. To the patronizing, church attitude. the church was clear about aberrant sexual practices and how to guide offenders get out of “the abnormal behaviour”.

Musaala argued that as a church minister, he had given spiritual guidance to homosexuals, lesbians and prostitutes since 1999, but he was not gay himself. “But ethically, I cannot name them,” he said.

Explaining why people take to homosexuality, the dancing priest, as he is sometimes called, blamed the desire for money and “inherent feelings that drive them”.

His involvement, he said, was limited to helping the gay abandon the practice some of whom “want to commit suicide”.

“I want to show them the true path to salvation,” he said. “This is a journey that requires someone to walk with as a guide.”

“These people are stigmatised and I am totally against this because they need our help,” said Musaala.

Quoting the Catholic Church rules, Musaala described homosexuality as a “disorder” and “a trial” for those involved. “They must be accepted with respect, compassion and responsibility,” he quoted the rules. “Every sign of their discrimination should be avoided.”

He said he was simply implementing the text “but the problem is that in doing so, the public understands me differently”.

I feel like some bit of shit that has been allowed to share the family dog’s plate. Truly. Or is it just me being super sensitive in my role as a proud gay man? But, he is speaking to the Ugandan audience. So, putting the gay Ugandan down has to be part of the deal, maybe.

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Buturo’s point

The ethics and integrity minister is indeed up to his job. Dr Nsaba Buturo has kept the fight against the evil of homosexuality by speaking out against it at whatever opportunity he gets at any forum. Speaking at a democratisation workshop on Tuesday, Buturo grabbed the opportunity to lash out at the advocates of the vice. “Homosexuality is totally unacceptable, how can a man marry a man and a woman marry a woman? Even he-goats can distinguish between he-goats and she-goats, who are we human beings, not to observe the rules of nature?” he asked.

Yes, gay bashing, is now realy, realy popular

gug

Poor Christians

Once upon a time I was a Christian. Then I saw the light…

Yes, it is Christian bashing time, for me. I am not going to rail against all Christians. But against some. (Let me say I do respect the likes of Bolton…! and his lesson to me still holds, at least for now).

Why Christians? Because they wrap themselves in so called love. Love is the reason that they hunt, and hurt and persecute me. Because I am, you guessed, a homosexual.

There is that excellent chapter of Jesus railing against the Pharisees. He was pissed, and it was a major rant, in Mark’s Gospel. Funny that of all things I remember reading in the bible, that is the one that comes to mind, when I think about the Christians in Uganda.

Christians?

Oh, yes. There is Orombi of the Church of Uganda. To him I am filth unspeakable. For that reason, he has broken with Canterbury, in a way, and broken the Anglican Communion. Of course it is his right, who he associates with, etc. What I don’t like him using my sexuality as the ‘stumbling block.’ He says he is a Christian. And my sexuality is a sin.

Then there is Ssempa. Pastor, and the other pastors in Uganda. Again they say they love me. (At least Orombi does not dissemble so!) They love me so much that they would like to convert me to Christianity. And they ‘hate’ my sin, the sin above all sins. My sexuality.

So, as good Christians, they have gone ahead and got some converts from homosexuality. They have convinced the country on how bad us homosexuals are. And they are going out, outing us. All in the name of Jesus.

They hold press conferences. They hold rallies. They hold church meetings where we are held up to ridicule in the name of love. They are now outing us, all in the great name of Jesus. ((Bet that gentleman is turning in his grave somewhere.)

Because we are gay, homosexual, these pure angels on earth believe it is okay for us to be accused of everything under the earth. From rape, defiling children, ‘recruitment’ etc. They are stirring up the populace in their crusade. And Crusade it is indeed. They have formed the ‘homosexual agenda’ and intimate that we homosexuals are out to turn the world upside down. Demanding our rights.

Whatever it is, we seem to have done it. Nothing is too low for them to do in the name of pulling us down. We, of course, must be against them. We, of course, must be evil, and bad. All in the name of Jesus. (Sorry, Christians who are gay!)

A witch hunt is not a witch hunt, because it is happening in the name of Jesus. A witch hunt is a Crusade, when it happens in Jesus’ name. Lies can be told, flimsy evidence used to ‘out’ those doctors, lawyers, priests etc who are gay. All in the name of Jesus.

Sigh….!

Any wonder I feel like a rant?

What is it to them if I lose my job, are thrown out of my clan, my tribe, my family, if it all happens in the name of Jesus? What is it to them if I cannot feed my dependants? It is in the name of Jesus.

Funny, I can no longer feel the same rippling anger that I used to.

Yes, they call themselves Christians. They can never be ‘Christ-like’. To them it is a garment that they pull around themselves. It is the white clothes on Sunday covering the filth of heart on most other days of the week.

Poor Christians, Indeed!

How Christ is served, without witness!



gug

The Press Release- It kind of was overwhelmed...

Press Release

 

For immediate Press release: Tuesday 31 March 2009

 

OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM LGBTI UGANDANS

 

To: Fellow Citizens of Uganda

 

Over the past few week, very serious allegations of child sexual abuse and ‘recruitment’ have been leveled against Homosexual Citizens of Uganda by various people and institutions.

 

We have been accused of accepting huge amounts of money for our ‘recruitment’ drives,

 by the Family Life Network (FLN).

 

 We affirm that we are homosexual. That means that we are different in sexual orientation from most of our fellow Ugandans. That does not mean that we are criminals.

 

We, like all other Ugandans, are responsible and law abiding citizens. Homosexual Ugandans do not condone or support recruitment of people into homosexuality at any level . We strongly and fiercely condemn it.

 

We know that our sexual orientation is not changeable. We are homosexuals and cannot change. In the same way, we cannot change heterosexuals into homosexuals. We cannot recruit. WE CANNOT, DO NOT, HAVE NEVER, AND WILL NEVER ‘recruit’.

We can only deduce that those leveling these claims aim to inflame the population against us, a minority group.

 

The allegation that we receive huge amounts of money for so called ‘recruitment’ services are simply ridiculous. We do not receive any money for ‘recruitment’. It is absurd that some assume we would be paid to do something impossible.

 

We strongly affirm that these allegations are not only false and ridiculous; they are also far from the truth.

 

Our campaign for gay rights is rooted in the fact that, as Ugandans, we deserve the respect and protection of the law, just like all other Ugandans. We do not deserve to be discriminated. We do not deserve to be criminalized. We do not deserve to be treated as criminals simply

because we are lesbians, gay, bisexual, transgender, inter-sex.

 

We call upon all Ugandans to reject this campaign of falsehoods, inflammatory statements and hatred. Ours is a peaceful plea to inform fellow Ugandans about us, so that fellow citizens do not think that we are, as we have been accused of being; ie insane, pigs, sick, inhuman, un-natural, un-Ugandan and un-African.

 

We are fellow Ugandans. We deserve equal rights and protection under the Law and Constitution. We do not deserve hatred, false statements, and the spread of inflammatory ideas against us. We don’t deserve to be demonized and falsely accused in the name of ignorance of who and what we are.

 

For and on behalf of all the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Inter-sex, and Queer People of Uganda.

 

For God and Our Country.

Is he, or Isnt He?

Hysteria. Outing hysteria. Gay or Not? Proof not necessary. Just, well, any hint of impropriety- or someone to accuse you.

So, is he or isn’t he? A catholic priest accused. (More to come…!)

Father Musaala named homosexual

Self-confessed former homosexuals yesterday accused a renown Catholic priest, Fr. Anthony Musaala, of being a homosexual.

Paul Kagaba, who says he was a homosexual for eight years, told a press conference in Kampala that Musaala, a gospel music award-winner, regularly holds parties for gays at his residence in Gayaza near Kampala.

He was speaking at the press conference which was held at the anti-gay crusader, Pastor Martin Ssempa’s Redeemed Church at Makerere. In attendance was another self-confessed reformed homosexual, George ‘Georgina’ Oundo, and Pastor Solomon Male, an anti-gay activist.

Musaala, however, said the reports were intended to damage his image because he was a public figure. “Whatever they say, I am not gay and I will never be gay. I am only a minister of the Roman Catholic Church,” he said.

And the more…

In his remarks, Kagaba also named an employee of a Kampala city hospital and a European residing on Entebbe road among the prominent gay promoters in the country.

I am gay, and, well, though I have a problem with being identified (falsely or not!) as so, I kind of wonder what it is like for a person who is not gay to be so accused? How the hell does one 'proove' that you are not gay?

Unfortunately politics might be another factor playing out here.  Amongst the Pastor preachers, there is a lot of in-fighting. Remember this. One pastor fighting others etc. An accusation of homosexuality is very, very damaging. And Ssempa is in one particular camp. Will be funny if Msaala is not in the opposite camp. Oh, but he is Catholic- so, maybe I don’t know what I am talking about!

A delegation of gay activists was expected in the country this month, Kagaba said, to hammer out a programme to finance their colleagues to get elected to Parliament in 2011.

Imagine, homosexuals in parliament…! We are planning on that, aren’t we? Ugandans, be very, very scared!

But that is as maybe, this is what we thought we had done, the news we had made. It was on some of the Television stations last night, but seems it was not as juicy as some people accused of being gay…!

As they spoke, a group of self-confessed gays and lesbians, Jackline Kasha, Victor Mukasa and David Kisuule, addressed a press conference at the Metropole Hotel in Kampala.

They disowned Oundo and denied that their umbrella group, Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), was recruiting school children into the vice.

“We are responsible and law-abiding citizens. Homosexual Ugandans do not condone recruitment of people into homosexuality. We strongly and fiercely condemn it,” Jackline Kasha said reading a statement issued by a group called Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex. (Ha ha ha ha ha! LGBTI a group, like an NGO?)

“Sexual orientation is not changeable. We are homosexuals and cannot change. In the same way, we cannot change heterosexuals into homosexuals,” Kasha argued.

Mukasa said the Government should investigate Oundo’s claims and prosecute him since he had confessed to conscripting youngsters into the vice.

Although she admitted receiving funding from various organisations, Mukasa denied the money was for recruitment.

So, necessarily, fear within the community.

So, who else is gay?

 

gug