The blood of Gay Rights Activist David Kato is on Uganda’s hands

by: Charles Mombo
Twitter @charlessmombo
HASHTAG #burnedbrass

Uganda’s Rolling Stone newspaper published the photographs of several people it said were gay next to a headline reading "Hang them"

David Kato, a prominent Ugandan gay rights campaigner has died after he was brutally beaten to death with a hammer. His only crime was his sexual orientation.

Kato is believed to have been killed after his picture along with other homosexuals were published in an anti-gay newspaper next to the words "Hang Them". He had received innumerable threats in the past. Besieged and frightened after constant harassment from the Ugandan police is a normal day for a gay or lesbian person. Verbal and physical attacks from members of the general public while the police turn a blind eye to the crime is the order of the day.

The Ugandan police who have been accused of constantly harassing gays and lesbians; said Kato’s sexual orientation had nothing to do with the killing and that one "robber" had been arrested.

Kato's death sentence and subsequent assassination at the hands of his so-called Ugandan brothers was not only because of his sexual preference but also because he was an activist struggling for the rights of hundreds of other gays and lesbians who are likely to face tough sentences, including execution, if a bill that is likely to turn into law sails through parliament.

According to the bill introduced, by parliamentarian David Bahati, gay men and lesbians would be sentenced to life imprisonment for having sex, and given a death sentence for sex with minors. Additionally, anyone failing to report a homosexual act committed by others would face up to three years in jail.

After pressure from the international community, the bill was put on hold in May 2010, but remains under discussion in parliament as of January 2011.

President Barack Obama was quoted as saying, he was "deeply saddened" to learn of Kato's death. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has urged the Ugandan authorities to investigate and prosecute the killers.