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Sundance Film "God Loves Uganda" Explores Anti-Gay Evangelicals

This should be very interesting. God Loves Uganda is a new documentary that debuts today at the Sundance Film Festival. The film examines the "relationship between American evangelical churches, their missionaries, and anti-gay laws in Africa like Uganda’s so-called 'Kill the Gays' bill." The film was directed by Black and openly gay Academy Award-winning filmmaker Roger Ross Williams.

Watch the trailer AFTER THE JUMP ...

The director's statement:

"I thought about following the activists-brave and admirable men and women-who were fighting against these policies. But I was more curious about the people who, in effect, wanted to kill me. (According to the provisions of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, I could be put to death or imprisoned.) Notably, almost every evangelical I met – American or Ugandan – was polite, agreeable, even charming. Yet I knew that if the bill passed, there would be blood on the streets of Kampala."

"What explains that contradiction? What explains the murderous rage and ecstatic transcendence? In the well-known trope about Africa, a white man journeys into the heart of darkness and finds the mystery of Africa and its unknowable otherness. I, a black man, made that journey and found – America."

Williams reveals the "scariest challenge" to making the film in an interview at IndieWire:

"While shooting in Uganda in 2011, the conservative evangelical pastors I was filming -- the most ardent supporters of the country's now infamous Anti-Homosexuality Bill -- discovered that I myself am gay. One began circulating emails suggesting that I be killed. I left the country immediately, and hoped I'd never have to go back."

"Cut to a year later. I'm with my editors at the Sundance Documentary Edit lab and it is becoming abundantly clear that we needed more footage from Uganda. We needed to spend more time there to do justice to this very complicated, and very important story. And the only way to get it right meant I had to go back. Either I sacrificed, or the story would have to. And so I went. I spent three terrifying, thrilling weeks in Uganda, knowing full well that this would be the last time I was in a country I've been filming for the past three years. And I'm happy to say that without the footage we captured on that last trip, 'God Loves Uganda' probably wouldn't be premiering at Sundance."

Williams won the 2010 Academy Award for documentary short subject with his film Music by Prudence. He became the first African American to win an Oscar for directing and producing a film.

Watch the trailer AFTER THE JUMP ...

EBONY: "Death Penalty Remains in Uganda’s Anti-Gay Legislation"

Ugandan MP David Bahati now claims the death penalty provision has been removed from the extreme Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Ugandan LGBT activists and international human rights advocates dispute Bahati’s claim.

Our latest news analysis for EBONY: "Death Penalty Provision Remains in Uganda’s Anti-Gay Legislation" I interviewed leading LGBT activist Frank Mugisha and other gay Ugandans over the weekend.

HIV/AIDS advocates are concerned that passage of the bill would "lead to even more HIV infections … among men who have sex with men." The nation’s adult HIV prevalence rate is 6.5 percent, one of the highest in sub-Saharan Africa, according to AVERT and the Central Intelligence Agency.

The draconian bill was originally proposed by MP David Bahati, a member of the ruling National Resistance Movement. Bahati now claims the death penalty provision has been removed. “There is no death penalty,"Bahati told the Associated Press on Friday, which added that “the most recent version of the bill hasn't been publicly released.”

Ugandan LGBT activists and international human rights advocates dispute Bahati’s claim.

"There has not been any official confirmation the death penalty has been removed," Frank Mugisha told EBONY.com from Kampala. Mugisha is the executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), the sole LGBT rights organization in the nation. He was awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award in November 2011—the first time an LGBT rights activist has been honored by the prestigious award.

"We have not seen any official document saying the death penalty has been removed," added Mugisha. "As far as I know, this is the same bill that was first introduced in 2009."

Read our analysis HERE.

EBONY: "Uganda to Vote on Extreme Anti-Gay Legislation"

Our latest for EBONY: "Ugandan Parliament Prepares to Vote on Extreme Anti-Gay Legislation."

The international community has denounced the extreme measure, but the Ugandan leadership wants to fast-track the bill. “Ugandans want that law as a Christmas gift," Speaker of the Ugandan National Assembly Rebecca Kadaga told Reuters last week.

The death penalty provision reportedly was removed on Friday, an MP told the BBC. Unfortunately, the newest version of  the bill includes several “substantial amendments” that go far beyond legislating sexual behavior and would effectively  criminalize just “being” gay.

The expanded bill would force teachers, employers, landlords—even parents—to inform authorities of “suspected homosexuals,” according to Frank Mugisha and SMUG.  “Any parent who does not denounce their lesbian daughter or gay son to the authorities would face fines of $2,650 or three years in prison” and “any teacher who does not report a lesbian or gay pupil to the authorities within 24 hours would face the same penalties.”

Some Ugandan LGBTs have become “so concerned” that they’re considering fleeing to neighboring Kenya, which is considered progressive on gay rights. “I have been personally asked by two activists to ‘host’ them at my home in case things turn badly,” [Kenyan LGBT activist] Denis Nzioka told EBONY from Nairobi.

Read our analysis HERE.

VIDEO: "Call Me Kuchu" Trailer, New Film on Uganda's David Kato

The new documentary Call Me Kuchu opens on November 2 in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The film explores the state-sponsored anti-gay terror campaign in Uganda and details the 2011 murder of David Kato, the nation's first publicly openly gay man. Call Me Kuchu premiered at the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival and won the Teddy Award for Best Documentary.

Watch the new trailer AFTER THE JUMP ...

Despite the East African nation's often harsh anti-LGBT climate, there is a vibrant underground community of kuchus, the film's directors Katherine Fairfax Wright and Malika Zouhali-Worrall write in The Independent.

What’s more, many of the kuchus we met weren’t victims, but dedicated and increasingly sophisticated activists working with absolute determination to change the status quo – even, eventually, in the face of a devastating and unthinkable loss. One phrase that epitomized this attitude was a rallying cry from Mozambique’s war of independence that was adopted as something of a mantra by David [Kato] and Uganda’s LGBT activist community: "A Luta Continua," or "The Struggle Continues."

David Kato was the first person we met with once we arrived in Uganda – he reeled off names and numbers and introduced us to the kuchu community. As we spent more time with him, we were increasingly intrigued by his fierce intelligence and relentless passion, his sharp sense of humor, and his deep-seated fear of sleeping alone at night. He was also one of the most outspoken activists in the community. It soon became clear that David [Kato] was the protagonist of Call Me Kuchu.

Meanwhile: The Speaker of the Ugandan parliament has slammed the Canadian government over its criticism of Kato's murder and Uganda's record on LGBT issues. Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird criticized Uganda and Iran's human rights records this week at an international summit in Quebec, reports The Globe and Mail.

Delegates from both countries accused Canada of interfering in their internal affairs. An Iranian representative said it was no different than his country using the IPU forum to call for international support of Quebec independence. ... And the minister didn’t mince words describing the plight of young African girls under regimes that tolerate early and forced marriages. He then denounced Uganda for the violation of gay rights and oppression of homosexuals.

He pointed to the case of David Kato, a Ugandan gay rights activist who was beaten to death after a newspaper published a photo of him and other gay men under the headline, “Hang them.”

The Speaker of the Ugandan National Assembly, Rebecca Kadaga, said her government will demand an apology from the Canadian government. "Ignorance and arrogance, that is how I would describe Mr. Baird," Ms. Kadaga said in an interview, adding that her government’s does not promote violence against gays. "This is a very high level of arrogance for him to attack my country." ... She accused Canada of adopting a “colonial attitude” towards African nations and interfering in her country.

David Kato was the spokesman for Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), the sole LGBT rights organization in Uganda. Kato was  brutally beaten to death at his home in January 2011. A suspect, Enock Nsubuga, was arrested one week later and police claim he confessed to Kato's murder  over a sex-for-pay deal gone wrong.

Authorities have refused to link Kato's murder to his activism or being listed among the nation's "100 Top Homos" by an infamous local anti-gay tabloid. Nsubuga was sentenced to 30 years on prison.

Watch the new trailer AFTER THE JUMP ...

REPORTS: Hackers Target Anti-Gay African Nations

Cyber activists or "hacktivists" have attacked government websites across Africa to protest anti-LGBT laws that discriminate, imprison or even condemn gays and lesbians across the continent, reports Gay Star News, Radio Netherlands Worldwide and Zambian Watchdog. The coordinated attacks have targeted Botswana, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda in an operation known as #OpFuckAfrica.

The Anonymous and TheEliteSociety hacking groups have launched a joint all-out attack against countries in Africa that kill or imprison LGBT people. The groups promise more websites will be hacked in African states that oppress LGBT rights. Last Thursday, hacktivists hacked the website of Botswana’s Export Development and Investment Authority, and leaked its database. Somalia’s TV Network and Gurmad company websites were also hacked.

Just last week saw the hackers taking over Ugandan Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi’s website. They posted a fictitious statement on the site in which Mbabazi apologised for his government’s anti-gay stance and expressed his support for the recent Uganda gay Pride week.

The hacktivists have apparently singled out Sudan for the most damage. Sudan is one of four African nations that boast the death penalty for gays or same-sex activity. The other three are Mauritania, Nigeria and Somalia. "Cyber activists have hacked 73 official government websites in Sudan, including the president's, as they continue to demand LGBT people in Africa are given rights,"  reports Gay Star News.

Last week's cyber-attack against the Ugandan governement  targeted 'the prime minister's office, Parliament, the Uganda Securities Exchange and Uganda Law Society, a government statement said," according to Radio Netherlands Worldwide.

Homosexuality is punishable by up to life in prison in Uganda, which has been condemned by the international community for its state-sponsored anti-gay terror campaign. Parliament has revived the extreme Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which seeks the death penalty or life imprisonment for anyone caught engaging in homosexual acts for a second time.

Same-sex acts are currently illegal in at least 38 of 54 African countries. South Africa and Seychelles are the only African nations that protect LGBT rights. SA is also the only African nation to guarantee marriage equality and gay adoption.

East Africa's Largest Media Groups Bans Anti-Gay Political Adverts

This is major. East and Central Africa’s largest media conglomerate has banned all political advertising that includes any "hate speech" or "contempt" toward "sexual orientation." The new guidance by the Nation Media Group will affect advertising in Kenya's and Tanzania's largest newspapers, Uganda's largest independent newspaper and broadcast outlets in all three nations.

The guidelines were released in advance of Kenya's upcoming elections, reports Behind The Mask.

The move by the NMG to publish guidelines for political advertising comes as a pleasant surprise. The group released a statement in its flagship Daily Nation newspaper on May 26 outlining rules to be observed prior to running political advertisements in any of the NMG publications or broadcast media.

Perhaps the most significant new NMG rule for human rights defenders is Rule 5 which states: "Advertisements shall be rejected outright if they contain the following: ...

a) Obscene or profane language or pictorial representation that, when taken in context, tends to or is likely to expose an individual or a group or class of individuals to hatred or contempt on the basis of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age or mental or physical disability."

NMG includes The Daily Nation—Kenya's largest newspaper—and Uganda's Daily Monitor. The group also includes NTV, which broadcasts in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The Nation has published a number of pro-LGBT pieces reports in recent months, such as this op-ed attacking anti-gay bias.

The ban on anti-gay political advertising comes only three weeks after the Kenya National Human Rights Commission called for the decriminalization of same-sex relations. The Daily Nation's editorial page supported the move.

Kenya's government is considered progressive on gay rights. Same-sex relations are illegal—penalties are between five and 14 years’ imprisonment—but arrests and prosecutions are rare. Kenya was the first African nation to include men who have sex with men in their national HIV strategy.  Two pro-LGBT justices were confirmed to the Supreme Court in June 2011. The recently-appointed Chief Justice Dr. Willy Munyoki Mutunga has said that "gay rights are human rights" and expressed a desire to overturn anti-gay legislation. As a result, Kenya has rapidly become a refuge for many LGBTs who have been persecuted in East African nations.

But there has been a backlash against previous calls to decriminalize homosexuality in the East African nation. In November 2010,  Prime Minister Raila Odinga called for the mass arrests of gays at a political rally but later retracted his statements.

Same-sex acts are currently illegal in at least 38 of 54 African countries. Four nations—Mauritania, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan—boast the death penalty for gays or same-sex activity. South Africa and Seychelles are the only African nations that protect LGBT rights. South Africa is also the only African nation to guarantee marriage equality.

Some Background ...
Kenya HRC Calls for Repealing Anti-Gay Laws
Kenyan Men Forced into Gulf Sex Trafficking?
UN Chief Urges African Leaders to Respect Gays
KENYA: Pro-LGBT Justices Confirmed
Controversy in Kenya After Pro LGBT Nominees
Kenyan Prime Minister: "All Gays Should Be Arrested"
KENYA: Questions Surround Mandatory HIV Testing
AIDS 2010: Joel Nana on African Gay/Bi Men, HIV
WATCH: CNN Surveys Gay Rights in SA, Kenya, Cuba
Kenyan Gays Demand Protection After Brutal Assault
Kenya: "Things are Changing in Favor of Gays"

REPORT: African LGBTs Increasingly Seeking Refuge in Kenya

Kenya has rapidly become a refuge for many LGBTs who have been persecuted in East African nations, reports AFP.

[One] organisation, which last year alone looked after 67 LGBT cases in Kenya, did not want to be named for fear of endangering its refugees. Some have fled a strict application of Islamic law in Somalia, others are running from general sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo and yet others have fled a climate of growing hostility elsewhere in east Africa. Some hope to be able to find refuge in Western countries sympathetic to their plight, such as the United States. ...

LGBT refugees are in a particularly difficult position, said the official from the programme that helps them. They cannot return home where their lives are in danger. Nor can they settle in Kenya, where refugees are not allowed to work and where homosexuality is also illegal. The only solution is often to head to a third country.

[This] NGO has over the past several years tried to make humanitarian organisations aware of the extent of the problem. "It's a very slow process, people are very reluctant to take care of LBGT refugees as such. They feel other priorities are more important."

In particular, a number of gay men and transgender women from neighboring Uganda have found refuge in Canada. Here's just one case:

"I was watching a film when I heard a lot of noise," said well-built 24-year-old John. "People had broken into my place, armed with stones, sticks and machetes." John, who was on his way to his boyfriend's home, fled when he saw the attackers. "To me he was dead," he remembers thinking of his partner.

Paul owes his life to the intervention of the police, who however immediately jailed him. "I was physically abused, beaten, bleeding from everywhere," he recounted with difficulty.

His friend David Kato, a gay activist, intervened to get him freed. [Kato] was brutally murdered just over a year ago, found bludgeoned to death at home outside Kampala on January 26, 2011.

Kenya's government is considered moderate on gay rights. Same-sex relations are illegal but arrests and prosecutions are rare. Kenya was the first African nation to include gay and bisexual men in their national HIV strategy. Two pro-LGBT justices were confirmed to the Supreme Court in June.

But there has been a backlash against calls to decriminalize homosexuality in the East African nation. Last November, Prime Minister Raila Odinga called for the mass arrests of gays at a political rally but later retracted his statements.

Same-sex acts are currently illegal in at least 38 of 54 African countries. Four nations—Mauritania, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan—boast the death penalty for gays or same-sex activity. South Africa and Seychelles are the only African nations that protect LGBT rights. South Africa is also the only African nation to guarantee marriage equality.

Some Background ...
UN Chief Urges African Leaders to Respect Gays
KENYA: Pro-LGBT Justices Confirmed
Controversy in Kenya After Pro LGBT Nominees
Kenyan Prime Minister: "All Gays Should Be Arrested"
KENYA: Questions Surround Mandatory HIV Testing
AIDS 2010: Joel Nana on African Gay/Bi Men, HIV
WATCH: CNN Surveys Gay Rights in SA, Kenya, Cuba
Kenyan Gays Demand Protection After Brutal Assault
Kenya: "Things are Changing in Favor of Gays"

Uganda's Museveni: "Homosexuals Need Roads and Electricty, Too"

Uganda is pushing back on international pressure to repeal its harsh laws that criminalize same-sex relations. President Yoweri Museveni is criticizing the United States and Great Britain for threatening to withhold foreign aid over the issue, reports AFP.

"Before anyone gives me a lecture about homosexuals and their rights, first talk about railways," Museveni told delegates at the end of a regional meeting in Kampala attended by five other African presidents. "Homosexuals also need electricity, homosexuals also need roads, homosexuals also need railways," Museveni said to applause.

Meanwhile: China has announced that it "wants to build roads and railways in Uganda" ... with no conditions on human rights.

Thirty-eighty African nations have laws criminalizing homosexuality. Four nations—Mauritania, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan—boast the death penalty for same-sex activity. South Africa and Seychelles boasts the continent's only protections of LGBT rights. African's anti-LGBT laws were a key focus at several sessions at the recent International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Homosexuality is punishable by up to life in prison in Uganda, which has been condemned by the international community for its state-sponsored anti-gay terror campaign. Parliament has revived the extreme Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which seeks the death penalty or life imprisonment for anyone caught engaging in homosexual acts for a second time—as well as for gay sex where one partner is a minor or is HIV positive.

In January 2011, Uganda's opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye said police should not waste resources investigating homosexuality and said that he would decriminalize the practice if elected. Museveni was later re-elected, extending his 25 years in power by another five-year term.

Zambia Criticizes UK Threat to Withdraw Aid from Anti-Gay Nations

Zambia becomes the latest nation to slam British Prime Minister David Cameron's suggestion that aid should be decreased to countries that failed to respect gay rights. Cameron made the announcement at the recent 54-nation Commonwealth meeting in Australia.

The Lusaka Times and Zambian Watchdog report that British authorities have backpedaled after protests by leaders of  the southern African nation.

British High Commissioner to Zambia Tom Carter clarified that the statement issued by the prime-minister does not apply to Zambia for now. He told radio Phoenix Thursday morning that the UK sees it as its responsibility to protect people of all sexual orientations but that the statement made in Australia was not directed at Zambia.

"He was not talking about Zambia in that case. I cannot talk about other countries. I am here in Zambia and we are very, very happy the way things are going here," said Carter.

Zambia’s chief government spokesperson Given Lubinda said the nation would only enact laws supported by its citizens and in line with their culture. ... He said Zambia was a sovereign state and would make independent decisions on which laws to enact. "Zambia will not be pressured to formulate laws or policies by any foreign government," Mr Lubinda told Lusaka-based Hot FM Radio.

Clergy and politicians in the southern African nation were "outraged" in May 2010 after international donors made a similar suggestion and asked them to relax its harsh anti-gay laws.

AIn March 2011, clergy and politicians in Zambia threatened to campaign against Michael Sata—formerly leader of the opposition Patriotic Front—after he indicated a softened position on gay rights. Sata later won the presidency in peaceful elections in September.

Same-sex sexual activity is illegal for both males and females in Zambia. The Zambian government does not permit advocacy of LGBT rights, reports the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (PDF). Former Presidents Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia and Festus Mogae of Botswana recently called for the decriminalization of sodomy statutes across Africa.

Zambia is rich in copper mineral wealth, but is one of the world's poorest nations, boasts a 16 percent HIV rate and the average life expectancy is only 4o years old. Priorities, priorities.

You May Have Missed:
Zambian VP: Report Homosexuals to Police
Zambian Parties Reject Gay Rights as "Outrageous"
ZAMBIA: Outrage After Leader Signals Pro-Gay Stance
Tanzania Slams UK Threat to Withdraw Aid
Former Leaders Botswana, Zambia: Decriminalize Sodomy

Calls for Commonwealth to Repeal Anti-Gay Laws

30 Year Sentence for Killer of Ugandan Activist David Kato

The confessed killer of Ugandan LGBT activist David Kato has been sentenced to 30 years in prison, reports The Monitor.

Nsubuga admitted to have murdered David Kato 46, on 26th January 2011. This verdict was passed based on the evidence produced in courts. Prosecution led by Ms Loe Karungi alleges that on 26th January, 2011, while the duo was taking tea, the deceased demanded for sex from Nsubuga. ... Nsubuga picked up a hammer, came back to the living room and hit the deceased on the back of the head twice.

The hunt for Nsubuga culminated in his arrest when he was spotted by Nakabago residents in Mukono district, who alerted the police. He was arrested and taken to Mukono Police Station where he admitted to the murder charges brought against him. .. Efforts to reach leaders of gay community were futile as they are said to be out of the country to receive an award recognizing them for their struggle in the fight for gay rights in Uganda.

Kato was the spokesman for Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), the sole LGBT rights organization in Uganda. Kato was the most visible gay man in the small East African that has attracted international condemnation for its state-sponsored anti-gay terror campaign.

Fights erupted at Kano's funeral after a local pastor grabbed the microphone and blasted homosexuality. Kato's gay friends were forced to bury the body because villagers refused to do so.

As reported by The Monitor, leaders of Uganda's embattled LGBT community are in the U.S. to accept the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award in Washington today.

Ethel Kennedy, the widow of the former U.S. attorney general, is to be joined by Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry in presenting the award to Frank Mugisha at a ceremony on Capitol Hill. ... The 29-year-old Mugisha leads an underground group whose members routinely shift locations in Uganda for their safety. Uganda, a conservative East African nation, is one of more than 70 nations that have imposed laws against being gay.

Mugisha blames U.S. evangelical activists in particular for stoking fears and promoting homophobia with a 2009 visit and conference on "rehabilitation" for gays in Uganda. Since then, violence against gays has increased, he said.

This is the first time that an LGBT rights activist has been honored by the prestigious award.

R20's complete DAVID KATO coverage ...