Bahati’s support from The Family, a right-wing, Republican-based American evangelical group, was highlighted as an example of Uganda being used as a “lab” to further divide the black and LGBT community.
“It is a global laboratory to see where they can impose their perception of God’s law. They believe they can pit black Ugandans against [the] gay community at large. They are using African people as pawns in their global game of chess,” warned Pastor Joseph Tolton.
Following Tolton was keynote speaker, Frank Mugishi, of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) who recounted the abuse suffered by the LGBT community in Uganda. In graphic detail he explained the process of “corrective rape,” procedures and how publishing the names and addresses of those accused of homosexuality has led to many being hunted down, beaten and killed. While some countries have threatened to cut off financial aid to Uganda should they pass the bill, Mugishi insists that doing such would be a disservice to the economically challenged country.
“We been asking governments not to make this public — to do this in diplomatic way because it creates a dialogue. People ask themselves when they hear governments or donors say if you kill homosexuals, we cut aid — they think why? Ugandans think homosexuals are supposed to be killed and murdered but this creates dialogue and gives us space to speak in Uganda,” says Mugishi.
Dialogue is the first step in a series of actions outlined at the town hall meeting. In his media statement, Tolton called for a resolution in the UN to globally decriminalize homosexuality and appealed to the NAACP and the Congressional Black Caucus to take an official position on this issue, and partner with LGBT organizations to prevent what could possibly become another case of genocide in Africa. –souleo
