Uganda: Newspaper unveils gay pictures

  1. Posted on Monday 1 November 2010 - 13:00
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    John Afful Jnr, AfricaNews reporter in Takoradi, Ghana
    A Ugandan anti-gay newspaper The Rolling Stone has published pictures of 14 men it identified as gays on Monday in a country where homosexuality is illegal and has had promptings for the death sentence.
    newspaper
    The lead article in The Rolling Stone newspaper, which has no relation to the US magazine, entitled "Men of shame part II", pictured 14 men identified as the "generals" of the gay movement in Uganda.

    "They published their pictures on a gay networking website, so that was enough evidence for us," editor Giles Muhame said, adding that the paper did not try to contact the men before publishing their pictures.

    Homosexuality in Uganda is punishable by life imprisonment in some instances, and a lawmaker in 2009 introduced a bill calling for some homosexual acts to be punished with death. The bill, criticized by local and international observers, has not yet been formally debated in parliament.

    The men were identified by name and home town, as supplied to the site, Muhame said.

    A previous issue of the tabloid pictured 15 men it alleged were gay. The publication has also quoted an unnamed religious leader calling for gays to be hanged, but Monday's issue did not advocate violence.

    Muhame explained his paper's motivation for focusing on homosexuality in Monday's editors note.

    Gay circles

    "A cross-section of heartless homosexuals is seriously recruiting and brainwashing unsuspecting kids into gay circles," he wrote.

    He explained to AFP that while he had no evidence to suggest the 14 identified men were involved with youths, he believed exposing them had "news value".

    A local gay rights group is scheduled to appear before a high court later on Monday to seek an injunction blocking the paper from further publishing any similar content.

    Though The Rolling Stone is operating under no license and was told last month not to publish any more issues until it received a license from the Uganda Media Council, but decided to publish regardless of the outcome.

    "We met all (the council's) requirements," Muhame told AFP. "After that, we don't care what they have to say."

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