Angry scenes marred the funeral of murdered Ugandan gay activist David Kato on Friday, when the presiding pastor called on homosexuals to repent or “be punished by God.”
Toward the end of an emotional ceremony to mourn Kato, who was bludgeoned to death on Wednesday, Anglican pastor Thomas Musoke launched into a homophobic tirade, shocking the dozens of gay men and women as well as foreign diplomats in attendance.
“The world has gone crazy,” Musoke said. “People are turning away from the scriptures. They should turn back, they should abandon what they are doing. You cannot start admiring a fellow man.”
Witnesses said Kato’s former colleagues at Sexual Minorities Uganda, where he worked as an advocacy officer, quickly shouted Musoke down.
“We have not come to fight,” one woman screamed. “You are not the judge of us. As long as he’s gone to God his creator, who are we to judge Kato?”
The microphone was grabbed away from Musoke and a scuffle ensued. Police were forced to intervene, escorting the pastor away from the funeral.
‘GRANDFATHER’
The incident highlighted the deep, religiously stoked homophobia that exists in Uganda, and which Kato’s friends believe might have caused his death.
He was one of few openly homosexual men in the country and was a regarded as the “grandfather” of the gay community due to his long struggle for equal rights. His death came just three weeks after he won a court victory against a newspaper that had called for him to be hanged.
The murder drew condemnation from around the world, but received more muted coverage in Uganda.
The funeral was held near Kato’s ancestral home of Namataba, outside Kampala, and was attended by about 300 people, including family, friends, and members of the local community. A busload of gay activists arrived from the capital wearing T-shirts featuring Kato’s face, or rainbows or the slogan “The struggle continues.”
Three tents had been erected in a clearing, and Kato’s body was displayed in open white coffin. A large crucifix lay on top. Kato’s colleagues later covered it with a large rainbow flag.
A human rights activist who attended the ceremony said Kato’s mother and some of his closest friends struggled to contain their emotions as various speakers, including Kato’s twin brother, paid tribute to his life and work.
A statement from US President Barack Obama praising Kato as a “powerful advocate for fairness and freedom” was read out.
In her address, Sylvia Tamale, dean of the law school at Makerere University and a prominent critic of the harsh anti-homosexuality bill currently before parliament, called on the government to speak out against injustice in the country.
Following the pastor’s departure, Kato’s friends completed the burial, before quickly returning to Kampala because of threats from some local villagers.
NORMAL CRIME
While the investigation into the killing continues, the government continues to insist that it was a normal crime unconnected to his work or sexuality. In a statement, the Ugandan Media Center said that “investigations point to aggravated robbery as the reason for murder.”
It said the main suspect, a man who allegedly lived with and worked for Kato, was still at large.
Maria Burnett, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch, said the government should not be publicizing any conclusions so quickly.
“The police need to do their job properly, and it is not helpful to say this was simply a robbery before the investigation is completed,” she said.
Indonesia and Malaysia have become the first countries to block Grok, the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, after authorities said it was being misused to generate sexually explicit and nonconsensual images. The moves reflect growing global concern over generative AI tools that can produce realistic images, sound and text, while existing safeguards fail to prevent their abuse. The Grok chatbot, which is accessed through Musk’s social media platform X, has been criticized for generating manipulated images, including depictions of women in bikinis or sexually explicit poses, as well as images involving children. Regulators in the two Southeast Asian
COMMUNIST ALIGNMENT: To Lam wants to combine party chief and state presidency roles, with the decision resting on the election of 200 new party delegates next week Communist Party of Vietnam General Secretary To Lam is seeking to combine his party role with the state presidency, officials said, in a move that would align Vietnam’s political structure more closely to China’s, where President Xi Jinping (習近平) heads the party and state. Next week about 1,600 delegates are to gather in Hanoi to commence a week-long communist party congress, held every five years to select new leaders and set policy goals for the single-party state. Lam, 68, bade for both top positions at a party meeting last month, seeking initial party approval ahead of the congress, three people briefed by
The Chinese Embassy in Manila yesterday said it has filed a diplomatic protest against a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman over a social media post that included cartoonish images of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela and an embassy official had been trading barbs since last week over issues concerning the disputed South China Sea. The crucial waterway, which Beijing claims historic rights to despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, has been the site of repeated clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels. Tarriela’s Facebook post on Wednesday included a photo of him giving a
ICE DISPUTE: The Trump administration has sought to paint Good as a ‘domestic terrorist,’ insisting that the agent who fatally shot her was acting in self-defense Thousands of demonstrators chanting the name of the woman killed by a US federal agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota, took to the city’s streets on Saturday, amid widespread anger at use of force in the immigration crackdown of US President Donald Trump. Organizers said more than 1,000 events were planned across the US under the slogan “ICE, Out for Good” — referring to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is drawing growing opposition over its execution of Trump’s effort at mass deportations. The slogan is also a reference to Renee Good, the 37-year-old mother shot dead on Wednesday in her
RSS