Apparently the article published in Uganda’s Red Pepper tabloid yesterday is just the latest in a series vilifying gays in the small African country. New York-based Human Rights Watch has condemned the paper/tabloid for publishing a list (not unlike what happened earlier this year in Cameroon) of first names and professions of “alleged homosexual men.”
The editor of the Red Pepper insists that those named are not in danger, that Uganda “is very very tolerant,” a statement that obviously doesn’t jibe with the article reportedly published yesterday which publicized Ugandan authorities’ hunt for Geoffry Mugisha and appealed for “public cooperation to nab him before he ‘pollutes’ the population.”
HRW condemned both the actions of the paper and the police: “For years, President Yoweri Museveni’s government routinely threatens and vilifies lesbians and gays, and subjects sexual rights activists to harassment. At a moment when sensational publicity has spread fear among a whole community, the authorities must exercise their responsibility to protect, not persecute.”
Ugandan ‘gay’ name list condemned [bbc]
Previously
Gays Hunted in Uganda [tr]
Yannick Noah Named in Cameroon Gay “Witch Hunt” [tr]
