Gay Hero Murdered in Uganda -- It's Time for the U.S. to Act

Yesterday, David Kato, a gay man in Uganda, was reportedly bludgeoned to death in his own home by a neighbor with a hammer.

David had spoken out for gay rights, was one of the high profile plaintiffs who successfully sued Uganda's Rolling Stone for publishing a list of 100 "homos" and calling for their death. He lost his life because he publicly stood up for equality. But no one in the government of Uganda has taken the same risk as David.

The U.S. government refuses to stand up for people like David too -- to take action forcing Uganda to protect human rights.

Just miles away from where David was murdered, Jerry P. Lanier, U.S. ambassador to Uganda, lives quietly. He might know, by now, about the violent death David faced, but he has not spoken out in David's defense, he has not acted in David's honor.

The time for negotiation and polite public statements is over.

The United States needs to force the Ugandan government to stand up for its LGBT citizens. It needs to demand that government officials publicly support LGBT rights, abandon their pursuit of the gay death penalty bill, fully investigate David's murder and arrest the culprit.

If the Ugandan government refuses, the U.S. needs to cut all foreign aid to Uganda.

The violent pursuit of minorities is a familiar theme in world history. Too many times, the international community fails to act effectively to prevent violence, hate and genocide. Today, we are given the chance to avoid making the same mistake again.

The horror of David's last minutes of life must be matched by the effectiveness of our response. Only direct action by the U.S. government can change the fate of the thousands of Ugandan citizens under threat every day.

We must accept nothing less.

* For those in Chicago - the chairman of Sexual Minorities Uganda is visiting the U.S. and will be speaking on January 31,st 2011
Presented by the Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media,
January 31, 2011. 6:00pm
Ferguson Lecture Hall, 600 S. Michigan Avenue

 

Follow Emma Ruby-Sachs on Twitter: www.twitter.com/EmmaRubySachs

Comments

[notpoliticallysafe]

01:09 PM on 02/10/2011

Unsure about why this man was killed. But we have no business meddling in Uganda's affairs. If Uganda wants to strengthen their laws against homosexual activities, then let them do so. It's their nation's laws. Predictably, most of the posters here who are decrying Uganda are against the Iraq War (I was also against the Iraq War) in 2003.

Saddam Hussein was a dictator who killed so many of his people, but yes, we had no reason to be there as Iraq didn't threaten our interests. That's the argument most people incl. myself give to be against U.S. intervention in Iraq. But it's contradictory for some of you to critique Uganda's laws against homosexuality. We do not have a vested interest in Uganda & let them strengthen laws against behaviors they see as bad. I agree with Uganda's laws but that's a sideissue. Also different nations have laws against abortion. I'm pro-choice on abortion but I don't condemn nations who want to pass laws against abortion esp. if we have no vested interest there. We have no vested interest in Uganda, just as we have no vested interest in Iraq.

[ninetailedfox]

05:29 AM on 02/09/2011

No its time we stopped involvin ourselvs in foreign affairs. American missionaries might be what caused this mess in Africa in the first place. The shah of iran and Idi Amin was America's doing. lets let other countries alone, before we get what is coming to us and what we most likely deserve.

[geordilil]

12:48 PM on 01/28/2011

It is also about time that all the Episcopal clergy and bishops who transferred their dioceses and churches to Uganda speak out. Their silence tells me that they do not believe their "it is biblically alright to be one, but not to act on it" rhetoric. What they want is our death and nothing else.
How very Christian of them!

[Coldhandluke]

09:45 AM on 01/28/2011

"The United States needs to force the Ugandan government to stand up for its LGBT citizens"
I think we have enough problems to tackle on our own.

[RationalityPlease]

08:32 AM on 01/28/2011

From ALL OUT. ORG:

STAND WITH BRENDA

Brenda Namigadde, a Ugandan lesbian in the UK, faces deportation TODAY back to the life-threatening persecution she fled eight years ago.

We just found out that one of the leading figures in the LGBT movement in Uganda, David Kato, was murdered yesterday in his home. This awful tragedy makes clear what's at stake for Brenda if she is forced to return.

Will you join more than 25,000 people in 85 countries and sign this urgent letter pressuring U.K. Home Secretary Theresa May to stop Brenda’s deportation?

Link to the letter here:
http://www.allout.org/brenda/getequal

[nongrata]

05:38 AM on 01/28/2011

This may sound callous but thats insane. America is already hated by other countries for meddling. It sux what happened to him but people are murdered here and thats not from being gay. What could America do. You want them to invade and kill them? We have customs here that foreigners think are wrong.

[Hiddenfangs]

06:22 AM on 01/28/2011

Read again. No one suggested military action. the US dumps $ into Uganda. The author is suggesting stopping that.

[nongrata]

06:04 PM on 01/28/2011

I strongly believe in sovereignty. I don't support gay rights, but I don't think it should be criminal either. The countries that view homosexuality as a sin are the view of the people share. If the USA were to replace the government with a pro-gay rights government they would have an uprising like what happened in Iran during the revolution(The USA replaced a democratically elected government with a dictator who was favorable to the USA but not his people). To me the best they can do is try to immigrate gay people from Uganda to the USA or another country where it is tolerated, I don't think invading a country is rational

[crymeanonion]

03:20 AM on 01/28/2011

I have only two thumbs. Otherwise I would have given you millions thumbs up for your article. The sadness is that the whole African continent, not only Uganda, has very serious problems regarding human rights issues: women, children, albinos, homosexuality, marriage, labor and the list is endless.

[LadyDusky]

02:49 AM on 01/28/2011

The United States needs to force the Ugandan government to stand up for its LGBT citizens. It needs to demand that government officials publicly support LGBT rights, abandon their pursuit of the gay death penalty bill, fully investigate David's murder and arrest the culprit.
*****
Are you kidding me?
Our government can't force any government to do anything. If we could, we wouldn't be in Iraq or Afganistan.

And let's face it, we don't even have our own act together on the LGBT issues, really.

[Cal3b G]

02:44 AM on 01/28/2011

Have can the U.S. tell another country what to do with human rights when it has a horrible record when it comes to human rights at home and around the world.

[Douglas Campbell]

08:28 PM on 02/03/2011

So then what do you suggest the US response to the events in Uganda should be?

[NRawles]

12:51 AM on 01/28/2011

After reading Emma-Ruby Sachs article about the murder of David Kato, I took the liberty to write Ambassador Jerry Lanier . In addition to urging him to take a strong stand for human rights in Uganda, I also asked for his intervention in saving the life of Brenda Namigadde, an Ugandan lesbian activist whose facing immediate deportation from the U.K. (see www.guardian.co.uk article by Karen McVeigh). While I was at it, I sent a message to The Rt Hon Theresa May MP on the same topic. (She's the UK home secretary.) Of course, my letters may not help at all, but I don't think they'll hurt. Please let Ambassador Jerry P. Lanier, Home Secretary Theresa May, and anyone else you can think of know that people care what happens to human rights activists who work under the threat of persecution and death. After all, especially in Uganda, U.S. clergymen have played a horrifying role in fueling hatred against GLBT people. It's only right for Ugandans to hear other U.S. voices raised on behalf of human rights.

[Jangocat]

12:03 AM on 01/28/2011

No, the US should not be interfering with any other nations. We are not the worlds police, that is the UN's job. It's not our place to nation build countries into our own image, that hasn't worked since our success with Japan and Germany. But that was a different as those countries declared war on us. Your suggestion to "force" Uganda to do something is exactly why much of the world hate us.

BTW, the foreign aid should end any way. When you're broke you can't give money away. What happened to this man is horrible, but his own countrymen are the ones who need to change things. The only thing the US should do is grant amnesty to Ugandan gays.

[King Joffe Joffer]

10:39 PM on 01/27/2011

Action does need to be taken to stop the repulsive behavior that cost Mr.Kato his life, just not by the United States. There is a phrase that applies to our situation, take care of home first. We arent in a position to be playing the world's superpower right now. We have plenty of issues that require our attention here. I know it sounds bad but we cant help Uganda or any other country until we help ourselves.

[WheelsOnFire]

11:20 PM on 01/27/2011

But just as the US cut off all travel and trade with Cuba, it can easily cut off all travel and trade with Uganda.

Start by denying the ruthless American Christians from traveling to Uganda anymore -- and from using their tax-free charitable contribution money to fund their travel to a foreign land to help kill another country's citizens.

[gaydm]

06:36 AM on 01/28/2011

We could wait until these preachers go to Uganda again and then place them on the no fly list. Go there again, you stay there. Then we could also geny they are Americans. Rick who? Never heard of him.

[Gregory Roth]

01:31 AM on 01/28/2011

The US is at least partially responsible for the situation, The Ugandan branch of an American evangelical group called "the family" inspired the current pogrom against the Ugandan gays.

[idisVA]

10:25 PM on 01/27/2011

The Ugandan government may not have called for David Kato's death but the anti-homosexual atmosphere in Uganda and the pending bill in parliament making homosexuality punishable by death is a contributing factor. The Right Wing reactionary homophobic politicians on C Street in Washington should share the blame because of their evangilical activities in Uganda and their active support of Ugandan politicians, including Uweri Museveni, in their anti-homosexual crusade. At least
President Obama has issued a statement pledging US continued support of LGBT community in Uganda and around the world.

[skittle]

09:40 PM on 01/27/2011

I don't think the Ugandan govt called for his death. I am sure they have laws against murder. I find this equally reprehensible as any pre-meditated death. With no evidence of govt complicity, do we really have the right or obligation to tell a country what laws they should enact?

[WheelsOnFire]

11:21 PM on 01/27/2011

Uganda has been working hard to enact a death penalty for gays. It has been putting gays in harm's way for years.

[Douglas Campbell]

08:31 PM on 02/03/2011

oh skittles, you are so ignorant of facts.

[canadapaul]

09:32 PM on 01/27/2011

I can't stop crying. Here's to you David Kato! He should be nominated as one of CNN's Heroes.
What a wicked world.