Conservative Christian desperation 1: In Uganda

The Daily Monitor in Uganda has a headline today about the reports that President Museveni has assured American authorities that he will veto Ndorwa West MP David Bahati’s proposed anti-gay law. The online newspaper DC Agenda reported on December 19 that Mr Museveni had assured the US State Department of his willingness to block the Bill.

The newspaper reported: “Jon Tollefson, a State Department spokesperson, told DC Agenda that Mr Museveni has pledged on several occasions to the top US diplomat engaged in Africa that he would stop progress on the anti-gay bill,” and “Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson received this assurance from Museveni on Oct. 24 during an in-person meeting with the president in Uganda and again during a phone conversation with Museveni on Dec. 4, Tollefson said.”

Yesterday Mr Museveni’s spokesman, Mr Tamale Mirundi, said he was not aware the President had spoken to Mr Carson: “But if it was a discussion between two elders about a serious matter, then it should be kept private.”

According to DC Agenda, Mr Tollefson said when the Bill started gaining international attention, Mr Carson on Dec. 4 contacted Mr Museveni by phone “to reiterate US concerns, and the president again expressed his commitment to stop the Bill from becoming law”. “So that being said, the assistant secretary is expecting the President to live up to that commitment and … he expects President Museveni to live up to his reputation as a leader in the HIV/AIDS struggle,” Mr Tollefson was quoted as saying.

The Daily Monitor continues its report with the news that yesterday the Ethics Minister Nsaba Buturo “named three civil society organisations allegedly promoting homosexuality activities in Uganda. He said Sexual Minorities Uganda, Integrity Uganda and Gay Uganda had been given $20m to promote the practice.”

Gug, the gay Ugandan blogger, is not a civil society organisation but a lone individual with the courage and determination to reporting in detail on the Bill from inside Uganda. He doesn’t think Museveni is happy that that particular cat is out of the bag. Not surprisingly, he thinks the most amusing, the most flabbergasting and hilarious piece of news comes at the end of the article, the news about him being the recipient of a share of $20m.

In his blog today, he sets out to correct some of the misinformation. He, gayuganda, is a single human being. He is not a group, or a family, or a cabal or whatever. He is one human being, a Ugandan, living, working in Uganda, who happens to be gay. He is certainly not a Civil Society Organisation.

In his dreams, he’d like a share of $20million. He’d settle for much, much less! Christmas is here, and the bills are not completely paid. Hi lover wants more than he can give him and if he had just a fraction of that total, he’d would be really, really happy.

Why, asks gug, in the name of all that is holy and true, why does the Honourable Minister of Ethics & Integrity, Dr. Nsaba-Buturo tell a LIE like that, of a small Ugandan guy like me? He says he has been in contact with him for some time, sending him helpful updates. So he immediately sent Buturo a note saying that he was really disturbed by the lying Christians of Uganda.

Martin Ssempa also mentioned GayUganda as one of the organisations that spread homosexuality in Uganda in his letter posted on Warren Throckmorton’s blog. Martin knows perfectly well that gug is just one single, ordinary human being, but chose to lie again.

In a final flourish, gug says that Martin Ssempa once accused him of conspiring with some friends to kill him and Nsaba-Buturo.

Why do Christians and politicians in Africa need to lie to try about those whom they claim at one moment, don’t exist, or are creations of western influence, or are an insignificant minority? I know this is another dimension of “African culture” which has to be accepted, the ease with which stories can be invented and lies told by those who claim the moral, Christian high ground. I hate it. And I hate the way western conservatives support, fuel and fund those who live with a false Christian morality and witness.

Will Museveni kill the Bill?