Ugandan gay rights activist David Kato found murdered
'Real and substantive' investigation urged after advocacy officer for Sexual Minorities Uganda bludgeoned to death in Mukono
- guardian.co.uk, Thursday 27 January 2011 10.55 GMT
- Article history
David Kato was murdered weeks after winning a court case against the Ugandan newspaper Rolling Stone over its policy of identifying homosexuals in its pages. Photograph: Marc Hofer/AFP/Getty Images
One of Uganda's most prominent gay rights activists has been murdered in his home weeks after winning a court victory over a tabloid that called for homosexuals to be killed.
David Kato, the advocacy officer for Sexual Minorities Uganda, was bludgeoned to death in Mukono, Kampala, yesterday afternoon. Witnesses saw a man fleeing the scene in a car, and police are investigating.
Along with other Ugandan gay activists, Kato had reported increased harassment since 3 January, when a high court judge granted a permanent injunction against the Rolling Stone tabloid newspaper, preventing it from identifying homosexuals in its pages.
Late last year, Kato had been pictured on the front page of an issue carrying the headline "Hang Them". He was one of the three complainants in the court case.
"Since the ruling, David said people had been harassing him, and warning they would 'deal with him,'" Julian Pepe Onziema, a close friend and fellow gay rights activist, said.
"We were due to meet yesterday [Wednesday] to discuss security arrangements, but he said he did not have money to get to town. A few hours after we spoke, his phone was off."
Human Rights Watch said it was too early to speculate why Kato had been killed, but added that there were serious concerns about the level of protection of members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Kampala.
Maria Burnett, the Uganda researcher for Human Rights Watch, urged a "real and substantive investigation" into the murder.
News of Kato's murder came after a lesbian due to be deported from Britain to Uganda said she feared she would be killed if she was returned.
Brenda Namigadde, 29 – who fled Uganda in 2003 after being threatened over her relationship with her Canadian partner – is being held at Yarl's Wood detention centre.
She told the Guardian: "I'll be tortured or killed if I'm sent back to Uganda. They've put people like me to death there. Most of my friends in Uganda have disappeared."
Her initial asylum claim was rejected, in part on the basis that there was not sufficient evidence that she is a lesbian.
Ugandan society is, in general, homophobic – but in recent years the anti-gay feeling has been stoked by religious leaders, a group of US evangelicals and politicians.
In 2009, MP David Bahati introduced the anti-homosexuality bill, which calls for gay people to be imprisoned for life. Repeat offenders would face the death penalty, while Ugandans would be required to report any homosexual activity within 24 hours or face police action themselves.
Widely condemned internationally, the bill remains before parliament. Kato was one of the leading voices against the legislation.
Uganda gay rights activist David Kato killed
David Kato, a Ugandan gay rights campaigner who sued a local newspaper which outed him as homosexual, has been beaten to death, activists have said.
Police have confirmed the death and say they have arrested one suspect.
Uganda's Rolling Stone newspaper published the photographs of several people it said were gay, including Mr Kato, with the headline "Hang them".
US President Barack Obama was quoted as saying he was "deeply saddened" to learn of Mr Kato's death.
His Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has urged authorities to investigate and prosecute the killers.
'Iron bar killings'The BBC's Joshua Mmali, in Kampala, says it is unclear whether the death is linked to the Rolling Stone campaign but police have said there is no connection between Mr Kato's activism and his death.
“Start Quote
Giles MuhameRolling Stone editorWe want the government to hang people who promote homosexuality, not for the public to attack them”
The police say that though they have arrested one suspect, the main suspect - who they say lived with Mr Kato - remains on the run.
Homosexual acts are illegal in Uganda, with punishments of 14 years in prison. An MP recently tried to increase the penalties to include the death sentence in some cases.
There has been a recent spate of "iron-bar killings" in Mukono, where Mr Kato lived, in which people have been assaulted with pieces of metal.
Witnesses have told the BBC that a man entered Mr Kato's home near Kampala and beat him to death before leaving.
His Sexual Minorities Uganda (Smug) group said Mr Kato had been receiving death threats since his name, photograph and address were published by Rolling Stone last year.
Frank Mugisha, the group's executive director, told the BBC's Network Africa programme he was "devastated" on hearing the news from New York.
"He was killed by someone who came in his house with a hammer, meaning anyone else could be the next target."
Mr Mugisha said Mr Kato had recently been concerned about the threats he had received.
'Profoundly saddened'Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called for a swift investigation into his death.
"David Kato's death is a tragic loss to the human rights community," said HRW's Maria Burnett.
He had campaigned against the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which appears to have been quietly dropped after provoking a storm of international criticism when it was mooted in 2009.
In a statement, Hillary Clinton said she was "profoundly saddened" by Mr Kato's death.
"This crime is a reminder of the heroic generosity of the people who advocate for and defend human rights on behalf of the rest of us - and the sacrifices they make," she said.
"And as we reflect on his life, it is also an occasion to reaffirm that human rights apply to everyone, no exceptions, and that the human rights of [LGBT] individuals cannot be separated from the human rights of all persons."
'Extra caution'Following a complaint by Mr Kato and three others, a judge in November ordered Rolling Stone to stop publishing the photographs of people it said were homosexual, saying it contravened their right to privacy.
Several activists said they had been attacked after their photographs were published.
Mr Mugisha called on the Ugandan government to step up security for gay people.
"We're strongly asking every gay and lesbian and bisexual and transgender person in Uganda to watch out for their security … [they] should take extra caution."
Rolling Stone editor Giles Muhame told Reuters news agency he condemned the murder and that the paper had not wanted gays to be attacked.
"There has been a lot of crime, it may not be because he is gay," he said.
"We want the government to hang people who promote homosexuality, not for the public to attack them."
"Iron-bar killings" were common in Uganda when former leader Idi Amin was in power in the 1970s.
A rapid response police team has been sent to the area and several suspects have been arrested over the killings.