Uganda is already one of the most dangerous places in the world to be gay, but just a day after a new law severely criminalizing homosexuality was signed into law — this:
"A tabloid published an article of the country's '200 top' homosexuals." (Via KESQ)
"The list outs people who had not previously declared themselves as gay." (Via CBC)
You can't find the story on the tabloid's online edition, but the Red Pepper published the list under the headline "Exposed," and the BBC reports there are new fears of a witch hunt against gay people in the country
Not an unfounded fear, considering the high-profile murder of gay activist David Kato in 2011 after another magazine published his name and image along with a call for his execution. And it's impossible to tell this latest story without visiting the backdrop of a bill the country's president — Yoweri Museveni — just signed into law.
The legislation — which critics have dubbed the "Kill the gays bill" — allows for lifetime imprisonment of gays and lesbians, and makes promoting homosexuality illegal. Supporters call it: (Via K24TV)
"A law of love. A law of order. ... The law says the habit itself is unnatural." (Via NTV)
Western officials have spoken out against the law — including President Obama, who called it "a step backward" and warned it could "complicate" the U.S.-Uganda relationship. Not likely to sway Uganda's president, who said this in an interview with CNN:
VERJEE: "Do you personally dislike homosexuals?"
MUSEVENI: "Of course. They're disgusting! What sorts of people are they?"
President Museveni cited a study — which he had commissioned in Uganda — which concluded homosexuality was a choice.
