“Proud Ugandan Gay Man”

“I don’t intend to offend anyone with due respect of all the comments shared, I will say this as a proud Ugandan Gay Man. I am a Mugisu and took the rituals of Imbalu initiation (circumcision) into manhood. We are all people of intelligence, learned and educated. I have read all that has been shared. I was raised in a Christian family, Catholic and Protestant. I am a father of a 16 year old daughter and a care taker of 8 orphans from my 2 late brothers and I am also God fearing. I am a Teacher and Travel Consultant by profession and today a successful businessman in Kampala.

I struggled with accepting myself until the age of 20 when I totally gave up and listened to my heart. I prayed and asked God to change me. There is no price one can pay to stand being called names, being seen as an outcast, discriminated and isolated from society and it’s the reason we come out and ask to be respected and accepted as any other Human being in society. One thing is we have to accept that sex is in the brain and how or where you put it or how you do it will lead you to results of your pleasure.

We talk of culture and religion; we talk of protecting the family. Yes, many questions have been asked adultery, fornication etc. Some religious fanatics have lost it so much that they are now misguiding their flock. Even the Bible says ‘I have given you wisdom and Knowledge.’ Why spend a lot of time building hate and promoting hatred among Ugandans? Do we want genocide in Uganda? Is this the Uganda you want where murders will be supported and ordered by the state? For goodness ‘sake, 50 years since independence we still cling on to laws that were introduced by the colonialists. While they have moved on to amend and develop we are still struggling to bring laws that will kill or call for life imprisonment, laws of how people should engage sexually, dress, what to read and not ? What has this got to do with lack of drugs in hospitals, corruption? Poor service delivery and Poor infrastructure!

The same donors you are condemning have supported our budget for many years. Many roads, schools and hospitals have been funded by the western community. A lot of donor funds have been embezzled. All that the western countries are calling for is respect of human rights. Today the state wants to control how people should dress. But again let’s not act out of ignorance. Some of us hustle to travel to these so called ill-mannered countries and when we get there, we do not want to return home. Or perhaps should we go back to wearing bark clothes all in the name of culture? Why can’t we focus on development? Homosexuals have contributed to the development of this country and are hardworking. The members of parliament and government can afford to send their children abroad to live there. When you point a finger at someone, be mindful of who the other fingers are pointing at. For once let’s stop speaking falsely against homosexuals.

Lastly my sexual orientation hasn’t in anyway affected the way I am raising my children. As homosexuals our sexual preferences may differ but our thinking is the same. How we love and live is no different from what the majority call normal or acceptable. We are all Ugandans and pay taxes, we are employers and employees. My advice is to put more emphasis on one’s credibility and capacity to deliver instead of what they do in their bedrooms or who they are. What would you do supposing your son/daughter came out to you as gay? These are your children and it’s difficult to understand why you are condemning them mercilessly.”

This story was original published on Kuchu Times – Bombastic Magazine

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