Gay hate exposed in Uganda poll countdown

Election amid claims of homophobia ... supporters of an opposition leader, Kizza Besigye, hold a rally in Kampala on the eve of the Ugandan presidential election. Photo: AFP

LONDON: The murdered gay rights activist David Kato had been mocked at a United Nations-backed debate on proposed Ugandan legislation on homosexuality, a US diplomat in Kampala said.
The diplomat said in a leaked embassy cable that in the debate Mr Kato, who was bludgeoned to death near his home in the capital last month, had delivered a well-written speech against a bill that would impose the death penalty for the offence of ''aggravated homosexuality'' and life imprisonment for consenting adults who have gay sex.
However, his words were almost inaudible due to ''his evident nervousness''. Throughout his talk, a member of the Ugandan Human Rights Commission ''openly joked and snickered'' with supporters of the bill, the diplomat said in the cable.

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The ''consultative meeting'' in December 2009 was organised with UN funding.
In the cable dated December 24, 2009, the diplomat said Ugandan politicians, including the author of the anti-homosexuality bill, David Bahati, had channelled anger at the country's socio-political failings into ''violent hatred'' of gays.Read More