Dr Rowan Williams condemns murder of gay rights activist in Uganda as
lesbian awaits deportation there from the UK
Riazat Butt, religious affairs correspondent
Saturday January 29 2011
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jan/28/archbishop-gay-asylum-seekers
The archbishop of Canterbury has urged the government to offer
protection to gay and lesbian people seeking asylum in the UK after
the "profoundly shocking" killing of a Ugandan gay rights activist
this week.
Dr Rowan Williams, who is in Dublin meeting Anglican leaders, joined
the US secretary of state, Hilary Clinton, in calling for greater
protection of sexual minorities and said there was a need to secure
the safety of those seeking asylum.
David Kato was murdered at his home in Mukono, Kampala, weeks after
winning a court victory over a tabloid that called for homosexual
people to be hanged.
His murder came as a lesbian due to be deported from Britain to Uganda
said she feared she would be killed if forced to return. Brenda
Namigadde ? 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.
Williams said: "Whatever the precise circumstances of his death, which
have yet to be determined, we know that David Kato Kisule lived under
the threat of violence and death.
"No one should have to live in such fear because of the bigotry of
others. This event also makes it all the more urgent for the British
government to secure the safety of LGBT asylum seekers in the UK. This
is a moment to take very serious stock and to address those attitudes
of mind which endanger the lives of men and women belonging to sexual
minorities."
Ugandan society is hostile towards gay people but rhetoric from
religious leaders and politicians has made it worse. The Anglican
archbishop of Uganda, the Most Rev Henry Orombi, has repeatedly said
that homosexuality is incompatible with the word of God, while a bill
calling for gay people to be imprisoned for life remains before
parliament. Kato was one of those leading the fight against the
proposed legislation, which drew international condemnation when
published in 2009.
Orombi, who opposed the anti-homosexuality bill but has been outspoken
in his opposition to homosexuality, gay clergy and same-sex blessings,
has yet to comment publicly on Kato's murder.
guardian.co.uk Copyright (c) Guardian News and Media Limited. 2011
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