Ugandan Bishop Christopher Senyonjo

In the east African nation of Uganda, the issue of gay rights is the focus of a very serious battle with potentially dire consequences for lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and trans-gender people.  A law called the Bahati Bill, named for the legislator who authored it, would prohibit what it calls “the promotion" of gay rights and punish anyone who "abets homosexuality".

An earlier version of the bill threatened the death sentence for homosexuals, leading U.S. president Barack Obama to call it “odious”. 

The bill’s author says that provision has been removed from the current version.  But what remains is a testament to Uganda’s intolerance of homosexuality, and hostility towards those who advocate for equal rights.

One of Uganda’s leading equal rights advocates is Episcopal Bishop Christopher Senyonjo.  He has been punished by the church for his support of GLBT people in Uganda.   He and the Reverend Canon Albert Ogle visited KFAI recently and talked with producer Dixie Triechel (TRIKE-ell), who asked Bishop Senyonjo to describe the situation in Uganda.

Bishop Chrisopher Senyonjo of Uganda.  He and Reverend Canon Albert Ogle talked with KFAI’s Dixie Triechel.  Sonyonjo and Ogle will be in Minnesota this Sunday for a special preview of the documentary film “Call Me Kuchu” about the life and death of Ugandan gay activist David Kato. 

It’s on at the Parkway Theater  in Minneapolis this Sunday, July 15th. 

There’s a benefit dinner at 6pm  and the film begins at 8.