Is it just me, or there’s a tenderness of heart that seems to be infused in your heart, right about the 50-year cross-over mark? Joining the 5th floor was quite a big deal for me. I can comfortably say, I am not an all-out party person. But at my 50th birthday, I went all in. I had a full blast, and I should add that it was all arranged by close friends. My credit here is that I said yes to all this craziness. In the past, I would figure out a way to chicken out or at least come up with an excuse to make it short and small. This time around, the party went on all night, and it was a noisy one.
I am supposed to share how tenderness fits into all this. Just a little more background to give tenderness the right context. On May 26, 2023, President Yoweri Museveni assented to the Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2023, into law. Social media and mainstream media have been awash with stories of all kinds of reactions and opinions. On a personal note, from the time the homosexuality debate moved to the public forum as far back as 2014, I’ve only treated it with some sort of indifference. In my mind, it was one of those areas and debates that I had little say about. I started paying attention to it when stories kept coming out about how prevalent homosexuality was in our society, more specifically in schools.
These weren’t biased stories from media houses that are intentionally promoting hate speech, as some have claimed. I started hearing stories from parents that I personally knew who were dealing with children who had been introduced to homosexuality. What really shocked me was how organized and intentional the recruiters had invaded secondary schools. From organizing holiday trips abroad where the students were indoctrinated, to dangling school fees scholarships to struggling parents. All this seemed organized and well-funded.
I have always felt empathetic toward people who think they are gay and the stigma it involves. compassionate, to be exact, towards those who identify as transgender and gay people. From what I understand, what they feel and the attractions they experience are real and undeniable. My challenge is a twisted narrative that I have seen play out in the public debate. The idea that the LGBTQ+ community in Uganda faces mortal discrimination!
All this threat is allegedly from religious fundamentals and a big segment of the brainwashed section of the Ugandan society. I have read story after story of how this sexual minority group in Uganda is discriminated against in health access and other crucial services. Anyone living in Uganda can so easily tell how far from the truth this is.
The challenge is that these stories are well believed by elements of western society who pour in funds to support individuals and organizations that purportedly fight for the rights of these minority groups. A friend who recently migrated to Canada over the same claims confided to me that, “it’s all part of the game.” Apparently, claiming that you are gay and discriminated against is the easiest path to immigrating to most western countries. Unfortunately, you have to keep playing the part that contributes to your permanent residence status. Better yet, it’s the quickest path to securing full citizenship a few years down the road.
In a recent article titled ‘I’m heartbroken at my exile from Uganda, Don’t let them erase our queer community,’ by Delovie Kwagala, a Ugandan non-binary queer and social activist currently living and studying in Johannesburg, South Africa, and other so-called activists end up desensitizing my empathy. The script they are all using has gotten more and more obvious, even to the average Ugandan.
The interesting thing is, whether it’s through Go Fund Me campaigns or project funding, the money keeps pouring in. It makes you start to wonder: is it the question of duped funders or a well-crafted deception? Like my friend says, “it’s all part of the game.” Maybe there’s a boogeyman playing a much bigger part. An ordinary Ugandan like me can only share an opinion and teach my children values and principles I know to be right.
