Uganda: Donated computers secretly “recruiting” students into homosexuality

The speaker of Uganda’s Parliament has warned her country’s citizens that gay people are recruiting the youth through donated school computers and adoption.

The homophobic Rebecca Kadaga, who allowed the illegal passing of the now-annulled Anti-Homosexuality act in Parliament last year, made the astonishing crackpot claims at the golden jubilee celebrations of a Church in Pajwenda, in the Tororo District on Sunday

According to the Daily Monitor, Kadaga stated that computers and books donated to schools are installed with software and include literature that promote homosexuality.

She went on to further claim that foreigners who take Ugandan children abroad to support and raise them are actually recruiting them into “gay practices”.

Kadaga said: “Be very careful because gays are here to distort our heritage. We have discovered that they adopt our children and confine them in gay communities abroad to train them on gay practices. By the time they come back home, they are already influenced by homosexuality and are used to influence others in the community.”

While Kadaga’s comments are patently absurd, many believe them and her statements have real and dangerous consequences.

The belief that children are being “recruited” by gays and lesbians has been used by politicians and religious leaders in Uganda and elsewhere in Africa to justify anti-LGBT hate and legislation.

Anti-colonial and anti-West fervour is also often used in claims that foreign governments and NGOs play a part in trying to impose and promote homosexuality in Africa.

US-based activist and blogger Melanie Nathan commented that drumming up anti-LGBT hysteria by using the threat of a “super powerful humongous gay lobby intent on infiltrating everywhere” is a way for the Ugandan government to gloss over real issues such as poverty, corruption and oppression.

“It’s easier to trigger persecution with hate than to govern with real legislation. Its much more productive to drum up support for proposed new anti-gay legislation based on nonsensical allegations, than to legislate and govern for the people,” she said.

It’s shocking that the outrageously deceitful and hate-mongering Kadaga has been feted around the world. In September last year, despite her backing the oppression of gays and lesbians in her country, she was elected chairperson of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP). According to reports, she was nominated to the post by South Africa.