NAIROBI, 27 January 2011 (PlusNews) - Gay Ugandans say they are living in fear after the murder of David Kato, a prominent gay activist who opposed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill submitted to parliament in 2009.
Police say no suspects have been arrested and the motive for Kato's murder remains unclear; he was hit on the head with a stone at his home in the central Ugandan district of Mukono on the afternoon of 26 January.
The possibility that Kato may have been killed because of his sexuality has made gay people feel very insecure.
"Gay people are all very afraid, especially those who are known to the public; we need the police to urgently investigate this crime and find David's killers," said Pepe Julian Onziema, spokesman for the rights group, Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), who paid tribute to Kato for his dedication to the defence of the rights of sexual minorities in the country.
Kato, an advocacy officer for SMUG, recently won a court case against a local tabloid, The Rolling Stone, which in October 2010 published his photograph and name in an article claiming to identify Ugandan homosexuals. In November, a court ordered The Rolling Stone to cease publishing. Earlier this month, a judge ruled that it had violated their constitutional rights to privacy and ordered compensation.
"He had told me that he was not feeling safe; he was being harassed in bars and when we went to court people would be waiting for him outside, taunting him," Onziema said. MORE
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