Minister Lokodo Warns Ahead of Saturday ‘Gay Pride Match’

The Minister for Ethics and Integrity, Rev. Fr. Simon Lokodo has said that the police will continue to thwart any activities intended to promote Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) movement in the Uganda.

Lokodo sounded the warning in a statement released on Wednesday September 21^st, in response to the news about the ‘Gay Pride Match’ scheduled to take place on Saturday September 24^th.

“The Gay Pride Match is criminal and illegal as they have not been cleared by the Uganda Police Force, and are against the laws of the Republic of Uganda; specifically the Penal Code, which is built on precedents, set in many other countries,” Lokodo’s statement reads in part.

“Government will not condone the promotion of the illegal activities of the LGBT movement and through the Uganda police will work to ensure that the criminal and illegal activities of the Gay community are halted.”

Police, in August raided a gay party at Club Venom in Kabalagala, during their annual celebration of the Gay Pride Week where about a dozen people, majorly the event organizers were briefly detained.

The raid attracted international criticism, with the United States government through its Kampala Embassy warning that this was an addition to Uganda police’s continuous undermining of the rights of Ugandans.

Lokodo, in his statement noted that the festivities are aimed at, promotion, exhibition and recruiting people to join this LGBT movement, which he said is against the law and demeans African cultural values.

“In our society, our African values and cultures consider sexual activity to be private and personal, and it is not conducted in public. Certainly, neither is homosexuality. It is for this reason that the promotion of ‘gay’ activities is unwelcome.”

He warned the organisers to stop their activities immediately saying that they will be arrested and prosecuted in the courts of law.

The minister however noted that “there is no violence against the LGBT community in Uganda – contrary to some claims made loosely by proponents of this movement.”