Ugandan reverend faces jail term for offering prayers and counselling to gays

Ugandan reverend faces jail term for offering prayers and counselling to gays

Posted by Sylvester on Tuesday, April 1, 2014 0

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UGANDAN pastor Reverend Christopher Senyonjo is facing the prospect of going to prison after he took it upon himself to offer prayer and counselling sessions to homosexuals in defiance of the country's new anti-gay laws.

On February 24, President Yoweri Museveni signed Uganda's new Draconian anti-gay legislation into law, which makes being gay punishable with 14 years imprisonment. Widely condemned as a harsh and a fundamental breach of human rights, the new law has led to several Western nations suspending aid to Uganda and the World Bank has postponed the disbursement of a $90m (£54m) loan.

However, Reverend Seyonjo has decided to defy the growing popularity of homophobia in Uganda by hosting prayer sessions and offering counselling services to lesbians and gays. He has already been cut off from Uganda's Anglican Church for calling on religious leaders to embrace lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT) people instead of encouraging hate and violence.

However, gay rights campaigners have started an international campaign to drum up support for Reverend Senyonjo, particularly as he could face prosecution. They have drafted a petition, which they are collecting signatures for and plan to send to President Museveni, outlining their backing for the clergyman who they say is embracing love and community over hatred and violence.

Earlier this month, the Netherlands froze a €7m subsidy to Uganda’s legal system, while Denmark and Norway said they would redirect around  €6m each towards private sector initiatives, aid agencies and human rights organisations. Britain and the US have both threatened economic sanctions against Uganda over the new law.

World Bank president Jim Yong Kim has warned Uganda that legislation restricting sexual rights can hurt a country’s competitiveness by discouraging multinational companies from investing or locating their activities in the country. He added that the World Bank would discuss how such discrimination would affect its projects and gay and lesbian staff members, pointing out that fighting to eliminate all institutionalized discrimination is an urgent task.