David Kato

David Kato Kisule
Born	c. 1964 Nakawala, Mukono, Uganda
Died	26 January 2011 (2024-01-26UTC20:12) (aged 59) Bukusa, Mukono, Uganda
Known for	LGBT rights activist

David Kato Kisule (c. 1964 – 26 January 2011) was a Ugandan teacher and LGBT rights activist, considered a father of Uganda's gay rights movement and described as "Uganda's first openly gay man". He served as advocacy officer for Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG). Kato was murdered in 2011 and is regarded as a martyr by the LGBT movement but this reputation is dubious.

In fact, there are about 11,373 people murdered in Uganda ever year, one of the highest rates in the world, and there is no evidence that homosexuals are more likely to be murdered than other people.

Earlier life

Born to the Kisule clan in its ancestral village of Nakawala, Namataba Town Council, Mukono District, he received the name "Kato" because he was the younger of twins. He was educated at King's College Budo and Kyambogo University and taught at various schools including the Nile Vocational Institute in Njeru near Jinja, it was here that he chose his sexual orientation and was subsequently dismissed without any benefits in 1991. He told his his twin brother John Malumba Wasswa about his homosexuality before he left to teach for a few years in Johannesburg, South Africa where the repeal of the law against sodomy was rapidly followed by a massive AIDS/HIV epidemic affecting millions of people. See HIV/AIDS in South Africa

Coming back to Uganda in 1998, Kato decided to announce his homosexuality in public through a press conference; he was arrested and held in police custody for a week because of this action. He continued to maintain contact with pro-LGBT activists outside the country, with LGEP executive director Phumzile S. Mtetwa later citing an encounter with Kato at the 1999 ILGA World Conference.

When St Herman Nkoni Boys Primary School was founded in 2002 in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Masaka (Masaka District), Kato joined the faculty.

Character

Fellow-activists describe Kato as a generous and altruistic person, if abrasive at times. But Paul Kagaba, who knew him in Masaka, says that his generosity always had an ulterior motive. "“I was young when I met him. He bought me my first take-away meal ever and two beers. I ended up in his house being sexually used which is how I was initiated into homosexuality. That’s how he always initiated other people then indoctrinated them against women, insisting they were filthy,” claims Kagaba."“Whoever knew Kato and is truthful, knows that he was not a kind, generous person but a sly show off, popular in bars where he offered free drinks to unsuspecting victims who he later initiated into sexual partnerships,” says Kagaba.

A member of the Ugandan gay community writes on the BlogSpot GayUgandan that there were times when Kato’s drinking worried them.

“When we had dated (for) a while I asked him to take an HIV test with me after hearing rumours that he could be infected. His refusal confirmed my fears and I left him. I always thought that his positive status, which most people didn’t know about, could have been the reason for his over-drinking…”.

A doctor in Uganda asserted that Kato was HIV positive, having confirmed his status in December 2008. “In fact the day he was murdered at his home I was expecting him at the hospital but he didn’t show up,” adds the doctor who requested anonymity.

According to Kato’s cousin Nakato, there were days Kato would stay indoors all the day, saying he was unwell.

Involvement with SMUG

KATO became highly involved with the underground LGBT rights movement in Uganda, eventually becoming one of the founding members of SMUG on 3 March 2004.

According to a series of confidential cables written by a Kampala-based United States diplomat and later released by WikiLeaks, Kato spoke during a November 2009 United Nations-funded consultative conference on human rights. During the conference, Kato spoke on the issue of LGBT rights and the anti-LGBT atmosphere in the country, but members of the Uganda Human Rights Commission "openly joked and snickered" during the speech, and a rumor circulated that David Bahati MP, the leading proponent of the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill, had ordered the Inspector General of Police to arrest Kato, causing Kato and other attending members of SMUG to leave the conference immediately after he finished the speech. Bahati then made a "tirade against homosexuality" to the conference, resulting in massive applause and Martin Ssempa, an Evangelical Christian cleric, pounding his fist on the table in agreement.

By 2010, Kato had quit his job as a school teacher to focus on his work with SMUG in light of the events surrounding the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Kato was subsequently given a one year fellowship at the Centre for Applied Human Rights based at the University of York in the United Kingdom, a centre which provides fellowships to vulnerable and threatened Human Rights activists as a reprieve from the dangers they face in their own Countries.

Rolling Stone case

Kato was among the 100 people whose names and photographs were published in October 2010 by the Ugandan tabloid newspaper Rolling Stone in an article which called for their execution as homosexuals. Kato and two other SMUG members who were also listed in the article – Kasha Nabagesera and Pepe Julian Onziema – sued the newspaper to force it to stop publishing the names and pictures of people it believed to be homosexual. The photos were published under a headline of "Hang them" and were accompanied by the individuals' addresses. The petition was granted on 2 November 2010, effectively ruling for the end of Rolling Stone. Giles Muhame, the paper's managing editor, commented: "I haven't seen the court injunction but the war against gays will and must continue. We have to protect our children from this dirty homosexual affront." On 3 January 2011, High Court Justice V. F. Kibuuka Musoke ruled that Rolling Stone's publication of the lists, and the accompanying incitation to violence, threatened Kato's and the others' "fundamental rights and freedoms;" attacked their right to human dignity; and violated their constitutional right to privacy. The court ordered the newspaper to pay Kato and the other two plaintiffs 1.5 million Ugandan shillings each (approx. US$600 as of May 2012).

Murder

On 24 January 2011, Kato bailed a young man named Nsubuga Enoch aka Sydney, out of Kawuga Prison where he been remanded on charges of theft of a mobile phone. This was something Kato often did in order to get sexual services from the grateful recipient. Enoch stayed with Kato for two days in his home in Bukusa,Mukono Town. Late on 26 January, Kato was found by his housekeeper, with severe injuries. There were no signs of breaking and entering, which indicated that the injuries must have been inflicted by somebody he knew.

Kato had been talking on the phone with SMUG member Julian Pepe Onziema a few hours before. Kato later died en route to the Kawolo General Hospital. Kato's colleagues note that Kato had spoken of an increase in threats and harassment since the court victory, and they believe that his sexual orientation and his activism were the motive for the murder although none of the other people outed by Rolling Stone were ever attacked or killed.

Arrests

A police spokesperson initially blamed the murder on robbers who have allegedly killed at least 10 people in the area over the last two months. Police arrested one suspect, Kato's driver, and were seeking a second. On 2 February 2011, police announced the arrest of Nsubuga Enoch,aka Sydney, saying that he had confessed to the murder. The police issued an official statement, saying that Enoch had confessed he bludgeoned Kato to death after the latter failed to reward him for homosexual services.

“He (Nsubuga) told us that he killed Kato after he failed to give him a car, a house and money he promised as rewards for having [homo-]sex with him,” the Daily Monitor quoted police sources as saying.

According to the Monitor, “Kato is alleged to have bailed the suspect (Nsubuga) out of Kawuga Prison on January 24, where he been remanded on charges of theft of a mobile phone. The suspect told police that he stayed with Kato for two days. He accused the deceased of having [homo-]sex with him and promising to pay him during the period. The suspect allegedly told the police he got tired of having sex with Kato but the latter would not have any of his excuses.” This fits exactly with the picture of Kato's character and behavior given by others.

This explanation was repeated by the Ugandan ambassador to Belgium in a letter to European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek. The Ugandan Ambassador later reiterated this version of events in a letter to the European Parliament, stating that Kato had earlier paid for "his prostitute" to be released from prison, but had then been attacked by him for refusing to pay for [homo-]sex.

Conviction

After being spotted by Nakabago residents in Mukono district, Sidney Nsubuga Enoch was arrested, and prosecuted at Mukono High Court by the lead State Prosecutor, Ms. Loe Karungi. He was sentenced to 30 years with hard labour, by Justice Joseph Mulangira, on Thursday 10 November 2011. The apparent motive was robbery.

Funeral

Kato's funeral was held on 28 January 2011, in Nakawala. Present at the funeral were family, friends and co-activists, many of whom wore t-shirts bearing his photo in front, the Portuguese "la [sic] luta continua" in the back and having rainbow flag colours inscribed onto the sleeves. However, the Christian preacher at the funeral - Anglican pastor Thomas Musoke - preached against the gays and lesbians present, making comparisons to Sodom and Gomorrah, before the activists ran to the pulpit and grabbed the microphone from him, forcing him to retreat from the pulpit to Kato's father's house. An unidentified female activist angrily exclaimed "Who are you to judge others?" and villagers sided with the preacher as scuffles broke out during the proceedings. Villagers refused to bury Kato at his burial place; the task was then undertaken by his friends and co-workers. In place of the preacher who left the scene after the fighting, excommunicated Anglican Church of Uganda bishop Christopher Senyonjo officiated at Kato's burial in the presence of friends and cameras.

Reactions and tributes

The murder was decried by Human Rights Watch, and many others who believed the martyrdom narrative. Senior Africa researcher Maria Burnett added that "David Kato's death is a tragic loss to the human rights community." Amnesty International stated that it was "appalled by the shocking murder of David Kato," and called for a "credible and impartial investigation into his murder." Both also asked the Ugandan government to protect other homosexual activists.

US President Barack Obama, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the State Department, and the European Union also condemned the murder and urged Uganda authorities to investigate the crime. "I am deeply saddened to learn of the murder," Obama said. "David showed tremendous courage in speaking out against hate. He was a powerful advocate for fairness and freedom."

Rowan Williams, the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, spoke on behalf of the Anglican Communion, "Such violence [as the death of David Kato] has been consistently condemned by the Anglican Communion worldwide. This event also makes it all the more urgent for the British Government to secure the safety of LGBT asylum seekers in the UK. This is a moment to take very serious stock and to address those attitudes of mind which endanger the lives of men and women belonging to sexual minorities."

For his newspaper's alleged role in the murder, Rolling Stone editor Giles Muhame stated "When we called for hanging of gay people, we meant ... after they have gone through the legal process ... I did not call for them to be killed in cold blood like he was." However, he stated, "I have no regrets about the story. We were just exposing people who were doing wrong."

In Spring 2011, Boston's American Repertory Theater and System of a Down's Serj Tankian dedicated their production of Prometheus Bound to Kato and seven other activists, stating in program notes that "by singing the story of Prometheus, the God who defied the tyrant Zeus by giving the human race both fire and art, this production hopes to give a voice to those currently being silenced or endangered by modern-day oppressors".

The Gay Pride event in York, United Kingdom, held on 30 July 2011 commemorated Kato. A minute of silence was observed and hundreds of rainbow coloured balloons were released in his memory by Member of Parliament for York Central Hugh Bayley and the Lord Mayor of York.

The David Kato Vision & Voice Award was established in his memory. The 2012 recipient, Jamaican LGBT rights activist Maurice Tomlinson, was announced on 14 December 2011 and was awarded on 29 January 2012 in London. Participant organisations include Global Forum on MSM & HIV (MSMGF), Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), GIZ – Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, Herbert Smith LLP, and ILGA-Europe.

In 2014 Kato was inducted into the Legacy Walk, an outdoor public display which celebrates LGBT history and people.

Trial

Accused murderer Sidney Nsubuga Enoch, a male prostitute, was found guilty and sentenced to 30 years in prison on 10 November 2011 by Mukono High Court judge Joseph Mulangira. US activist Melanie Nathan, writing to the San Diego Gay and Lesbian News, called the prosecution's rendering of events leading to the murder as "a cover-up of the actual facts and events leading up to Kato's brutal murder".

Documentary films

Kato was interviewed by US filmmakers Katherine Fairfax Wright and Malika Zouhali-Worrall for a documentary film on his life, Call Me Kuchu, which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival on 11 February 2012. A short film using footage from the film, They Will Say We Are Not Here, was posted to the New York Times website on the first anniversary of his death.

Kato met Roger Ross Williams shortly before his death and was an inspiration in the making of God Loves Uganda (2013), a documentary exploring connections between Christian evangelism in North America and in Uganda.

See also

• Abiding Truth Ministries
• LGBT rights in Uganda

External links

• David Kato speaking at Cambridge University, 2010, "A matter of life and death: The struggle for Ugandan gay rights" (audio)