The Observer, a newspaper in Uganda, has written a compendium of suggestions and comments by people there on how to spot a gay Ugandan.  No doubt brought about by the heightened negative attitudes towards gays there brought on by a recent conference, the comments reflect a wide range of bad information and obvious prejudice.  However, one common theme seems to be the idea that gays wear make-up and act like women.  That, and nearly every one calls for stricter laws to deal with the “problem” of homosexuality (meaning that it exists, that gay people live in Uganda).


John Mayanja, 26, Businessman

If I see a man acting like a woman and a woman taking up an appearance of a man, I would imagine they are gay. If a man applies make-up and is so serious about the way they look, then they must be up to something unusual. In most cases you will find that such a man hates women and is never interested in talking about them. Even gay women rarely have time for men. Children should be educated against this act from home and society should emphasize our culture because it does not allow homosexuality.

Amer Jingo, 21, Sales and Marketing
The best way to identify a homosexual is if they do not have interest in women whatsoever. Instead of seeing him date a woman, he is mostly with men for all the time you know him. Gays are so fussy about fashion and always want to be on top as far as good looks are concerned. In the case of lesbians, you will find women who are overly jealous about fellow women and they even restrain them from interacting with fellow women. This subject of homosexuality and lesbianism is taking root and can only be controlled if a strong law is passed by government.

Sarah Nakiwolo, 22, Student
What I know is that men who are gay tend to like all the fancy things that are normally appreciated by women. For example they will want to always treat their hair, apply make-up and act like women by pulling at their blouses (shirts) and jeans, which are normally tight. They also tend to gesture around like women by folding their hands, you know. Then for women, they will behave like men. They wear men’s clothes a lot and would rather cut their hair to appear like men and do not fuss about make up. God made sex for man and woman, period. It will be hard to stop gay acts unless government comes out with a strict law.

Grace Sebuliba, 20, Musician
A gay’s behaviour will always change from his usual self in order to make a different impression of themselves to others. You will find a homosexual applying powder on their face like a woman; they walk like women and enjoy wearing lots of make-up. A homosexual will be so jealous about his fellow man and so will a lesbian be about another woman. So do not wonder why. In order to stop the spread of gay acts, a strict law from Parliament must be passed, counselling of gay activists should be encouraged and single-sex schools stopped.

Stephen Langa, head of Family Life Network (FLN), a ministry in Kampala, Uganda, has recently been telling the people there that “the gays are coming after your children.” In hideous fashion, he is inciting both hatred and fear, combined with a sense of urgency — a recipe for violence, even more so in that troubled area. Going beyond his own conferences, we have been told that he frequently appears on FM radio stations to further amplify these beliefs. We may be seeing the results of some of his work in the comments above.

See the complete article with more such comments at The Observer.

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