Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern…
The Rev. Jide Macauley
Uganda’s homophobic ethics minister, Simon Lokodo, has threatened Nigerian gay-rights clergyman the Rev. Jide Macauley as part of a falsehood-filled interview with the gay-bashing Ugandan tabloid Red Pepper.
Macauley quickly responded, calling Lokodo a menace who “should be called to order” and “an embarrassment to the body of Christ.”
Lokodo, who is a former Catholic priest, said in the Red Pepper interview, “One of the pastors leading this movement is a Nigerian. We are following him and very soon he will be arrested with all his accomplices.”
Macauley, who returned to his home in London after visiting Uganda as grand marshal for Uganda Pride 2016, stated:
“Though I have not been mentioned by name, it is obvious that Reverend Lokodo has issued a threat against me. I must say that I am not going to be intimidated by his incoherent rhetoric and ungodly insults against the LGBTIQ people of Uganda. I expect better from anyone who claim to be a man of God and a messenger of Christ. Myself and other LGBTIQ people of faith will pray for him and the dangerous act planned against humanity.
“I love and respect the people of Uganda. I still cannot believe the level of religious violence and oppression going on.
Simon Lokodo, Uganda ethics minister (Photo courtesy of Gayvasion.com)
“For him to be so furious and mad, does that not remind you of Herod’s rage against baby Jesus and innocent children that he ordered their killing without justification?”
Edwin Sesange, director of Out and Proud Diamond Group, the London-based African LGBTI advocacy organization, commented:
“This is a deliberate, misleading, dishonest and calculated attempt by the minister to divert the world from degrading and inhumane sexual abuses that were inflicted to the Ugandan LGBTI community by the Ugandan police following his orders to close the Uganda pride 2016 events by any means possible.
“Minister Lokodo is on record for publicly threatening violence towards innocent LGBTI Ugandans on many occasions. The minister’s actions have caused harm to many LGBTI Ugandans. We call upon Minister Rev Father Lokodo to restrain himself from inflicting inhumane treatment to innocent LGBTI Ugandans. “
Simon Lokodo (Photo courtesy of Red Pepper)
The full interview in Red Pepper is below, with several of its falsehoods marked. In the comment section, readers may want to point out some of its other inaccuracies:
Homos Want To Rape Me – Fr. Lokodo [FALSE]
In the past, Uganda’s Red Pepper tabloid invented a “cabinet” of homosexuals for an article that endangered LGBT people by publishing their names and photos.
By Charles Gazza
Raging homosexuals have threatened to rape their chief tormentor, [FALSE] Father Simon Lokodo, the Minister of Ethics and Integrity.
The amiable [FALSE] man of God, who quit priesthood after being appointed minister in 2011, told Red Pepper in an exclusive interview that ever since he waged a war on homosexuality, shameless homos have decided to fight back by insulting him with gay sex advances. Lokodo’s most recent brush with the bum-drillers happened last week when — together with police — he stormed and foiled a gay pride parade that was being planned at Kabalagala in Kampala city. However, after the successful raid, the prelate-turned politician has vowed not to be derailed by the homos’ folly as he seeks to rescue this country from moral decay. Sunday Pepper’s Charles Gazza Kodili caught up with the tough minister to get his views on homosexuality, prostitution and pornography in the excerpts below:
RP: You seem to be among President Yoweri Museveni’s busiest ministers lately. Just recently you announced the arrival of the porn-detecting machine and last week you raided a gay pride parade. [FALSE] How have you managed to keep this busy?
Lokodo: I start by thanking your paper for giving me this platform. Well, last week on Friday upon getting intelligence that these shameless idiots were planning a march in Kampala, I reached out to police for personnel and immediately we raided them. We found them in the middle of the meeting planning to sin. [FALSE] We immediately stopped them and dispersed the meeting.
RP: Did you make any arrests that you can show for your efforts?
Lokodo: We have the culprits but we shall leave them to the laws of Uganda to take course on them
RP: Were there any known repeat offenders or ringleaders among the group you arrested?
Lokodo: I cannot drop any names here but just know these people are led by a top pastor and his assistant. One of the pastors leading this movement is a Nigerian. We are following him and very soon he will be arrested with all his accomplices. [FALSE]
RP: Recently the legal framework against homos was put in place but then frustrated by gay funders and sympathizers. Don’t you feel deep inside that the battle on homosexuality is a futility?
Lokodo: My brother we seem to wake up when the fire has almost burnt down the entire house. These homos are everywhere; in schools, churches, families, government institutions, villages… ooh they are everywhere. Now my commitment is to fight them; even if I remain alone, I will not give up this fight.
RP: The law pronounces itself very clearly, that is 7 years in jail for convicted homosexuals. [MOSTLY FALSE. The seven-year sentence is provided for men or women sentenced of involvement in “carnal knowledge … against the order of nature,” not for “convicted homosexuals.” ] Why does the vice seem to spread like a wildfire despite the tough law?
Lokodo: My sources have revealed to me that the western world has pumped a lot of money in the homosexuality spread campaign. They want to finish off our beautiful culture. [FALSE] Recruits are welcomed with huge chunks of money. [FALSE] The boys and girls who have been planted here to recruit our children earn Shs500000 per person. [FALSE] They are paid handsomely. [FALSE] The schools that are welcoming these homosexual recruiters receive millions of cash. [FALSE] In eastern Uganda we have Iganga SS and Jinja SS as the harbingers of sodomy. There is another school in Eastern Uganda owned by my colleague. I have a compliant before my desk that the headmaster there is recruiting all his students. A complaint is before me here indicating that this head teacher masturbates boys’ sperms and keeps them in test tubes. We are going to arrest him and the school will be closed immediately.
RP: How come the government is not moving to rein in on these so-called funders? The feeling I get from your assertions is that they are well known.
Lokodo: I have told you these chaps are well-connected. But thank God I now have the full support of the president. We will arrest anyone found practicing or propagating this vice. The schools I have talked about have stoked up their libraries with these pornographic and homosexual materials. We know of an organisation which has penetrated schools with text books about sex orientation under the guise of reproductive health. They are telling our children that your choice of sex partner doesn’t depend on your cultural behaviour. If this is not madness then what is it? Yesterday I raided Greenhill Academy and what we discovered there is shocking. Our children are consuming homosexual materials and we will not accept this. It must stop!
RP: You tend to paint a picture that these homos are very powerful. Do you then have the stamina to fight them?
Lokodo: Every morning I say a prayer asking God to be my shield. The homos have been sending me messages threatening my life. Most of them even say they want to rape me but I don’t fear anything. This is a job and I will execute it to the maximum. You see, I am a typical Ugandan born in Karamoja; we strongly value our culture. My role and mandate here is to empower Ugandans to uphold moral values and principles. And I don’t think the rape threats will deter me. In fact these days I walk freely on streets of Kampala even after the president directed police to beef up my security.
RP: The donors say you are harsh on values of humanity. Are you not scared that your continued confrontations with these homos may land you in an international court some day for human rights violation?
Lokodo: we have no problem with donors but our message to them is that they shouldn’t dissuade us from our morals. Africans are proud of their culture. If the donations they are giving us are being pegged on homosexuality promotion then we say a big NO! They can keep their monies. Africans lived before the white man came here, God will provide.
RP: These homosexuals say they have rights to live with others, they say it’s their rights to chose want they want. Are you not being too harsh on fundamental human rights?
Lokodo: These are not hate raids. [FALSE] We have laws that govern this society. And they are very clear. Uganda is not a home for homosexuals. [FALSE] The law says no marriage between people of the same sex. [FALSE] It is punishable by 7 years in jail. So my work is to persevere and defend the supreme law. The biggest problem we face today is that these so-called donors are determined to impose their culture on us. [FALSE] They have recruited our children. [FALSE]
RP: Are you making inroads with the fight?
Lokodo: Just yesterday a son of one of the richest Ugandans came here and confessed. The boy is wearing three Pampers. His anus was shattered beyond repair. He cannot sit with ease. He is suffering and wallowing in pain. When the boy undressed before me pus was oozing from his rear. Very many have come here denouncing the act. But of course I don’t offer blanket pardon. They must face the law because homosexuality is illegal here. Most of the converts I have seen are drug addicts and fully possessed.
RP: The battle lines are drawn and you seem to be on the losing end. What is your war plan?
Lokodo: We are going to attack and attack. I have fresh tactics. One of them is a censor gadget or machine. [RIDICULOUSLY FALSE] We are going to procure this machine and it will detect homos and porn actors especially those misusing applications like WhatsApp with sex acts. The South Koreans are programming it. And very soon we will ship it into the country and all the evil will be busted.
RP: Be very clear; is this machining resolution viable given the fact that this government is broke?
Lokodo: The Koreans want only Shs2.6bn and government is willing to spend it because it is worth it. But if I don’t get this gadget in time I will quit. I will have lost the mandate to serve.
Caleb Orozco sets a valuable Caribbean precedent