Death penalty for Kenyan for killing UK man

A Kenyan man was Monday sentenced to death for the September 2011 killing of a British man who was shot dead and his wife kidnapped by Somali gunmen at an island resort on the Kenya coast.

Magistrate Johnstone Munguti found Ali Babito Kololo guilty of the murder of British tourist David Tebbutt, 58, who was killed. Tebbutt's wife Judith, 56, was abducted and taken to Somalia and held by pirates before being released after 6 months.

Munguti also sentenced Kololo to 7 years in jail for the wife's abduction.

Kenya has not carried out a death sentence in the past 26 years and most sentences for death row prisoners are commuted to life imprisonment.

After the sentence was announced, Kololo said in Swahili, "I am innocent. Let the court do what it wants to do. I have been victimized in this, since I was also kidnapped."

Munguti said Kololo was convicted on circumstantial evidence after a total of 20 witnesses, including Judith Tebutt, testified in the case. The investigation was assisted by officers from Britain's Metropolitan Police Service Counter Terrorism Command.

A small team of British officers travelled to Kenya shortly after the murder and kidnap to support the local police investigation. Inquiries matched footprints found on the beach after Judith Tebbutt's abduction to the shoes worn by Kololo when he was arrested shortly after the incident.

Judith Tebutt's kidnapping was among a string of abductions by Somali gunmen along the Kenya-Somali border. Kenya's military cited those attacks as the reason it sent troops in October 2011 into Somalia to fight the Islamic extremist rebels of al-Shabab.

Gunmen easily entered the Tebbutt's cottage at the Kiwayu Safari Village resort on the night of Sept. 10 - the door was only a piece of colorful cloth. Police believe David Tebbutt resisted and was shot. The Tebbutts were the only tourists staying at the 18-cottage resort, located along a private beach 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Lamu, and the kidnappers spirited Judith Tebbutt away in a boat.

A month later, gunmen kidnapped a disabled French woman who lived part-time in Lamu. She died in captivity.

Before African Union troops expelled al-Qaida linked al-Shabab insurgent group from the major cities late 2012, kidnapping was a big business in Somalia, where opportunities to make money are limited.

2 Spanish aid workers with the aid group Doctors Without Borders, who were kidnapped by Somali militants from a Kenyan refugee camp in October 2011, were released earlier this month, ending a 21-month hostage ordeal.

In January 2012, U.S. Navy SEALs parachuted into Somalia and hiked to where a criminal gang was holding a 32-year-old American and a 60-year-old Dane kidnapped October 2011. 9 captors were killed in the raid that freed the 2 hostages.

Source: Associated Press, July 29, 2013

Being on Death Row in Kenya

Being on death row in Kenya is not for the faint hearted. Currently there are approximately 2500 inmates on death row in Kenya, scattered across the 5 maximum security prisons, Kamiti, Naivash, Kingongo, Kibos and Shimo la tewa.

Living conditions are horrendous, a cell that can barely accomodate 4 single mattresses holds upto 14 prisoners at Kamiti. The well known notorious G block has 59 cells for inmates but 2 are set aside for the guards who come on night shift to sleep in. This frankly raises the first question, why are the guards given rooms to sleep in when they are actually on duty? What are they paid for? To sleep?

If an inmate were to contract a disease that is air borne then the chances of all the inmates in that cell getting it are very high due to the close proximity that everyone sleeps. Lice called 'chawas' are commonplace and do not allow the inmates to sleep peacefully, constantly crawling over their bodies and biting them.

There was once a case of all inmates in one cell contracting TB. The authorities did not diagnose the first one due to negligence and laziness. Rather than believe in prevention is better than cure, they say it is my lunch hour, come back tomorrow.

Medicine is constantly in low supply, the prison dispensary stocking a few drugs for flu, typhoid, diaorrhea, constipation, hypertension and vomiting. Most of the time a prisoner is given a prescription to go buy the drugs out of his own pocket even though he is a guest of the state.

In rare circumstances, a prisoner may be referred to Kenyatta hospital, the only referral hospital in Nairobi, the largest in the region for ailments that have persisted for a long time, a very long time! Even though this is the largest hospital in the region, they do not have all medication and again, the doctors tell the inmates to buy the medicine out of their own pockets. Common drugs such as Glucophage, Cardace, Valium, Augmentin, are not available.

Even if a prisoner is lucky enough to be referred to Kenyatta, he will have to give a bribe to the authorities manning the hospital in order to be availed escorts to take him to hospital. These bribes may go up to Ksh1,000 ($12.)

There is a cartel in place here, run between the prison guards and other inmates who work in the hospital in the prison.

If one has been referred, they go speak to the inmate who writes up the list of those referred on certain day and gives his Ksh200 to ensure his name is in the top 10. He will then go see one of the corporals in charge of running the hospital (there are 2) and give him Ksh500 to ensure his referral is not put at the bottom of the pile the following day. He will then go see the senior sergent in charge of officer discipline and give him Ksh200 to ensure he is not told the following morning there are no escorts.

Diet in Kenyan prisons is horrible. No one expects it to be upto any good standards in any prison worldwide, but in Kenyan prisons, one may not even feed the food given to prisoners to their worst enemy's emancipated dog. It is monotonous, non nourishing and cooked poorly. Day in day out, this is what prisoners in all Kenyan prisons eat:

BREAKFAST- 1 cup of porridge made out of maize meal and water, no sugar.

LUNCH- 2 leaves of kale (a leaf that looks like spinach, native to Kenya,) 1 potato, 1 cup of ugali (a mixture of maize meal and water.)

DINNER- 1 cup of beans, 1 cup of ugali.

1 cup is a quarter litre of water. 3 times a week, every prisoner is given 1 piece of meat, the size of an adult's thumb and everyday, every prisoner is given a quarter teaspoon of cooking fat. Once a week, the ugali is replaced with rice.

The rations above are for prisoners on death row, prisoners that go to work are fed a bit more. It is common to see prisoners die of malnutrition.

Sick inmates, those with HIV, TB, diabetes, hypertension, cancer etc are given more food too according to recommendations from the doctor, but again, the doctor has to be bribed to 'prescribe' more food.

Prison wardens are generally harsher on prisoners sentenced to death compared to the others. They tend to conduct more searches on blocks where death row inmates stay. It is known that inmates or death row are generally hard headed as they have nothing much to live for. Even though the actual act of hanging is no longer carried out, prisoners on death row are not allowed to work so are idle day in day out.

Prisoners have linked up with some corrupt prison wardens to smuggle in contraband such as phones, cigarettes (smoking is not allowed in Kenyan prisons,) cannabis, heroine etc.

The phones are used to con civillians as the authorities can not do much to them. The prisons department tried to install network jammers in Kamiti but failed as it is close to town and affected neighbours.

Conning has led to some prisoners becoming instant millionaires leading to another huge problem.

It is a known fact that homosexuality is rife in prisons, but in Kamiti, this is an understatement. Grown men actually 'buy' young boys to provide them with sexual pleasure. Some even go to the extent of 'marrying!' This has led to rise in the number of HIV positive prisoners. One may have come in negative, but will leave or die positive. Many refuse to be tested or swallow their pills because they have lost all hope.

As I said in my previous article, the offences that carry the death penalty in Kenya are treason, murder and robbery with violence. Currently there is no prisoner in Kenya on death row charged with treason.

Robbery with violence is tried at a magistrates court, and the accused person is not availed any counsel to represent them. They must 'fight' for themselves. All court proceedings are in English, yet 95% of prisoners do not speak English, forget know the law.

Those convicted by the magistrates court have to appeal the ruling at the high court of appeal. This wait may take up to 10 years! If their first appeal is dismissed, they may appeal to the court of appeal which once again has a similar waiting period. At appeal the accused may opt to have a counsel represent them but many choose not to as the lawyers provided are underpaid so do not do a thorough job, they are normally those that have just qualified or are doing miserably in their practice.

Murder is tried at the high court and the accused person must be represented by a counsel, either their own or one paid by the state. They are the same as those mentioned above hence they do a very poor job. If convicted they appeal to the court of appeal.

The new constitution made a provision for accused persons and even convicts to apply for bond but the conditions imposed by the courts are extremely harsh hence not many can afford it. The average trial time is 4 years.

Source: Op-ed by Rashi Bhalsani, June 24, 2013. Mr. Bhalsani is a graduate from Reading University, England. He was born and brought up in Kenya where he is currently incarcerated on death row. As a wrongly convicted inmate, he wishes to expose the plight of Kenyan prisoners to the international community. His main concerns are health, the judiciary and abolition of the death penalty.

"Being on death row in Kenya is a gross violation of one's human rights"

In August 2009, the president of Kenya commuted the sentences of 4600 inmates on death row to life imprisonment. That was the same as taking money out of one pocket and putting it in another as they were still in prison indefinitely. They will still die in prison.

The whole world at that time thought that no more death sentences would be passed in Kenya, but that was far from the truth! The following week, 2 boys were sentenced to death for stealing 3 pineapples from a multinational organization. No human was injured during the incident, the dogs guarding the premises were injured and they were charged with robbery with violence and because they are illiterate and the police did not want to bother themselves with a trial, managed to convince them to plead guilty and they would be let of with a slap on the wrist. They were sentenced to death!

Murder, robbery with violence and treason carry the mandatory death penalty in Kenya.

The last execution was carried out in Kenya in 1987. Since then to 2009, 4600 people were sentenced to death. From 2009 to date around 2500 people have been sentenced to death, equating to about 500 people a year!

There is no dispute that crime is on the rise but not to this extent. The judges and magistrates do not effect true justice, rather are scared of releasing any person accused because they may be held accountable and lose their jobs.

In 2010, the people of Kenya overwhelmingly voted in a new constitution, which set in place a vetting board to weed out the rot in the judiciary. The board is meeting a lot of resistance from the judiciary and is extremely demoralized. For example, Justice Muga Apondi was vetted out by the board. He went to court and challenged the decision and the court intervened and put him back in office. The judiciary still believes in protecting its own. Justice Apondi was vetted out on proven allegations of corruption.

He then filed a petition in the courts saying that his dismissal was unfair and the court ruled that he should be given back his position as a judge of the high court.

Justice Apondi was proven to have taken bribes from influential persons to rule in their favour by the JMVB (Judges and Magistrates Vetting Board,) or to even convict or acquit people charged with criminal offences. For example there is a man on death row at the moment for murdering his parents. Apondi heard the principal witnesses in the case and recorded false proceedings, not what was said in court! The courts in landmark ruling said that if a judge has been dismissed, one may not seek redress from the courts unless the case in question was the one the JMVB relied on to dismiss the judge. Majority of the population feel that all cases that even remotely been associated with a judge who has been sacked, be heard and determined afresh.

The threshold to convict persons charged with capital offences in Kenya is extremely low and the figures show this.

Being on death row in Kenya is a gross violation of one's human rights. Overcrowding is the norm. A cell may hold up to 14 people who sleep on threadbare mattresses, sharing a single mattress between 4 people.

The diet is even worse and has no variation, a cup of porridge made from maize meal in the morning, 2 leaves of kale and a cup of ugali (maize meal) for lunch and a cup of beans and ugali for dinner. A piece the size of a child's thumb is given 3 times a week.

Kenya needs to do a lot in the spirit of change, yet the politicians are reluctant for reasons no one can understand. A husband who has killed his spouse's lover upon finding them in his matrimonial bed in a moment of passion or an armed robber who has committed numerous offences both live side by side, the first being a first offender, the later being a habitual criminal, a repeat offender.

If Kenya does not do something to deal with this plague in society, no progress will ever be made.

The courts ruled that keeping one on death row for over 3 years is a gross violation of their human rights, yet the president is not doing anything, nor are the courts.

In March 2011, parliament as stipulated by the new constitution passed an act called the power of mercy. To date no one has been released, the board members are simply pocketing their salaries and allowances and sitting back.

They went to Kamiti prison a few weeks ago and had queues of inmates waiting to be interviewed. Rather than interview all the inmates in the queue, they only interviewed the visibly sick!

Kenya is an ex British colony that gained independence 50 years ago. Unfortunately it is still stuck in 1963 yet the rest of the world has moved on.

God help inmates on death row in Kenya, and those that may unfortunately find themselves on death row.

Source: Op-ed by Rashi Bhalsani, June 19, 2013. Mr. Bhalsani is a graduate from Reading University, England. He was born and brought up in Kenya where he is currently incarcerated on death row. As a wrongly convicted inmate, he wishes to expose the plight of Kenyan prisoners to the international community. His main concerns are health, the judiciary and abolition of the death penalty.

Related articles:
August 5, 2009, - Kenya: 4,000 death sentences commuted to life emprisonment

June 17, 2011 - Kenya: 'Right to Life' Clause Hands Convict Reprieve

Florida’s treatment of death row prisoner would be considered ‘inhuman’ or ‘torture’ in UK, Europe & Africa

Manuel Valle

The treatment of a man who has been held for over three decades on death row in the US and is now facing execution in a matter of days would be considered ‘inhuman’, ‘degrading’ or even ‘torture’ in a swathe of other jurisdictions around the world, legal action charity Reprieve can reveal.

Manuel Valle, a Cuban national with strong Spanish links, has been awaiting execution on Florida’s death row for 33 years, and with a stay set to be lifted this evening, could face lethal injection in a matter of days.

Being held on death row for such a long time has been described by the UK Privy Council as “an inhuman punishment because it add[s] to the penalty of death the additional torture of a long period of alternating hope and despair.”

Most countries that administer the death penalty agree that it is entirely unacceptable to subject anyone to such additional punishment before finally carrying out an execution. Examples include Kenya, Malawi and Uganda – where three years on death row, a delay one tenth as long as that faced by Mr Valle, can result in commutation of the death sentence.

The European Court of Human Rights has also held that where a ‘condemned prisoner has to endure for many years the conditions on death row and the anguish and mounting tension of living in the ever-present shadow of death’ that is a violation of prohibitions against ‘inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’.

Mr Valle has now spent well over half of his life on death row, having been sentenced at the age of 27. Much of the time he has served has been due to a series of botched trials resulting from mistakes made by the trial judge or misconduct by the prosecution.

Reprieve investigator Katherine Bekesi said: “Traditionally, the State has always blamed the prisoner, desperately trying to avoid death through his right to appeal, for any delays in execution. However in this case it was the State that gave Mr Valle two unfair trials and spent over a decade trying to correct their mistakes. For Mr Valle, every botched trial was another trauma as he was sentenced to death again and again, spending years in between wondering what was to become of him.”

Source: Reprieve, September 8, 2011

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Kenya: 'Right to Life' Clause Hands Convict Reprieve

A man who murdered 3 members of a family has escaped the death sentence after the High Court nullified his conviction.

In a landmark ruling, Justice Anyara Emukule said under the new Constitution, a death sentence is not consistent with the right to life.

He therefore handed John Kimita Mwaniki a 30-year jail term after he found him guilty of murdering the three family members during ethnic clashes in Molo District ahead of the 2007 General Election.

Mwaniki, and others not before court, raided the home of Ms Esther Bore on November 27, 2007 at Ngarua location and killed her daughter, Ms Rose Chemutai.

They also murdered her 2 grandsons, Reuben Kipng'eno and Shadrack Kipkoech.

Justice Emukule said Article 26(2) (on deprivation to life) is inconsistent with the right to life under Article 26(1) of the Constitution.

"Section 204 of the Penal Code provides that any person convicted of murder shall be sentenced to death," the judge said.

He went on to say that the Court of Appeal recently held that even where punishment is prescribed, the court should inquire whether there are special circumstances why the court should not pass out the prescribed penalty on the accused.

The question Justice Emukule sought to explain was whether the death penalty underpinned by Article 26(3) and (4) of the Constitution was consistent with the right to life under Article 26(1).

"The constitutional question would be whether those provisions are consistent with each other," he said.

However, the judge dismissed an alibi by the accused, saying evidence adduced in court and circumstances surrounding the murders proved he was guilty.

He noted that in mitigation, the accused had stated he was arrested when he was 20 years old and his parents were displaced in 2006 during ethnic clashes.

The defence lawyer had also told the court the accused was remorseful and did not deserve a death penalty.

Source: All Africa News, June 16, 2011

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In Africa, homosexuality emerging as hot-button issue

In Kenya, Prime Minister Raila Odinga recently told supporters in the Nairobi slum of Kibera that he would order police to arrest gays. In Uganda and Malawi, debate is rising over the legality of homosexuality.

Long seen as a fringe societal taboo far from the realm of African politics, homosexuality is emerging as a hot-button issue throughout much of the continent. Kenya, East Africa's economic hub, joined the trend in late November when Prime Minister Raila Odinga told supporters in the Nairobi slum of Kibera that he would order police to arrest gays.

"We will not tolerate such behavior in the country. The Constitution is very clear on this issue, and men or women found engaging in homosexuality will not be spared," Mr. Odinga said in Swahili, in comments that were taped by several news organizations. "Any man found engaging in sexual activities with another man should be arrested. Even women found engaging in sexual activities will be arrested."

The statement -- which brought cheers in the Kibera slum -- has created a sharp divide between Christian conservatives, who argue that homosexuality is against religious laws and "the law of nature," and human rights activists, who argue that stigmatizing any minority is illegal. It serves as the latest example of an outlook driven by the growing political assertiveness of powerful Christian churches that bolster existing social stigmas against gays.

"Normally, we judge a country's development by its tolerance of minorities," says Njeri Kabeberi, executive director of the Center for Multiparty Democracy in Nairobi. "We've seen this same issue come up in Uganda, in Zimbabwe, in Malawi, where gays are assaulted, arrested, jailed. Anything like that, the prime minister should condemn, but instead, he's encouraging it."

Ms. Kabeberi encouraged the prime minister to retract his statement, if only because Kenya's newly enacted Constitution does not, in fact, make homosexuality illegal. (Kenyan law merely states that marriage should be defined as between a man and a woman.)

If the statement was Odinga's attempt to become popular with Kenya's powerful churches, she adds, "the wrath of the civil society is going to make him wish he wasn't popular on this issue. He should be urging Kenyans to be tolerant, instead of himself being intolerant."

While recordings of Odinga's speech have been made public online, Odinga's spokesman Dennis Onyango issued a statement saying that Odinga was misquoted.

Odinga said he intended to clarify that the Constitution was not, as alleged by opponents, going to legalize same-sex marriages.

Yet even this statement stops short of retracting the statement attributed to Odinga of calling for the arrest of gays.

A regional trend

In Uganda, where homosexuality is already illegal under British colonial-era laws, the parliament briefly debated and then withdrew a proposed bill that would have imposed lengthy sentences, and in some cases the death penalty, for homosexuals.

In Malawi, an openly gay couple was convicted in May under a colonial-era law banning "unnatural acts" and sentenced to 14 years in prison, before international pressure prompted the government to set the sentences aside.

And in Kenya, as the country prepared to vote last summer in a referendum to establish the new Constitution -- an attempt to prevent a return of the leadership crisis that followed ethnic clashes after the December 2007 elections -- it was conservative Kenyan churches (urged on by the Pat Robertson-funded American Center for Law and Justice) who opposed the Constitution, arguing incorrectly that the new Constitution would have legalized abortion and same-sex marriages.

Converging reasons

Wanyeki Muthoni, executive director of the independent Kenya Human Rights Commission, says that the tumult over homosexuality is the result of three converging trends.

First, Kenyan gays are becoming more politically active and vocal, lobbying hard for "basic equality and nondiscrimination." Second, the global debate over the ordination of gay priests, increasingly accepted in Europe and the United States, has caused a conservative backlash here in Africa, with African churches largely rejecting those reforms. Finally, African churches have been radicalized by what Ms. Muthoni charges is "the ever-increasing influence of homophobic American Evangelicals in Africa."

For Kenyan gays, Odinga's statement means tough times ahead.

"Harassment has been going on. Yesterday, two people were arrested by cops for homosexuality; three people were arrested the day before, but they managed to get out of jail," says Zawadi Nyongo, an independent social justice activist. "I have been receiving hate mail myself, through e-mail, and I'm not even on the front lines."

"We're all baffled by this," she adds. "How can a government that is trying to help people to get tested for HIV and to seek treatment, how can thatsame government talk about arresting gays?"

Source: Christian Science Monitor, December 9, 2010

World protest urges end to death penalty

Governments and campaigners on Sunday urged a worldwide end to the death penalty, singling out the United States, Iran and China and denouncing executions of children and other vulnerable groups.

Japan, which counted 107 prisoners on death row as of last month, saw one of the first demonstrations to mark Sunday's action called by the Paris-based World Coalition Against the Death Penalty.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner urged "all countries where the death penalty is still in force to abolish it and meanwhile set up a moratorium on executions and death sentences.''

In a statement marking the eighth World Day Against the Death Penalty, he cited the case of Sakineh Ashtiani, a woman sentenced to death by stoning in Iran, whose case has provoked international outrage in recent months.

About 70 people, including Iranians, marched in the Ginza shopping district in Tokyo waving banners urging abolition -- a small turnout in a country where a survey in February showed 85 percent of people backed the death penalty.

Among the major industrialised democracies, only Japan and the United States carry out the death penalty, according to the international human rights watchdog Amnesty International.

Amnesty ranks China as the country that commits the most executions, with the number believed to be in the thousands in 2009 although its leaders refuse to give figures. Iran ranks next with 388 executions recorded last year.

The World Coalition said this year's protest day was dedicated to the United States, where in 2009 some of the states that retain the penalty executed 52 people overall and sentenced 106 to death.

"It is hoped that this world day will strengthen the trend towards abolition in the USA and also the trend towards universal abolition,'' the coalition said on its website, listing protests planned for Sunday in Asia, Europe and the Americas.

"There is still a long road to travel to abolition, for countries continue to apply this punishment, sometimes on a massive scale,'' Kouchner said.

"Too often, minors and those with mental disabilities are executed. These executions are sometimes carried out in public or in barbaric conditions fit to appal the conscience.''

Switzerland's Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey echoed the call, urging "the suspension of executions in cases where international law restricts the death penalty, as for the most vulnerable groups.''

Amnesty says Iran and Saudi Arabia execute people who were under 18 at the time of the crimes.

Amnesty's Spanish branch held a protest in Madrid, where a statement was read out denouncing the death penalty as "premeditated murder in cold blood at the hands of the state and in the name of justice.''

Britain added its voice to the protest in a statement by Jeremy Browne, a junior foreign minister.

"The death penalty fundamentally undermines human dignity. There is no conclusive evidence to suggest that it holds any value as a deterrent,'' he said.

He hailed gestures including a Kenyan appeal court's ruling this year that the mandatory death penalty for murder was unconstitutional and a recent moratorium on executions in Mongolia.

"It is also an encouraging start that China has expressed its intention to reduce the numbers of crimes eligible for the death penalty from 68 to 55,'' Browne added.

Source: Bangkok Post, October 10, 2010

Ugandan MP to be banned from UK if his gay death penalty bill succeeds

David Bahati wants to execute consenting same-sex couples, arguing it is a crime they choose to commit.

The British government will ban a Ugandan MP from travelling to the UK if he is successful in passing a law that would impose the death penalty in Uganda for being gay.

Civil servants in the Foreign Office, the Department for International Development and the Borders Agency are drawing up plans to block the visa of born-again Christian MP David Bahati if he does not drop legislation that would see consenting adults who have gay sex imprisoned for life and impose the death penalty on those with HIV which will be called "aggravated homosexuality".

The bill also proposes the death penalty for those having gay sex with anyone under the age of 18, with someone disabled or what the legislation describes as "serial offenders".

It also calls for life prison sentences for those "promoting homosexuality", which could come to mean human rights groups or those who fail to inform on a gay couple.

One senior British government source said the issue could turn into a "major diplomatic incident if the Ugandans do not back down". President Barack Obama has already described the legislation as odious.

The British government's views have been conveyed to Uganda but officials have not received a clear sense of whether the legislature will pass the bill into law.

Ugandan government officials appear to be using stalling tactics, suggesting it will not come to a vote until 2011, deflecting pressure from a government that could change in the forthcoming general election.

Bahati submitted a private member's bill to the Ugandan parliament last year arguing that homosexuality is a lifestyle choice.

Gay sex is already illegal in Uganda but backbenchers there are pushing for more draconian punishment by preying on fears that homosexuals are "recruiting" children at schools.

Though observers believe President Yoweri Museveni was beaten back by the level of international opprobrium, a march against homosexuality in Uganda last month attracted 2,000 supporters.

The British government is concerned by a wave of anti-gay sentiment sweeping Africa that has also put pressure on homosexual people in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Nigeria.

Besides rescinding the visa of the backbencher, other options considered have been blocking aid to the Ugandan government. The government has switched its strategy to individual visa blocking amidst signs that threats to withhold aid backfire.

Bishop Joseph Bvumbwe, chairman of the Malawi Council of Churches, has accused western donors of trying to use aid as a bait to force Malawi to legalise homosexuality.

British officials have already rescinded the visas of those involved in the Kenyan election riots and members of the Zimbabwean government.

Source: The Guardian, April 19, 2010

Fear grows among Uganda's gay community over death penalty draft law

There was a time in Kampala when gay men would meet for furtive one-night stands, even if they were prevented from forming lasting relationships in a country where homophobia is rife.

"You would just have sex, then disappear. We were secretive out of fear," said Peter, 39. At one point, things had begun changing for the better. "You could know where a guy lived and hung out; you could start to form relationships, something more permanent," he said. "Then along comes this Bill that wants to kill us."

Homosexuality has always been illegal in Uganda, but draft legislation introduced by a born-again Christian parliamentarian proposing the death penalty for gay sex, under certain conditions, has upped the ante. Peter is again living in fear.

Anti-gay sentiment is on the rise in many parts of Africa. In a bellwether case, a gay couple face trial for "unnatural practices" in Malawi; in Kenya, police arrested guests at what is claimed to have been a gay wedding last week supposedly to protect them from an angry mob. "They are proposing a witch-hunt," said Peter. "That Bill could put me to death, or in prison, in many ways. They want to legislate us out of existence."

The draft law proposes the death penalty for having gay sex with anyone under 18, if infected with HIV/Aids, or with someone who is disabled or for being what the Bill terms "a serial offender." Gay sex between consenting adults would lead to a life sentence.

It also calls for prison sentences for those "promoting homosexuality" which could be interpreted to mean any human rights groups and for anyone failing to report a homosexual act to the authorities.

Pentecostal pastors across Uganda have exploited widespread moral conservatism to raise fear and anger against homosexuals. At the forefront is Martin Ssempa, the chairman of the inter-religious National Pastors Task Force against Homosexuality in Uganda. This week, 2,000 men, women and children joined his march in Jinja, a town 50 miles (80km) east of the capital. They waved banners, said prayers and quoted passages from the Bible. Other mass demonstrations are planned in coming weeks, although a "Million Man March" due to take place in the capital was cancelled when police refused to grant permission.

At a press conference this week, Mr Ssempa displayed pictures of explicit gay porn downloaded from the internet. "You see what these homosexuals do!" declared the pastor, working himself into a frenzy of disgust at the slideshow that he had prepared. His performance was condemned by gay rights groups who accuse him of equating homosexuality with paedophilia and perverse sexual practices.

When The Times met Mr Ssempa, he was wearing a "Ugandans against sodomy" badge and a broad smile. "Western civilisation has been taken over by homosexual activists," he said. "This is a culture clash and a battle." He described the Bill as "best practice" in an attempt to halt "predatory homosexuals."

International condemnation has been vocal. President Obama described the draft law as odious and some donor countries have threatened to withhold aid.

President Museveni of Uganda seems increasingly embarrassed by the debate and it appears likely that the death penalty clause will be dropped. For gay Ugandans, however, the hatred that has been stirred up will not be easily forgotten.

Source: Times Online, Feb. 20, 2010

Uganda to Drop Death Penalty, Life in Jail for Gays

Uganda will drop the death penalty and life imprisonment for gays in a refined version of an anti- gay bill expected to be ready for presentation to Parliament in 2 weeks, James Nsaba Buturo, the minister of ethics and integrity, said.

The draft bill, which is under consideration by a parliamentary committee, will drop the 2 punishments to attract the support of religious leaders who are opposed to these penalties, Buturo said today in a phone interview from the capital, Kampala.

Ugandan lawmaker David Bahati presented a private member's bill on Oct. 14 which sought the death penalty and life imprisonment for gay people in the country. The Ugandan government supports the bill because homosexuality and lesbianism are "repugnant to the Ugandan culture," Buturo said. Still, it favors a more refined set of punishments, he said.

In addition to formulating punishments for the gay people, the bill will also promote counseling to help "attract errant people to acceptable sexual orientation," said Buturo.

The proposed legislation has attracted criticism from gay rights activists, both locally and internationally, who argue that the law would promote discrimination and hatred toward the gay community.

Source: Bloomberg News, December 9, 2009

"Homosexuality is not natural in Uganda"

Gay rights activists abroad are focusing on the legislation. A protest against the bill is planned for Thursday in London; protests were held last month in New York and Washington.

David Bahati, the legislator sponsoring the bill, said he was encouraging "constructive criticism" to improve the law, but insisted strict measures were necessary to stop homosexuals from "recruiting" schoolchildren.

"The youths in secondary schools copy everything from the Western world and America," said high school teacher David Kisambira. "A good number of students have been converted into gays. We hear there are groups of people given money by some gay organizations in developed countries to recruit youth into gay activities."

Uganda's ethics minister, James Nsaba Buturo, said the death sentence clause would probably be reviewed but maintained the law was necessary to counter foreign influence. He said homosexuality "is not natural in Uganda," a view echoed by some Ugandans.

"I feel that the bill is good and necessary, but I don't think gays should be killed. They should be imprisoned for about a year and warned never to do it again. The family is in danger in Uganda because the rate at which

vice is spreading is appalling," said shopkeeper John Muwanguzi.

Uganda is not the only country considering anti-gay laws. Nigeria, where homosexuality is already punishable by imprisonment or death, is considering strengthening penalties for activities deemed to promote it. Burundi just banned same-sex relationships and Rwanda is considering it.

Homophobia is rife even in more tolerant African countries.

In Kenya, homosexuality is illegal but the government has acknowledged its existence by launching sexual orientation survey to improve health care. Nevertheless, the recent marriage of two Kenyan men in London caused outrage. The men's families in Kenya were harassed by reporters and villagers.

In South Africa, the only African nation to recognize gay marriage, gangs carry out so-called "corrective" rapes on lesbians. A 19-year-old lesbian athlete was gang-raped, tortured and murdered in 2008.

Debate over the Ugandan bill follows a conference in Kampala earlier this year attended by American activists who consider same-gender relationships sinful, and believe gays and lesbians can become heterosexual through prayer and counseling. Author Don Schmierer and "sexual reorientation coach" Caleb Lee Brundidge took part; they did not respond to interview requests.

A 2nd American who took part in the conference in Uganda, Scott Lively, said the bill has gone too far.

"I agree with the general goal but this law is far too harsh," said Lively, a California-based preacher and author of "The Pink Swastika" and other books that advise parents how to "recruit-proof" their children from gays.

"Society should actively discourage all sex outside of marriage and that includes homosexuality ... The family is under threat," he said. Gay people "should not be parading around the streets," he added.

Frank Mugisha, a gay Ugandan human rights activist, said the bill was so poorly worded that someone could be imprisoned for giving a hug.

"This bill is promoting hatred," he said. "We're turning Uganda into a police state. It will drive people to suicide."

Buturo played down the influence of foreign evangelicals, saying the proposed legislation was an expression of popular outrage against "repugnant" practices. But activists like Cato argue anti-gay attitudes are a foreign import.

"In the beginning, when the missionaries brought religion, they said they were bringing love," he said. "Instead they brought hate, through homophobia."

Susan Timberlake, a senior adviser on human rights and law from UNAIDS, said such laws could hinder the fight against HIV/AIDS by driving people further underground. And activists also worry that the legislation could be used to blackmail or silence government critics.

Cato said he thinks the Ugandan bill will pass, perhaps in an altered form.

"It's such a setback. But I hope we can overcome it," he said. "I cannot believe this is happening in the 21st century."

Source: Associated Press, December 2009

1961 U.S. film educating youngsters against homosexuality and homosexuals. (French subtitles)

Kenya: 4,000 death sentences commuted to life emprisonment

August 3, 2009: Kenya's more than 4,000 death row inmates all will have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment, President Mwai Kibaki announced, describing their wait to face execution as "undue mental anguish and suffering."

No death sentence has been carried out in the past 22 years in the East African nation.

Kibaki said he made the decision following advice of a constitutional committee and that he was commuting the sentences using powers provided for under Kenya's constitution.

"Extended stay on death row causes undue mental anguish and suffering, psychological trauma (and) anxiety while it may as well constitute inhuman treatment," the president said in a statement.

Kibaki noted that the decision did not in any way suggest the abolition of the death penalty but said he had directed the government to assess whether the punishment was having any impact on the fight against crime.

Source: Ap, 03/08/2009