Bobi Wine Highlights His Friendship with Homosexuals in BBC Interview
In a shocking admission, National Unity Platform leader Robert Kyagulanyi confirmed his friendly relations with members of the gay community, stating that the anti-gay law in Uganda was recently passed to target him and his loved ones.
Mr. Kyagulanyi claimed that the law was not passed in the interest of Ugandans but as a tool to target himself and his loved ones. When pressed about his party's unanimous voting for the law in parliament, the former singer claimed that the MPs work for President Museveni.
Bobi Wine had come under fire from Ugandans for being evasive on the recently enacted Anti-Homosexuality Act.
However, Bobi Wine, earlier this week, traveled to the United Kingdom after London lifted the travel ban against him. The musician-turned-politician had been excluded by the UK’s Home Office on the basis of the anti-gay lyrics in a song he released in 2014, urging the public to “shoot all the battymen.”
Bobi’s international lawyers and human rights activists pleaded with the Home Office to allow Bobi to travel to the UK, saying he had apologized for the anti-gay lyrics in his song and that he had spent years advocating for the rights of LGBTQ people.
Indeed, Bobi Wine is has reportedly received awards for supporting homosexuals whose community is said to be funding his political activities.
Upon arrival in London on Thursday, Bobi appeared on UK broadcaster, BBC, where he was asked to make his position on LGBT clear to the world.
Bobi said, “I wrote the lyrics and sang them. I took responsibility. Certainly, we grow and transform. Of course this is now the same thing. I’m tussling it out with General Museveni who deliberately sponsored the law.”
“He [Museveni] didn’t bring it in the interests of the people of Uganda – but to target the opposition. He knows he can use it to crack down on anybody perceived to be friendly to that community,” he claimed. Contrary to this, however, there’s no known opposition politician that has ever been targeted with such a law, even before the recent amendment.
When pressed to explain why his party MPs supported the law, Bobi Wine noted: “Sure, in my party, I have MPs that are working with Gen Museveni.”
About the law
The passing of the anti-gay law in Uganda was met with widespread support from Ugandans, who expressed their approval in the media and on social media. Parliament unanimously passed the law, which prohibits the promotion of gay acts and includes some offenses that carry the death penalty.
During the debate leading up to the passage of the law, Mathias Mpuuga, the Leader of Opposition in Parliament and a member of the NUP, voiced his support for the law. He emphasized the importance of promoting technology transfer over homosexuality, stating, "we owe ourselves the duty to preserve our culture and protect our children."
Mpuuga, a close ally of Bobi Wine also called on legislators to carefully read and understand the bill in order to effectively defend the country’s societal and cultural views. He referenced a meeting in the United States where he challenged Africans who were advocating for the right to sexual orientation.
Mpuuga criticized their focus on this issue rather than on technology transfer, stating, "The black race is struggling to transfer homosexuality and not technology to Africa and I challenged these people on that."
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