In stark contrast of the lyrics in his song about a decade ago, Ugandan singer and politician Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine has said he is no longer calling for the killing of homosexuals.
Months ago, Uganda enacted the anti-homosexuality act, a piece of legislation the West to be one of the harshest in the world. Most Ugandans frown upon LGBTQI practices.
Bobi Wine has been under pressure to come clean on whether he supports homosexuality in a largely conservative country.
The UK banned Bobi Wine about 10 years ago. London lifted the ban weeks ago and the National Unity Platform (NUP) leader visited the country last week.
While there, he had an interview with the BBC in which he revealed that he was now a changed man who has since taken responsibility for his homophobia. His critics quickly blasted him for being sympathetic to homosexuals.
OUT OF CONTEXT?
Bobi Wine accused the regime sympathizers of twisting his words in the BBC interview for propaganda.
“You heard regime propagandists have been trying as much as possible to twist my words and I am here to clarify on those words,” he said on December 12.
“First and foremost, my words were taken out of context on that BBC interview by those propagandists.”
DON’T KILL HOMOSEXUALS
Reiterating his position on changing his mind on rights of homosexuals, Bobi Wine argued that leadership calls for him to accept people he disagrees with.
“I was banned from the UK for life, never again entering the UK because of the lyrics in one of the songs that I did and in those lyrics, yes I took responsibility because I actually called for the burning and killing of all homosexuals,” he said.
“And as a leader, I transformed from calling for the death and killing of people that differ from me and regime propagandists tried as much as possible to twist my words but again I still stand by my words because I am a leader, which leader wants to be a leader of all people in the population – even those that are not like me so am not calling for their killing.”
Bobi Wine recently reacted to a move by the US government to slap sanctions on Uganda Prisons boss Johnson Byabashaija for, among other things, forceful anal examination of homosexuals. (See Details Here, There and Over There).
Meanwhile, the US government has suspended funding to three Ugandan government ministries until Museveni’s government has repealed the anti-homosexuality law. Washington is also considering reviewing military assistance to Kampala, and has revealed it will channel HIV/AIDS funding to non-governmental partners. (Read Details Here).
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