Ugandan former national football manager, Chris Mubiru (pictured), has been arrested and is awaiting trial over charges of sodomy after he was photographed having sex with another man last year.
Mubiru was detained and interrogated by police earlier today in Katwe, an area in the city of Kampala, Uganda’s capital. Local news outlets have labeled Mubiru a “sodomy suspect.” One outlet, chimpreorts.com, went so far as to accuse him of child molestation.
Last December, photos of Mubiru engaging in sex with an unidentified man were published by the tabloid Red Pepper. The front page story was accompanied by the headline: “SMOKED OUT! Uganda Cranes boss nabbed sodomizing players – Shocking pictures inside.”
Five photos were included with the article. Some of the captions read “MASTER AT WORK: Mubiru nails the boy’s butt” and “END GAME: The boy struggles to stand up after the bum shattering session.”
African LGBTI activist Denis Nzioka told GayStarNews that the headlines and captions were “clearly designed to provoke a moral outrage about what is seen as a bastion of the male sportsmanship – the country’s top football team.”
Though the pictures were never verified, the article sent Mubiru into hiding. He became a fugitive and was believed to have fled the country some time last year. After spending 12 months on the run, Mubiru was finally caught earlier today.
Judith Nabakooba, a publicist for the police department, confirmed the arrest. Authorities are now working to build a case against Mubiru.
“We appeal to members of the public who have evidence of being sodomized by former Cranes Captain Chris Mubiru to present it at Central Police Station where we have opened a general inquiry file,” she said.
The current sentence for having gay sex in Uganda is life imprisonment. A new law dubbed the “Kill the Gays” law would impose the death penalty for “repeat offenders.”
Stache1
What really can you say about this country that’s full of thugs and savages. Of coarse I’m talking about their so called system of Government.
Meanwhile they remain a country full of poverty needing our $ and extreme corruption of their politicians.
hyhybt
I have no doubt all government officials involved in prosecuting this case have scrutinized the photos *very* thoroughly, and are only disappointed there aren’t more.
Kangol
The truly saddening and disgusting thing about this whole incident is that this man is being both prosecuted and persecuted for appear to be consensual sexual relations that were transformed into a kind of sting operation. Who took the photographs and why was he set up like this? Why this obsession with private sexual acts?
And of course there’s a tabloid transforming this man’s humiliation into a lurid spectacle, and the insinuations that same-sexual acts between two adults equates with pedophilia.
This case marks one instance where the United States government in general, and President Obama in particular, who has paid lip service and acted on behalf of LGBT rights, need to tell Uganda in no uncertain terms, if you go ahead with this instance of anti-gay persecution, we will cut you off completely. Uganda’s right-wing Christian US evangelical fans cannot possibly make up for the loss of US government support and access. Enough is enough!
jimbryant
Why are so many black Americans silent in the face of homophobia in Africa? Where is the NAACP? Where are black American singers like Beyoncé and Toni Braxton? Why haven’t they spoken out against homophobia in Africa?
stranded
@jimbryant:
because it’s Africa but not about children, food or AIDS, so no one cares.
banff
I guess all of you are aware that the draconian gay sex laws that are on the book in Uganda came from 3 Evangelical Christians from America. All of this is their idea; they got a chance to demonstrate their definition of The Love Of Christ by turning Uganda into a horrifyingly bad place for a gay man to live. It shows the sexual perversions and the hatred they have of gay people. We know that Christ would have no part in any such thing; he would reject it out of hand, condemn the master builders, condemn all people whom followed suck sick, hateful people that claimed to be talking to God; God will want to know why none of the people in Uganda didn’t ask Him about all of this, because if they had followed up with Christ, their prayers would have been answered clearly by God as he told them that this was completely wrong, it shows no compassion, none of the ‘Pure Love Of Christ” that Jesus taught here on earth. Jesus did not go around during his time teaching his gospel, his gospel of love, that love, forgiveness and helping were all important, not throwing stones at the adulteress, no not at all. He said ‘he who is without sin cast the first stone.’ There was nobody to throw a stone. She was received into the arms of church members and given food and shelter and love. Dead people don’t change and it is totally clear that Jesus intended to give each man multiple chances to get his life more on track with the teachings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, these were three very hateful, bitter, judgmental, cruel persons that came from the USA to tell Other people how to run their local governemnt; the preposterous self-righteous men wanted to tell the local Sovereigns how to run their governments. Maybe the Ugandan People will see through this attempt to have the government carry out total sadism against some people there for the right-winger’s; these guys can’t do it themselves, go they sucker (sorry, but that it the correct word), they talked the government into carrying out the sadistic notions of these three Americans who do not know Jesus, nor God the Father, nor the Holy Spirit in any sense of those terms. They are just mean, cruel, embittered, closed-minded to the words or the acts of Jesus Christ. Uganda would do well to throw out such laws with all due haste; they do nothing but hurt your Nation. You all know that private, consensual sexual activities are going on in the bedrooms and hotel rooms of Uganda; there is truly no need do change that long-standing philosophy; there is no real, medical or any other type of problem, at least if the truth is being spoken, to make new or more rules based on some changes about how people have sex; it is not germane to the sexual activity of all people. Nullify these dangerous laws, they will only cause more violence into Uganda.
Gay people will not destabilize the government nor the military nor the schools. Children of gay families come to school with every one else in their class; they need to learn just as does the rest of their class, they are no different from any other student. Treat them as such, treat them as if they are your buddy that lives next door or down the block. Hatred has never been a good, solid, rational way to promote a peaceful society; a society where all are free to be their best; where the energies of the people can be put to good and positive use. Hatred destroys all of that. We all know a hateful society when we see one, we also know that society is going nowhere, they will not be able to bring about the positive benefits needed to create and grow a positive society, where people are indeed equal, opportunity is common and the group as a whole prospers.