Content warning for corrective rape, murder

“The LGBT community brings us solidarity; we have a sense of belonging. When we came out, we knew it alone, and we suffer it for many years. But the minute you find, ‘ah, this one is like me, so we are brothers, so we are friends, so we are partners in the struggle.' My work mostly is to document violence and cases of discrimination. So whenever an LGBT individual gets into a problem, I always have to rush out.”

– David Kato

David Kato is considered the father of the queer movement in Uganda, as well as the first openly gay man in Uganda. He was also well-known in international politics for his work in his country. However, it was incredibly dangerous for him to even be on the radar in Uganda, as same-sex relationships are illegal as of when this article was written in 2023, and all throughout David Kato’s life.

From a historical perspective, it is improbable David Kato was the first openly gay man in Uganda. He was certainly the first to rise to notoriety in the twenty-first century. That was a conscious decision. Kato had the opportunity to move to South Africa, which had better laws and protections regarding queer rights, but he returned to Uganda. He said throughout his career that he never planned to leave his home country.

He also had the opportunity to stay in the closet. As a well-regarded teacher, people wanted his skills, but they didn’t want him to be gay. If he had wanted at any point to hide his identity, he could have; he would have been a primary example of what gay people in Uganda were supposed to do. Instead, he remained public and open about his sexuality, coming out during a press conference. He was arrested for this and held in police custody through Christmas.

Kato was a fierce activist for the queer community throughout his life. In November 2009, Kato spoke to the UN to debate queer rights; his audience included the Ugandan Human Rights Commission. Though the transcripts are not available, as the talk's existence is only known due to a Wikileaks release, the reaction has been recorded. The audience was reported to have “openly joked and snickered.” After Kato had finished his initial speech, he was forced to be rushed out as rumour had started that he would be arrested. This left no one to defend his position and allowed the next speaker to rile the audience with homophobic rhetoric, causing cheers and banging on the tables.

Speeches were not the extent of Kato’s involvement in queer activism. Beyond his position as one of the founders of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), he also made sure to participate in a very direct form of activism. He worked with the queer community documenting human rights offences. In a much more personal approach, he was known for letting lesbians who were victims of attempted “corrective” rape stay in his home.

As he worked, the hatred people had for him because of his campaign to improve the quality of life for queer people in Uganda, grew. One newspaper even went so far as to publish an edition with a picture of David Kato and his address, calling for the man’s execution. They had done the same thing to some of Kato’s colleagues previously. Kato responded by suing the newspaper and winning. Still, the bell could not be unrung, and his address was public knowledge.

It was not long after his victory against the newspaper that Kato was murdered. He was killed on January 26, 2011. A friend of his was on the phone with him when he died. The police claimed the murder was caused by a personal dispute and arrested someone in connection to that. It was always clear that the investigation and trial were highly biased. The officials didn’t want to deal with the fact it was a hate crime against one of the country's most famous activists. Officials often complained that Kato had brought shame onto the country by pointing out their offences, so upon his death, they avoided taking responsibility as fervently as possible, ignoring the international community's outrage.

After Kato’s death, his funeral was overseen by a priest who, through the ceremony, condemned queer people and all Kato had been fighting for throughout his life. His friends took the microphone and stopped the priest, forcing him out. They were then forced to bury David Kato elsewhere with an excommunicated priest overseeing the ceremony.

Being forced out of one’s home is an unfortunately common trend in the queer community; from Uganda to England to Sierra Leone to Japan to America, there is no country where there aren’t queer people forced to leave their family home, their hometown, or even their country. While the number one priority is safety and there should never be shame around people leaving, sometimes the people that stay are forgotten.

David Kato was one of the ones who stayed. He is one of the founders of the queer movement in Uganda; he created a community where there wasn’t one. He stood his ground, stood in solidarity and paved the way for the queer people who will come after him.

Those stories deserve to be remembered; the queer people who still live in the small town where they grew up, who go to every school board meeting to fight on the local level, who don’t get to celebrate pride or are organizing the first pride in their city. Those people are creating queer history just as much as the people who speak at international conferences. David Kato did both and deserves to be remembered for both.

REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING

Disclaimer: some of the sources may contain triggering material

Akinyemi, A. (2016, January 26). ‘His death made us stronger’: Uganda’s LGBT groups on David Kato’s murder. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/26/uganda-lgbt-groups-david-kato-murder-5-years-on

David Kato murderer sentenced to 30 years. (n.d.). The World from PRX. Retrieved May 23, 2023, from https://theworld.org/stories/2011-11-10/david-kato-murderer-sentenced-30-years

Eduardo C (Screen name). (2012, February 23). David Kato—New York Times—Subtítulos en Español. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTC_mcOZ9KU

Gettleman, J. (2011, January 27). Ugandan Who Spoke Up for Gays Is Beaten to Death. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/28/world/africa/28uganda.html

Kilborne, S. S. (2015, January 26). The Funeral of David Kato: How Uganda’s Leading Gay Activist Was Laid to Rest. Slate. https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/01/david-katos-funeral-how-ugandas-leading-gay-activist-was-laid-to-rest.html

Rice, X. (2011, January 27). Ugandan gay rights activist David Kato found murdered. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jan/27/ugandan-gay-rights-activist-murdered

SuchIsLifeVideos (Screen name). (2011, February 4). Rachel Maddow—The Murder Of David Kato. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNH2JzKpMAA

Two years after David Kato’s death. (2021, January 5). Monitor. https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/lifestyle/reviews-profiles/two-years-after-david-kato-s-death-1538208