Rolling Stone (Uganda)

Rolling Stone was a weekly tabloid newspaper published in Kampala, Uganda. The paper published its first issue on 23 August 2010, under the direction of 22-year-old Giles Muhame and two classmates from Kampala's Makerere University.^[2][3] According to Muhame, the paper's title was derived from the local word enkurungu: "It's a metaphor for something that strikes with lightning speed, that can kill someone if it is thrown at them".^[2] It suspended publication in November 2010, after the High Court ruled that it had violated the fundamental rights of LGBT Ugandans by attempting to out them and calling for their deaths. The paper was small, with a circulation of approximately 2000 copies.^[3] One of those listed, David Kato, was subsequently murdered.

The Ugandan paper is unaffiliated with the American magazine Rolling Stone, which later described the Ugandan paper's actions as "horrific" and protested its choice of name.^[4]

Reporting on homosexuality

On 9 October 2010, the newspaper published a front page article—titled "100 Pictures of Uganda's Top Homos Leak"—that listed the names, addresses, and photographs of 100 homosexuals alongside a yellow banner that read "Hang Them".^[3][5] The paper also alleged that homosexuals aimed to "recruit" Ugandan children. This publication attracted international attention and criticism from human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International,^[6] No Peace Without Justice^[7] and the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association.^[8] According to gay rights activists, many Ugandans have been attacked since the publication as a result of their real or perceived sexual orientation.^[9] One woman was reportedly almost killed when her neighbors began to stone her house.^[10]

In a subsequent issue, Rolling Stone alleged a connection between Somali terrorist group al-Shabaab and Ugandan homosexuals under the headline "Homo Generals Plotted Kampala Terror Attacks", charging "a gay lobby" with complicity in the July 2010 Kampala suicide bombings.^[2]

Court case

Following a second published edition listing the identities and addresses of alleged homosexuals, the gay rights organization Sexual Minorities Uganda petitioned the Ugandan High Court against the newspaper. On 2 November 2010, the court issued its verdict, ordering the newspaper to stop publishing the identities of Ugandan gays, shut down, and pay 1.5 million Ugandan shillings plus court costs to each of the plaintiffs.^[11][12][13] The ruling said that these lists and the accompanying incitement to violence threatened the subjects' "fundamental rights and freedoms", attacked their right to human dignity, and violated their constitutional right to privacy.

Immediately following the verdict, Muhame told reporters that "the war against gays will and must continue. We have to protect our children from this dirty homosexual affront".^[12] In January 2011, he announced the paper's intention to appeal the decision.^[14] He said that the paper was also gathering signatures of support from Ugandans.^[14]

The unrelated U.S. magazine, Rolling Stone, called the newspaper's actions "horrific" and stated that Rolling Stone magazine has "demanded they [the Ugandan newspaper] cease using our name as a title".^[4] However, the magazine's legal options may be limited as, according to Jann Wenner, the U.S.-based Rolling Stone never "copyrighted" the name in Uganda.^[15]

Kato murder

Sexual Minorities Uganda leader David Kato, one of the activists outed in the article and a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit, was murdered in his home by an intruder who struck him twice on the head with a hammer.^[16] Rolling Stone,^[11] The New York Times^[17] and other news sources^[18] suggested that the murder was linked to Kato's high-profile outing, and Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International both called for an investigation into the case and protection for other gay activists.^[18]

Muhame condemned the murder and expressed his sympathies for Kato's family, but added that he believed that the paper was not responsible and that the murder was a simple robbery: "I have no regrets about the story. We were just exposing people who were doing wrong".^[19] To the Ugandan newspaper Daily Monitor, Muhame stated that Kato "brought death upon himself. He hasn’t lived carefully. Kato was a shame to this country".^[20] To CNN, he said, "When we called for hanging of gay people, we meant ... after they have gone through the legal process ... I did not call for them to be killed in cold blood like he was".^[21]

See also

• LGBT rights in Uganda
• Red Pepper (newspaper)

References