20,000 call on UK to revoke invitation for anti-gay Uganda president

Thousands are calling for the UK to revoke an invitation to the homophobic president of Uganda.

Over 20,000 people have signed the petition. It was handed into the Home Office yesterday (8 April).

Godfrey Kawalya, originally from Uganda and now living in the UK, launched the campaign.

He believes President Yoweri Museveni should not be allowde to sit with the heads of government at the next Commonwealth meeting held in London in mid-April.

‘As a gay man who faced persecution in my motherland due to my sexuality under the homophobic leadership of the current President, I believe that he should not be allowed to share a platform with the Commonwealth,’ Kawalya told Gay Star News.

He said he believes the Commonwealth represents individuals of all diverse backgrounds. And therefore, inviting President Museveni is hypocritical.

Back in Uganda, Kawalya suffered ‘psychological torture’ after being rejected by his family for being gay.

He suffers PTSD from from being attacked by mobs and interrogated by police.

‘There was an incident that happened when the President came to the UK sometime in 2016.

‘There was a pro-LGBT protest outside his hotel at St. James and during this time, his security detail tried to stop us but the UK police told them that we had the right to protest.

‘The President’s press crew captured our pictures and these appeared in the press with titles like “Museveni’s Hotel Besieged”.

‘So when you know that the leader of the country has a bad attitude towards the LGBT community and says that “gay people are disgusting”, this brings constant fear’.

He added: ‘It is very tormenting seeing a leader of a country that does not respect the rights of a certain section of the community (LGBTI).

‘But then again, if I don’t stand up and fight for my own rights in this respect LGBT rights, then no one else shall.’

The Commonwealth Heads of CoGovernment meeting is set to be a hot button topic for LGBTI rights.

It is hoped the UK will pressure states to decriminalize homosexuality.

Over 100,000 people have signed a petition calling on the 37 Commonwealth countries to decriminalize gay sex.

The 37 out of 53 member countries account for half of the world’s nations where homosexuality is illegal.

At least nine have a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for same-sex acts. Gay people can be killed in northern Nigeria and rural Pakistan.

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