The controversy surrounding the recent dismissal of a St Mary's College Kisubi (Smack) student over alleged gay activities has reignited concern about the prevalence in schools of what most in Uganda perceive as a vice, writes ZURAH NAKABUGO.
Over the past few years, there have been several gay-related incidents in schools with some involving learners in primary schools, something that has stirred fierce debate among human rights activists, religious leaders and the general public.
Whereas the Smack incident remains inconclusive since the expelled student's lawyers have taken on the school, The Observer has learnt gay activities are on the rise in schools, even though those involved prefer to handle them privately.
Homosexuality in Uganda is illegal despite the 2016 Constitutional Court ruling that the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act 2014 was invalid on procedural grounds. The Penal Code Act categorizes homosexuality as a crime against morality.
According to Pastor Martin Ssempa, a renowned anti-gay campaigner, homosexuality is prevalent in schools but only a handful of "incidents" are reported.
"I get many complaints from students and parents but the problem is that they don't want to come out openly," he says.
"You may not believe it but the levels of homosexuality and lesbianism are many in schools and our children have been exposed to this at a young age. We are going to have a morally-corrupt society if something is not done to expose the perpetrators."
However, Isaac Semakadde, a human rights lawyer and activist, disagrees.
"First of all, we live in an age where everyone is free to have a sexual orientation as long as he/she does not infringe on the rights of others," he says.
"Being gay is not a crime and society needs to understand and accept to live with people of a different orientation. I don't understand why it remains deeply rooted in our cultures that homosexuality is evil. The Smack issue is just a symptom. All stakeholders need to have a candid conversation on sexual orientation," he says. "We live in a changing world and the earlier we accept it as a reality, the less controversial it will be."
Recent controversies
In 2013, Iganga SS expelled more than 20 students for alleged "lesbian activities"; four of them were in senior one. There was concern in the school management that many more would be 'recruited' in the "vice", so action was taken to avoid "disrupting" the school's academic programme.
In 2016, Greenhill academy was forced to make a public apology after books containing gay literature were found to be accessible to pupils as young as seven years. It was alleged that the books promoted homosexuality, masturbation and pornography, among other "vices".
Joy Veronica Maraka, the school rector, noted that Greenhill embarked on a thorough re-cataloging and assessment of content in the library so that no such incident occurs again. Later that year, Mbarara High School dismissed three students who were caught viewing pictures on gay dating sites on their smartphones.
Govt, Police reaction
Father Simon Lokodo, the minister of state for Ethics and Integrity, has often castigated homosexuality as an imposed form of immorality from the Western world.
He attacked the recent march by Women's Protest Working Group, which was protesting the escalating murders of women, for seizing the opportunity to promote gay rights and in September called for the cancellation of the Nyege Nyege festival over the same grounds.
Reached out for a comment, he said government has put up a spy network to monitor and report schools where gay activities are practiced.
"Many schools are targets of this LGBT movement. So, we have warned all schools and told the Ministry of Education to ensure that they do inspect all materials that enter schools because some NGOs bring gay materials to donate to schools through things like computers," he says. "Once we find such schools, we are going to close them."
In spite of what seems to be a major crackdown, no person has ever been convicted by court for homosexuality or lesbianism.
To this, Patrick Onyango, the police deputy spokesperson, says their efforts have been frustrated by weak handling of cases at the grassroots level. "We haven't had any school complaints apart from the one of Smack," he says.
"Even then, it was settled administratively." He added that police efforts are hampered by weak laws. "When we arrest the culprits, they quickly seek bond and the victims run away. For instance, I remember a case in 2017 when we arrested a one Alyce Nantongo, who had made it a habit to coerce and lure girls into lesbianism in Buziga…but when she got police bond, she disappeared up to this day," he says.
Homosexuality remains a very sensitive topic, often spoken about in hush tones. Whether Ugandans will ever formally accept appears to be a matter of time but for now, it remains high on the list of taboos.
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