Two days after we landed in Entebbe, riots broke out in Kampala over a dispute between the Kabaka, the cultural king of the Bugandan people, and President Museveni. More than 20 people were killed and it was a bitter introduction into Ugandan politics.
Now there is another riot brewing online over a proposed bill before the Ugandan Parliament that could impose the death sentence on people convicted of homosexual acts.
You can read the text of the bill here.
There has been both some good reporting on the bill in the Guardian and local papers like the Monitor have been covering it. It is becoming a big deal here.
You can follow the entire debate from a more personal side at the Gay Uganda blog.
One commentator has called the debate Rovian politics - remember that guy? And Andrew Sullivan criticized Pastor Rick Warren of avoiding the issue in recent interviews.
It seems to me the this is just a political issue to deflect attention away from more pressing issues in the run-up to the elections in 2011. What makes me think this is a comment by the president - and many others - that European gays or "liasons" are in Uganda "recruiting" gays. This has a colonial ring to it, but diplomats who bring up the topic to their Ugandan counterparts are told "if you don't like it, take your money and leave". Something they will never do...
It is a debate that will continue to boil on the web and in the media. Unfortunately I am afraid that as politicians and preachers stoke this fire here, it might just explode.
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