Reject gay funds - Cardinal
Former Vice President Gilbert Bukenya (R), Cardinal Wamala (C) and Mr Mukiibi (L) after the graduation on Saturday. Photo by Stephen Wandera
What you need to know:
The retired cleric urged leaders not to bend to donor pressure but rather stand by their countries’ values.
Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala, the retired Catholic Archbishop of Kampala, has asked African leaders not to accept overtures from the United Kingdom or any other foreign nation in exchange for embracing gay rights.
“We need aid but if it is aid for the wrong reasons, then we should not take it. It would be wrong for our leaders to kneel before donors to enact laws to promote wrong,” he said.
The Cardinal’s words follow UK Prime Minister David Cameron recent threats to cut development aid to countries, including Uganda, that do not recognise gay rights.
Hailing Zanzibar
He made the comments while presiding over St. Lawrence University’s graduation ceremony where 335 students were awarded degrees and diplomas on Saturday.
The Cardinal also hailed Zanzibar President Ali Mohammed Shein for openly opposing Mr Cameron when he recently said his government would not abide by demands from Britain to introduce laws to protect members of the gay community.
Uganda has received a lot of flak over attempts to enact the Anti-Homosexuality Bill championed by Ndorwa West MP David Bahati.
The controversial piece of legislation was shelved in part after a host of donor countries threatened to withhold aid to the country. St. Lawrence University Director Lawrence Mukiibi urged the graduates to be creative in their quest for jobs and avoid looking at employment.
He said the university would introduce engineering studies in the coming year to hand students more practical skills as a means of creating new jobs.
