Rolling Stone condemns anti-gay Ugandan newspaper
US magazine Rolling Stone has condemned the Ugandan newspaper of the same name for calling for gays to be executed.
The US title said it had demanded that the African publication cease using its name.
Ugandan Rolling Stone, a new weekly newspaper, published a list of 100 gay men and lesbians with their photos and addresses.
It called for them to be hanged and accused of them of “recruiting” children to homosexuality.
US Rolling Stone’s editors said the issue was “one of the most vile and hateful anti-gay screeds we have ever read”.
They added: “Not only are we not affiliated in any way with the Ugandan paper, we have demanded they cease using our name as a title.
“But there is a larger issue at stake: Homosexuality is still a crime in much of Africa, often punishable by life in prison.”
Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda and a bill introduced in the country last year called for life imprisonment and even execution for gay men and lesbians.
The current status of the bill is unclear. Reports said it had been quietly shelved, although other sources say it remains in the committee stage.
Giles Muhame, the managing editor of Ugandan Rolling Stone, defended his story, saying it was his duty as a journalist to “expose the evil in our society”.
“Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda but nobody is taking action against these people,” he told the Guardian.
“They are recruiting new members among our kids, and destroying the moral fabric of our country.”
Human rights activist Julian Onziema told Associated Press yesterday that at least four people on the list had been attacked since it was published, while others are in hiding.
