Hillary Clinton: I was ‘ridiculed’ by Uganda’s President when I challenged him on gay rights
Hillary Clinton says she was “ridiculed” by President Yoweri Museveni when she confronted him about Uganda’s anti-gay legislation.
In her new memoir Hard Choices, the former Secretary of State reveals her anger at the 2011 murder of Ugandan LGBT rights campaigner David Kato.
“David was killed in what police said was a robbery but it was more likely an execution,” Mrs Clinton said.
“Like many people in Uganda and around the world, I was appalled that the police and government had done little to protect David after public calls for his murder. But this was about more than police incompetence”.
She added: “It was the result of a nationwide campaign to suppress LGBT people by any means necessary, and the government was part of it”.
The senior Democrat unsuccessfully urged President Museveni to halt the passage of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act.
“He [President Museveni] ridiculed my concerns,” she said in response.
The Act was passed by Uganda’s Parliament in December 2013 and was given presidential assent by Mr Museveni in February this year.
The law calls for repeat offenders to be sentenced to 14 years in prison and makes it a criminal offence not to report someone for being gay.
Mrs Clinton is widely tipped to make a run for the White House in 2016.
Last week, the US announced that it had cut aid to Uganda, imposed visa restrictions, and cancelled a regional military exercise because of the Anti-Homosexuality Act.
