‘Burn all the gays’ rapper denied UK visa over homophobic stance
Adamantly homophobic Ugandan rapper Bobi Wine has been denied entry to the UK to perform at two venues, over complaints that his songs included violently homophobic lyrics.
The 32-year-old from Kampala, who also runs a boxing club, has described himself as a “ghetto president” and believes he is a “role model” for Uganda’s underprivileged youth.
Following the announcement that he was axed from the lineup at a Birmingham and London venue earlier this month, Wine added a lengthy status update to his Facebook page, claiming that he has received “threats”, based on his anti-gay views, but defended his position, describing homosexuality as a “bad habit”, and “phenomenon”, and an “act that counters societal progress.”
Defending Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, Wine claimed that Western countries had “misinterpreted” its intention, and taken advantage of Uganda’s “vulnerability as a nation.”
He claims that the legislation, which increased punishments for “aggravated homosexuality”, was implemented after “extensive research and consultation,” and that 99% of Ugandans were in support of it.
Continuing, the rapper went on to express his personal disgust with gay people, and a confusion over why pride events, and the term “gay pride” might be used.
“How be it, I completely fail to understand the pride and why the gays are so happy about it. If my opinion makes me third world,then am happy to be,” he writes.
He has since updated his Facebook page to say he was denied entry to the UK.
Earlier this month, the country’s Constitutional Court struck down the Anti-Homosexuality Act, finding that Speaker Rebecca Kadaga acted illegally by moving ahead with an initial vote on the law despite at least three lawmakers objecting to a lack of quorum.
However, following the ruling, a group of MPs have scrambled to put the law back in place, and have now gained enough support to change parliamentary regulations and allow it to be re-tabled.
