(C) OpenDemocracy This story was originally published by OpenDemocracy and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The dizzying tale of Uganda’s latest ‘ex-gay’ campaigner [1] [] Date: 2024-02 Elisha Mukisa’s Facebook page is typical of Uganda’s so-called ‘ex-gay’ campaigners. There are fervent denouncements of Ugandan LGBTIQ organisations. There are lists purporting to ‘out’ homosexuals and their allies. There is praise for the Ugandan politicians behind the passing of the 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) – many of whom Mukisa claims to have worked with. Less typical is a two-month pause in the posts, beginning in August. The gap is the only indicator of the period Mukisa spent in prison while awaiting trial for the offence of “homosexuality” – under the same law he worked to help pass. Mukisa’s complex and often contradictory role in the passage of the anti-gay law stretches back years. But one event in particular helped lay the groundwork for the bill that has devastated queer communities in Uganda: a social media video from August 2022. What do you think? Win a £10 book voucher for sharing your views about openDemocracy. Tell us The video, viewed thousands of times on Facebook, YouTube and TikTok, saw Mukisa claim the LGBTIQ umbrella organisation Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) had “recruited” him into homosexuality as a minor and infected him with ”long-term illnesses”. He also alleged that the organisation was shooting gay pornography and “luring” children into homosexuality for money. Mukisa’s video was instrumental in whipping up anti-gay hysteria and establishing the narrative that queer organisations were “recruiting” children into homosexuality. It was posted by anti-rights groups including Life and Family Network, an umbrella organisation of anti-LGBTIQ and anti-abortion groups in Uganda, and in the following months Mukisa was platformed on the social media channels of Ugandan Christian groups. Beginning in June 2022, Mukisa doubled down on attacking the country’s queer institutions. He filed complaints to the police, government ministries and the country’s charity regulator accusing various LGBTIQ organisations, including SMUG, of sex trafficking of minors and “recruitment” into homosexuality. As a result, Uganda’s charity regulator the NGO Bureau suspended SMUG’s operations and published a report listing other 22 LGBTIQ-linked organisations as under investigation for “suspected… involve[ment] in the promotion of LGBT activities in the country”. “Even MPs who were allies would reach me and say this is about protecting the children,” SMUG’s director Frank Mugisha told openDemocracy. He believes Mukisa’s media appearances and meetings with politicians tipped the scales in favour of the law. Mukisa’s tune changed, however, when he found himself behind bars in August 2023. During three visits by openDemocracy, he made claims that were at odds with his position in the past. They were at odds, too, with the extent of the role he had clearly played in paving the way for the Anti-Homosexuality Act, by pushing anti-LGBTIQ conspiracy theories that distorted national understanding of queer sexuality and drummed up hate against queer people. He expressed deep frustration over his “betrayal” by government officials he’d worked with, believing that his arrest was “a political move”. In a note he wrote in prison and shared with openDemocracy, Mukisa claimed that he was “used as a fighting tool in the campaign against homosexuality and after they got what they wanted, they dumped me”. He added: “My prosecution is a political move by these people to silence me, if not do away with me. Having worked with these fellows, they choose to imprison me behind a political move.” Speaking to us while in prison, he added: “The ex-gay campaign was a political move. “I am happy to be queer, [to] be who I am.” Mukisa alleged that he was sought out by leading anti-gay rights campaigners in Uganda. They included pastors Solomon Male and Martin Ssempa, who were both involved in the first proposed anti-gay law in 2014; Stephen Langa, head of Family Life Network, a local anti-queer rights group; and MP Sarah Opendi, chair of the Uganda Women Parliamentary Association. Mukisa also claims he was, through Opendi, connected with powerful politicians interested in seeing the bill passed, including Anita Among, speaker of the Parliament, MP Charles Onen, the original sponsor of the most recent anti-gay bill, and MP Lucy Akello, who, in an openDemocracy report this year, was revealed as one of the legislators in a WhatsApp ground convening various anti-rights agitators in Uganda. Mukisa claimed Opendi, Akello and Onen had facilitated his viral video, paying for the hotel and arranging a cameraman. He also claims that they wrote the script for him. Mukisa claimed that the officials “wanted to use us for money from the government and from American evangelicals”. “I [provided] evidence needed about recruitment of children into homosexuality,” said Mukisa. Mukisa claimed that the accusations he’d made against SMUG in 2022 were “not true”, but declined to elaborate. He said he was desperate to reconcile with the LGBTIQ community, though couldn’t understand why none of them had visited him. “Aren’t they open to dialogue? They are too intolerant,” he said. Mukisa also vowed to fight the AHA once released. “When I come out, I will be one of the people who will lead the de-campaigning of the anti-gay law. I’ll expose everyone who used me and all the money they sent me,” he had said. “I wish I hadn’t participated in the anti-gay campaign.” Upon his release from prison, however, Mukisa’s song changed again. He was unwilling to provide any evidence to support any of the claims he had made while on remand. In November 2023, he said he'd “quit” homosexuality “completely”. And, on Facebook, he restated his admiration for Opendi and Among, who he claims were behind the withdrawal of the charges against him. Most damagingly, he has also resumed his attack on LGBTIQ rights and organisations, saying they “refused to support” his co-accused, 21-year-old Ramon Mwesigwa. “I am not engaging with gay people any more,” he said. “I will work, sweat – but not allow myself to be subject to a group of people whose interests are evil.” In prison, Mukisa claimed that for a million Ugandan shillings (about $260) from the queer organisations, he’d be “open to negotiations”. Mukisa’s fallout with the community in the past couple of years has included accusations of blackmail and solicitation against him. Mukisa’s claims about the extent of his involvement with politicians have been met with denials and silence. Opendi told us: “I have never shared a platform with him anywhere… MPs, religious and cultural leaders and Ugandans as a whole are against LGBTIQ activities. It cannot be Elisha who convinced MPs to pass the bill.” [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/elisha-mukisa-ex-gay-uganda-movement-anti-homosexuality-act-prison/ Published and (C) by OpenDemocracy Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/opendemocracy/