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Kapya John Kaoma is a Zambian, US-educated scholar, pastor and human rights activist who is most noted for his pro-LGBTQ+ activism, particularly regarding Africa. [1] [2]
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Kapya John Kaoma is a Zambian, US-educated scholar, pastor and human rights activist who is most noted for his pro-LGBTQ+ activism, particularly regarding Africa. [1] [2]
After having received a 1st class Bachelor of Theology at the Theological College of Central Africa in 1997, he went on to receive a Master of Arts at Trinity College, University of Bristol in 1998 and a Doctor of Theology at Boston University in 2010, where he also serves at Visiting Researcher. [3] Kaoma has received several honors and scholarships, including the 2014 International Human Rights Award of the Lesbian and Gay Association Mexico City. [4]
Kapya Kaoma was the first scholar to expose ties between fundamentalist anti-gay Christian groups from the US and the recent increase of postcolonial anti-gay legislation in Africa. His two publications "Globalizing the Culture Wars" [5] and "Colonizing African values" [6] have been influential in understanding anti-LGBTQ politics in Africa and beyond. Examples include Scott Lively, whose "Abiding Truth Ministries" has had extensive media coverage and political attention in Uganda, shortly after which Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni signed into law an anti-gay bill deemed to be one of the most repressive in current history. [7]
Since 2009, Kaoma has published widely on the issues of cultural neo-colonialism, with particular attention on how conservative religious anti-LGBTQ+ ideology is increasingly taking root in many African societies-leading to militant opposition to sexual minorities. Kaoma spoke at The United Nations in 2009 and 2014 respectively [8] on the plight of the LGBTI community in Africa. In 2010, Kaoma testified before the United States Congress' Tom Lantos-Human Rights Commission [9] on Uganda's anti-homosexuality Bill.
Kaoma was Senior Research Analyst for Political Research Associates, a national think tank based in Somerville, Massachusetts. [10] Kaoma has written for the Huffington Post, [11] Religion Dispatches, [12] Los Angeles Times, [13] and the Zambian news outlet Lusaka Times. [14] In addition to providing commentary on anti-LGBTQ+ ideology in Africa, Kaoma's works have been highly cited by many media outlets including The New York Times, [15] [16] The Economist Magazine, [17] Time, [18] The Associated Press [19] and Mother Jones . [20]
Kaoma's research played a critical role in a historic lawsuit filled by Sexual Minorities Uganda against Scott Lively in the U.S. Courts. As a factual witness, Kaoma was subpoenaed by the United States District Court to testify in a deposition in Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) v. Scott Lively case in 2015. On June 5, 2017, Judge Michael Ponsor of the U.S. District Court in Springfield, Massachusetts, dismissed the SMUG case on jurisdictional grounds. In his dismissal, however, he wrote, “Anyone reading this memorandum should make no mistake. The question before the court is not whether Defendant's actions in aiding and abetting efforts to demonize, intimidate, and injure LGBT people in Uganda constitute violations of international law. They do.” [21] Lively's lawyers appealed the ruling, but the court upheld it on August 10, 2018. [22]
Writing with theologians Gerald West and Charlene van der Walt, Kaoma joined in challenging traditional church teachings on sex and marriage, writing that “Sexuality has become a new site of struggle and the ‘old’ theology does not fit, for it is founded on heteropatriarchy.” [23] In "Christianity, Globalization, and Protective Homophobia," Kaoma explores the intersection of globalization, Christianity and African sexual politics. [24] Kaoma guest-edited the first Special Issue in an African-based theological journal on "Sexuality in Africa" for the Journal of Theology for Southern Africa. [25] His academic research has been endorsed by Nobel Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa [26] [27] and cited by high-profile scholars. [28] [29] [30] [31] [32]
“The Role of Religion in Influencing Social and Cultural Norms,” The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Washington DC, October 29, 2015. [34]
The Gunther H. Wittenberg Memorial Lecture 2015: “Earth-Theology and Humanitarianism: Lessons Yet Learnt,” University of Kwa Zulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, August 13, 2015. [34]
“For the People of God and the Whole of His Creation,” Keynote, Mission Open Forum, Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells, April 25, 2015. [34]
“Africa's Sexual Battle: Retracing the Christian Right Activities in Post-Independence Africa (1960-2015. Regional Strategy Workshop on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, February 11, 2014. [34]
“A Scramble for African Values: How the U.S. Christian Right is Influencing African Sexual Politics,” Working Paper, Presented at the African Studies Association, Baltimore, Maryland, 2013. [34]
“Historical Perspectives – Our Baptismal Covenant and Mission,” Global Episcopal Mission Network Educational Institute and Annual Meeting, Connecticut, May 3 – 5, 2012. [34]
“Mission, Theological Education and the Environment,” presented at All Africa Theological Education by Extension Africa, Accra, Ghana, October 5, 2010. [34]
“Globalizing the culture wars: US conservatives, African churches and homophobia,”presented at the 2010 International AIDS Conference, Vienna, Austria, July 21, 2010. [34]
Kaoma is one of the main people in the documentary God Loves Uganda . [35] According to a review in the Washington Post, "Whatever the state of homophobia in Uganda — which Kaoma likens to an incipient wildfire — “God Loves Uganda” clearly lays the blame for it at the feet of the American evangelical movement. The movie doesn't really argue its case, preferring to stand back, in quiet outrage, as the representatives of that movement are shown with the match in their hands." [36]
Within Christianity, there are a variety of views on sexual orientation and homosexuality. The view that various Bible passages speak of homosexuality as immoral or sinful emerged in the first millennium AD, and have since become entrenched in many Christian denominations through church doctrine and the wording of various translations of the Bible.
Anti-LGBT rhetoric comprises themes, catchphrases, and slogans that have been used in order to demean lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. They range from the demeaning and the pejorative to expressions of hostility towards homosexuality which are based on religious, medical, or moral grounds. It is a form of hate speech, which is illegal in countries such as the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.
"Gay agenda" or "homosexual agenda" is a term used by sectors of the Christian religious right as a disparaging way to describe the advocacy of cultural acceptance and normalization of non-heterosexual sexual orientations and relationships. The term originated among social conservatives in the United States and has been adopted in nations with active anti-LGBT movements such as Hungary and Uganda.
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, may be based on irrational fear and may sometimes be related to religious beliefs.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people living in Rwanda face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. While neither homosexuality nor homosexual acts are illegal, homosexuality is considered a taboo topic, and there is no significant public discussion of this issue in any region of the country and LGBT persons face stigmatization among the broader population. No special legislative protections are afforded to LGBT citizens, and same-sex marriages are not recognized by the state, as the Constitution of Rwanda provides that "[o]nly civil monogamous marriage between a man and a woman is recognized". LGBT Rwandans have reported being harassed, blackmailed, and even arrested by the police under various laws dealing with public order and morality.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Uganda face severe legal challenges, active discrimination, state persecution and stigmatisation not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female homosexual activity is illegal in Uganda.
With the exception of South Africa and Cape Verde, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Africa are limited in comparison to the Americas, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Out of the 55 states recognised by the United Nations or African Union or both, the International Gay and Lesbian Association stated in 2015 that homosexuality is outlawed in 34 African countries. Human Rights Watch notes that another two countries, Benin and the Central African Republic, do not outlaw homosexuality, but have certain laws which discriminate against homosexual individuals. Many of the laws that criminalize homosexuality are colonial-era laws.
Scott Douglas Lively is an American activist, author, and attorney, who is the president of Abiding Truth Ministries, an anti-LGBT group based in Temecula, California. He was also a cofounder of Latvia-based group Watchmen on the Walls, state director of the California branch of the American Family Association, and a spokesman for the Oregon Citizens Alliance. He unsuccessfully attempted to be elected as the governor of Massachusetts in both 2014 and 2018.
Corrective rape, also called curative rape, as well as homophobic rape, is a hate crime in which one or more people are raped because of their perceived sexual orientation such as homosexuality or bisexuality. The common intended consequence of the rape, as claimed by the perpetrator, is to turn the person heterosexual.
The Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2014 was an act passed by the Parliament of Uganda on 20 December 2013, which prohibited sexual relations between persons of the same sex. The act was previously called the "Kill the Gays bill" in the western mainstream media due to death penalty clauses proposed in the original version, but the penalty was later amended to life imprisonment. The bill was signed into law by the President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni on 24 February 2014. On 1 August 2014, however, the Constitutional Court of Uganda ruled the act invalid on procedural grounds.
Abiding Truth Ministries (ATM) is a United States 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by Scott Lively in Temecula, California in 1997. The ministry has been based in Springfield, Massachusetts, since 2008. Lively, an American author, attorney and activist, is noted for his opposition to LGBT rights and his involvement in the ex-gay movement. Lively has called for the criminalization of "the public advocacy of homosexuality" as far back as 2007. Along with Kevin E. Abrams, Lively co-authored the 1995 book The Pink Swastika, which states in the preface that "homosexuals [are] the true inventors of Nazism and the guiding force behind many Nazi atrocities." He is also directly linked to pending anti-gay legislation in Uganda, which would, if passed, make homosexual conduct punishable by a lengthy prison sentence or death. The Southern Poverty Law Center regards Abiding Truth Ministries as a hate group.
Christopher Senyonjo is a clergyman and campaigner for LGBT rights in Uganda. He was elevated to bishop in the Church of Uganda in 1974 and retired in 1998. In 2001, he was barred from performing services. Whilst it is widely claimed that this is because of his stance on gay rights, the church claims that it was because of his participation in the consecration of a man to be a bishop of a church with which the Church of Uganda is not in communion. He has since worked with the Charismatic Church of Uganda and the progressive Episcopal Church of the United States, and founded Integrity Uganda and the Saint Paul's Reconciliation and Equality Centre in Kampala. In 2006 the Church of Uganda declared him "no longer a bishop" and revoked all remaining privileges for his involvement with the Charismatic denomination. For his stance Senyonjo has received several honours including the Clinton Global Citizen Award, and has been invited to participate in documentaries and international speaking tours.
Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) is an umbrella non-governmental organization based in Kampala, Uganda. It has been described as the country's leading gay rights advocacy group.
Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera is a Ugandan LGBT rights activist and the founder and executive director of the LGBT rights organization Freedom & Roam Uganda (FARUG). She received the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders in 2011 and the Right Livelihood Award in 2015.
Frank Mugisha is a Ugandan LGBT advocate and Executive Director of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), who has won the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award and Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize 2011 for his activism. Mugisha is one of the most prominent advocates for LGBT rights in Uganda.
Decriminalization of homosexuality is the repeal of laws criminalizing same-sex acts between multiple men or multiple women. It has taken place in most of the world, except Africa and the Muslim world.
John "Longjones" Abdallah Wambere is a Ugandan gay rights activist and co-founder of Spectrum Uganda Initiatives, a Kampala-based LGBTI rights advocacy organization with a focus on health education. Because of the threat of violence and persecution he faces in Uganda, Wambere was approved for asylum in the United States by the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services on September 11, 2014. He currently resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Richard Lusimbo is a Ugandan LGBT activist, documentary filmmaker, and public speaker who gained international attention when he was outed in a Ugandan tabloid newspaper for being gay.
Family Watch International (FWI) is a fundamentalist Christian lobbying organization. Founded in 1999, the organization opposes homosexuality, legal abortion, birth control, comprehensive sex education, and other things that it regards as threats to the divinely ordained "natural family." It has a strong presence in Africa, where it promotes conservative policy and attitudes about sexuality through its United Nations (UN) consultative status.
Some or all sexual acts between men, and less frequently between women, have been classified as a criminal offense in various regions. Most of the time, such laws are unenforced with regard to consensual same-sex conduct, but they nevertheless contribute to police harassment, stigmatization, and violence against homosexual and bisexual people. Other effects include exacerbation of the HIV epidemic due to the criminalization of men who have sex with men, discouraging them from seeking preventative care or treatment for HIV infection.