Story of Beheaded Ugandan LGBT Activist A Hoax?

The GLBT site that broke the story in America of a murdered, beheaded Ugandan GLBT equality activist now says that while a murder and beheading did take place, the identity of the victim was deceptively said to be the missing activist--possibly in order to perpetrate fraud, or maybe to discredit gay and lesbian advocates.

The story grew up around a severed head that was discovered in a latrine on a Ugandan farm. The head was thought to belong to the same victim as a dismembered and sexually mutilated torso that was found less than a mile away. Sources in Uganda claimed that the victim had been involved with Integrity Uganda, a LGBT equality organization. According to Box Turtle Bulletin, which broke the story here, several sources abroad--one in the U.K. and two in Uganda--said that the victim was associated with the gay rights group, and at least one report also said that the young man's head was discovered, together with bloody clothing, in the latrine by searchers looking for a missing cleric.

The clergyman in question, Rev. Henry Kayizzi Nsubuga, had reportedly delivered a pro-gay sermon before vanishing. Reports indicated that Nsubuga may have met a violent fate at the hands of anti-gay vigilantes inflamed by the nation's observance of Martyrs' Day, a holiday that commemorates the execution of Christian converts by a Ugandan king, Mwanga II. Modern tellings of the story accuse the Mwanga of having been gay, and the holiday is therefore reputed to be a time of heightened danger for GLBTs in Uganda.

However, Box Turtle Bulletin reported, there are only two sources that say that Nsubuga delivered such a sermon, and both sources are suspect. One is an anti-gay Anglican site; another is the same person who blogged about the murdered young man being with Integrity Uganda, the Rev. Colin Coward, who heads up the U.K.-based GLBT advocacy group Changing Attitudes.

Box Turtle Bulletin called Rev. Coward's reliability into question, noting that Coward's original posting included quotes that purportedly came from Integrity Uganda's chair, Bishop Christopher Senyonjo. However, Senyonjo himself contact Box Turtle Bulletin to say that he had not made those statements--and furthermore, the murder victim whose head had been thrown down the latrine was not, in fact, associated with Integrity Uganda.

The Rev. Coward also attributed statements to the Rev. Erich Kasirye, whom Coward identified as the "Director General" of Integrity Uganda--although Kasirye had parted ways with the group six years ago and, Box Turtle Bulletin said, gone on to ally himself with anti-gay Anglican churches based in Africa. Integrity had fired Kasirye, Box Turtle Bulletin reported, because Kasirye had defrauded contributors for his own financial benefit. Kasirye's activities allegedly set the cause of GLBT acceptance back in Uganda and tarnished Integrity's good name for years.

The article at Box Turtle Bulletin concluded that the story was a "complete hoax," though the reason for the deception was not known. Uganda's parliament is scheduled to debate soon on a highly controversial bill that would put some gays to death. The deliberations will be the final step before the bill is either made into law or defeated.