Queer Ancestor Spotlight: David Kato
David Kato Kisule was a Ugandan teacher and LGBTQ+ rights activist, considered by many to be the father of the Ugandan gay rights movement. He was a founding member of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) and was deeply involved with the underground LGBTQ+ rights movement in his home country.
David Kato
Kato was born to the Kisule clan in its ancestral village of Nakawala. He attended King’s College Budo and Kyambogo University. After graduating he taught at various schools in Uganda, ultimately being dismissed without benefits from the Nile Vocational Institute in Njeru without benefits, likely due to discovery of his homosexuality. He moved to South Africa to teach in Johannesburg during the transition from apartheid to a multiracial democracy. The LGBTQ+ rights movement in South Africa, particularly the end of the ban on sodomy, greatly influenced him.
He returned to Uganda in 1998 and made the decision to publicly come out. He did so during a press conference, which earned him the description of “Uganda’s first openly gay man.” As a result of this press conference he was detained and held in police custody for a week. Kato became involved with not only the underground LGBT rights movement in Uganda, but established contact with pro-LGBTQ+ activists outside of his country. In 2009 he spoke at a United Nations-funded conference on human rights describing anti-LGBTQ+ animus in his country, during which the Uganda Human Rights Commission members in attendance openly ridiculed him.
In March 2004, Kato became one of the founding members of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG). This group is considered the leading gay rights advocacy group in Uganda, and Kato served as the advocacy and litigation officer. In 2010, Kato was offered a one year fellowship at the Centre for Applied Human Rights at the University of York in the United Kingdom. During this time, a Ugandan tabloid named Rolling Stone published the names, photographs, and addresses of 100 people they identified as homosexuals, and called for their execution. Kato was included in this list.
Kato and other SMUG members sued Rolling Stone to force the paper to stop publishing their personal information. On January 3, 2011 the High Court ruled in favor of Kato and his colleagues, requiring the cessation of the publication and financial compensation to Kato and the other plaintiffs. During this time, Kato was warning his friends about increased threats and harassment that he associated with the court case.
A few weeks later, on January 26, a man assaulted Kato in his home in Bukusa, Mukono Town, hitting him over the head with a hammer. Kato died en route to the hospital. His funeral was held on January 28 in Nakawala, and was attended by friends, family, and fellow activists. The Christian preacher presiding over the funeral issued anti-LGBTQ+ tirades, which resulted in activists storming the pulpit, causing the preacher to retreat. Ex-communicated Anglican Church of Uganda bishop Christopher Senyojo stepped in to officiate the funeral, and Kato’s friends and co-activists assisted in the burial.
Learn more about the David Kato here:
Call Me Kuchu - A film by Katherine Fairfax Wright and Malika Zouhali-Worrall
The life and legacy of David Kato - University of York
New University of York college named after human rights defender, David Kato - University of York
US embassy cables: Uganda defends anti-homosexuality bill - The Guardian
Obituary: Uganda gay activist David Kato - BBC News
Judge orders Ugandan paper to stop publishing “gay lists” - CNN
David Kato Kisule - The Legacy Project
Ugandan LGBTQ Org Sues U.S. Evangelist For Inciting Persecution - Feministing
David Kato: Ugandan LGBTQ rights activist and martyr - Q Spirit
