Leading Ugandan Gay Activist David Kato Who Was Featured On Cover Of Tabloid Rolling Stone Under Headline “Hang Them” Bludgeoned To Death Wednesday

A Ugandan gay rights activist who was pictured and named in a homophobic tabloid has been murdered outside his home in Kampala, the BBC reports. David Kato was an activist with Sexual Minorities Uganda, and he was pictured and named by the violently anti-gay newspaper Rolling Stone in cover story late last year calling on readers to “hang” homosexuals in the country. Kato’s attorney, John Francis Onyango, told BBC that “This happened yesterday (Wednesday) at about 13:00. Initial reports indicate that a lone man entered Kato’s home and struck him twice on the head with a hammer before fleeing in a vehicle. Police are investigating, telling Onyango that they have the registration number of the car, and appear to be concentrating on two potential suspects. The New York-based rights groups Human Rights Watch said in a statement that Kato died on his way to the hospital. Kato has been a prominent voice in the fight against the Anti-Homosexual Bill of 2009, which has been before parliament since October 15th, of that year. While homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda, the proposed law would criminalize all homosexuality, making it an offence punishable by a fine and life imprisonment. “Repeat offenders” and those who are HIV-positive would be subject to the death penalty. The bill would also require that anyone with knowledge of someone who is or who might by a homosexual to report that individual to the police within 24 hours. The bill has been universally condemned, and Kato called it “profoundly undemocratic and un-African.” In late 2010, the tabloid Rolling Stone featured on its cover, among other pictures, a photograph of Kato, as well as one of him inside. Three activists, including Kato sued the publication and won their case on January 3rd, the judge in the case ruling that Rolling Stone had violated their constitutional right to privacy and ordered compensation. The judge also issued an injunction prohibiting any further publications of the identities and home addresses of individuals categorized homosexual.