(Uganda) - Following an interview with the Gay rights activist Juliet Victor Mukasa, the Capital Radio presenter Gaetano Kaggwa and programme controller George Manyali were suspended by Uganda’s Broadcasting Council for “allowing foul language” in their morning show. The council accused the two radio hosts of failure to prevent their guest from using “vulgar” language on their show. According to the council, the woman used language that “breached broadcasting ethics,” citing the use of “four-letter words” and mentioning “female genitalia” during the talk. Additionally to the one-week suspension, the broadcasting council ordered Mr Kaggwa and Mr Manyali to prove their qualification to present the programme.
Since foul language is not a rarity on Uganda’s radio, the decision is very likely to be politically motivated.
According to the reports of The New Vision, Council secretary Kagole Kivumbi declared that the prescribed standards must be followed and the radio station is expected to be able to stop inappropriate content from broadcasting. “The airwaves are a public facility so the public interest should be taken into account.” Kivumbi added that the two employees did not provide evidence that they have the necessary qualification to present the programme. The radio station has been threatened with further measures, should it “repeat the same mistake” again.
Answering the accusations, Mr Gaetano stressed that he has support of the management of the radio station. He made it clear that the show “was not vulgar” but “a straight forward debate except perhaps for once or twice when the lady was a bit derogatory,” and that the accusations against him were bogus. He mentioned that vulgar language has been widely used in other shows without consequences for the hosts.
The incident occured in midst of the campaign launched by Ugandan Gays demanding respect and equal rights. On a conference performed by Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) on 16 August 2007, the group took a stand against violations of human rights of Gay people. “We have had enough of the abuse, neglect, and violence. No person should be deprived of their constitutional rights; and homosexuals and transgender people are no exception,” their declaration stated.
“We cannot continue to ignore the people in this country who are most at risk because of unfair discrimination and stigma. To successfully stop HIV/AIDS, we must treat every person with the dignity and attention they deserve. No one can justify taking away a person’s right to live, when protection and treatment should be readily available to all.”
Uganda’s Ethics Minister James Nsaba Buturo responded to SMUG’s conference by declaring that the government will not give equal rights to Gays and Lesbians nor has it plans to legalise homosexuality. In an interview to the Daily Monitor he explained:
"There are no rights for Gays and Lesbians in this country. Let them go anywhere else if they don't want to change to normal life. [..] gays have no right in society. No law in Uganda gives them rights. [..] It's good that they have come out and we are going to deal with them like never before."
Recent polls show that approximately 95% of Uganda’s population have hostile feelengs to Gay people, their hatred being religiously motivated. Of Uganda’s population, 42% are Catholics, 36% Anglicans and 12.1% Moslems.
