The Funeral is dedicated to every person still suffering discrimination and prosecution because of his or her sexuality, as well as those burdened with homophobic bullying by the people who are supposed to love, protect and serve them… especially the men and women of Africa.
David Kato, Ugandan teacher and LGBT rights activist (considered the father of Uganda’s gay rights), who sued a local Ugandan newspaper for outing him as a homosexual, was murdered in his hometown on 27 January 2011…
The Ugandan Government is enforcing stringent laws that criminalise homosexuality in the country. These laws are based on inflammatory and extremist religious misconceptions. Yet, still, the Ugandan Government claims that David’s brutal murder had nothing to do with him being gay…
David was buried in a soapbox coffin made by his close friends (all gay). He was laid to rest in the woods, in an unmarked grave. His funeral was held in secret, since all gay people in Uganda are living in fear of their lives. Some are even reported and handed over to the police by their own families…
Let us not shame ourselves and our brothers and sisters, because we choose to remain silent.
The Funeral
Soapbox coffin
16 hands grip and carry
16 feet shuffle and scurry
8 voices murmur and moan
softly
shy
scared
in the bushes by the trees
where they huddle and hide
not to be seen
not to be heard
not to be found
not to be killed.
It’s God’s will
– says man –
that you be bullied
mocked
stoned
beaten
lashed
and crippled.
In Jesus’ name
you be
jailed
murdered
or worse(!)
cured
from the ‘beast in your heart’
that yearns
only for love.
Never to have?
Never to hold?
No flowers are laid
No name is called
just a corpse
in a hole
alone
left in anger
left in fear
left in shame…
Quietly laid to rest.
At last!
– Francois Lubbe
