Church of ‘Kill the Gay Bill’ Advocate Pastor Ssempa Shut Down By Makerere University

Prominent Ugandan pastor, Martin Ssempa, has accused Makerere University of engaging in religious discrimination following the closure of the Makerere Community Church, which he founded and operated for over two decades.

In a statement shared on the social media platform X, Pastor Ssempa expressed disappointment over the university’s decision, claiming it has left thousands of students without spiritual support and counseling services

“Our pulpit, which taught our students to be godly global leaders, is silent,” Ssempa lamented.

He argued that Makerere University, under the leadership of Professor Barnabas Nawangwe, deemed his church “irregular,” effectively denying students access to essential spiritual and social services.

Ssempa emphasized that the constitution guarantees freedom of worship, a right he claims is being violated.

“It’s sad that religious discrimination of religious minorities is still acceptable in our higher institutions of learning in 2024,” he wrote.

Despite his and his wife’s financial contributions of over $6 million to support students, he alleged that the university administration has responded with hostility.

Criticizing Makerere for neglecting student welfare, Ssempa noted that he had warned of a gap in social services as early as 2007.

He announced plans to take legal action against the university, stating, “It is strange that people like me have to resort to court to get the simplest decision for the well-being of the students.”

Pastor Ssempa called on the public to support his fight against what he describes as “religious oppression” at Makerere University.

He encouraged his followers to reach out to Professor Nawangwe and the new Chancellor, Dr. Crispus Kiyonga, demanding an end to the alleged discrimination against religious minorities.

Makerere University has not yet responded to these accusations.

Martin Ssempa, who pastors the evangelical Makerere Community Church in Kampala, had become the face of Uganda’s anti-homosexuality movement. He even  organized anti-gay rallies. He preached that many homosexuals are pedophiles who deserve severe punishment, and he wants to ensure that “sodomy and homosexuality never sees the light of legality in this land of the people of Africa.”

“This is sick, and it is therefore deviant,” he told a large church crowd. “We do not want it.”

Uganda’s Constitutional Court on April 3, 2024, upheld the abusive and radical provisions of the 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act,  The ruling further entrenches discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, and makes them prone to more violence.

The court did strike down sections that restricted healthcare access for LGBT people, criminalized renting premises to LGBT people, and created an obligation to report alleged acts of homosexuality.

“In upholding most provisions of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, including the death penalty in certain circumstances, Uganda’s Constitutional Court has come down on the side of hate, violence, and discrimination instead of standing up for fundamental rights for all,” said Larissa Kojoué, researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The ruling will have a detrimental impact on all Ugandans, including LGBT people, families, and communities who continue to suffer the stigma that the Anti-Homosexuality Act enshrined into law.”

In defiance of international law, the judges ruled that the act does not violate fundamental rights to equality and nondiscrimination, privacy, freedom of expression, or the right to work for LGBT people.

The judges also ruled that those who had challenged the law had failed to prove the negative financial implications of the law, or that there had been a lack of public participation in the legislative processes, or breaches in parliamentary rules of procedures. They concluded that the law had been “overwhelmingly passed on the basis of those views of the Ugandan people’s parliamentary representatives, who would know the sentiments of the people that they represent on the subject.”

The Ugandan Parliament had passed the Anti-Homosexuality Act in March 2023, criminalizing consensual same-sex conduct with penalties of up to life imprisonment, attempted homosexual acts with penalties of 10 years in prison, and the death penalty for those convicted of “aggravated homosexuality,” which includes repeated same sex acts and intercourse with a person younger than 18, older than 75, or a person with a disability. Parliament passed a similar anti-LGBT law in 2013, which the Constitutional Court had declared void on the grounds that it was not passed according to correct parliamentary procedure.

Even before the introduction of the 2023 act, LGBT Ugandans had frequently faced discrimination, harassment, and physical attacks. The Ugandan authorities have banned LGBT organizations, and accused some of “promoting homosexuality” and luring children into homosexuality through “forced recruitment.” Human Rights Watch found that none of these accusations were based on facts.

After the law came into force in May 2023, local groups reported that LGBT people in Uganda were experiencing increased attacks and discrimination by both officials and other people. These included beatings, sexual and psychological violence, evictions, blackmail, loss of employment, online harassment, and denial of health care based on their perceived or real sexual orientation or gender identity.

In December 2023, Ugandan activists began legal proceedings to challenge the constitutionality of the law, one of the world’s harshest curtailing the rights of LGBT people. The petitioners said that the law violates fundamental rights guaranteed in Uganda’s constitution and international human rights law, including the rights to nondiscrimination and privacy, as well as freedom of thought, conscious, and belief. They also said that the law was passed without meaningful and adequate public participation.

The judges upheld provisions in the law that discriminate against LGBT people, including people with disabilities, and provisions for a penalty of up to 20 years in prison for the “promotion of homosexuality.” The provision could apply to anyone advocating for the rights of LGBT people, including representatives of human rights organizations or those providing financial support to such organizations.