Uganda: On the screening of gay porn in church · Global Voices
Haute Haiku

Has Pastor Martin Ssempa gone too far?
Over 300 people were gathered in church last week by the controversial anti- gay bill supporter Pastor Ssempa to watch gay porn for back up support for the anti- gay bill. His strong attempts to make the bill relevant even after it is clear that the President Museveni has trashed it and his publicized “million man march”  was supposed to come to a halt as it was obstructed for “security concerns”.
The church was packed as many people came to see what homosexuals really do in their bedrooms, pastor Ssempa then went on to show graphic images of men in situations.
An interactive Kenyan site capitalfm.co.ke discusses the issue:
KAMPALA, Uganda, Feb 17 – A pastor seeking to bolster Uganda's anti-gay laws which already make homosexuality punishable by life imprisonment screened gay porn in a packed Kampala church Wednesday in a bid to drum up support.
The screening was attended by around 300 supporters crammed into an evangelical church in the Ugandan capital after plans for a “million-man march” were thwarted by police:
“We had planned to have a million-man and -woman march in Kampala but unfortunately we were told that we could not march because of security concerns,” Martin Ssempa told the crowd.
Police in the Ugandan capital Kampala blocked the demonstration that was due on the same day and he moved the rally to Jinja:
On Sunday, Police moved to halt a planned demonstration in support of the controversial Anti-Homosexuality Bill saying that the government is still sorting ‘issues out’ as pro-gay activists under the Unitarian Universalist Church of Kampala secretly met to condemn the same bill.
…[Inspector of Police Major General Kale] Gen. Kayihura confirmed that he hasn’t cleared the demonstration and said, “We asked them to postpone the demonstration because government has some issues to sort out and they agreed,”.
Homosexuals in Uganda are still vulnerable to his attacks as he continues to advocate the killing of gays and life imprisonment. His support for the bill is so overwhelming by a show of his organized march and screening of gay porn in church to expose gays to more hate; the legislation to demonize homosexuals is so strong as more people embrace his articulate and charismatic power to influence. Changing attitude highlights from GUG blog on how people applaud to his sermons on how the bible says gays should be killed:
In his report about Ssempa’s gay pornography Ash Wednesday in church, gug says he has heard that some mainstream Christians have had enough and are going to publicly oppose the bill. They are Anglicans and their strongly heart-felt opposition will be in marked contrast to the ‘wishy washy hypocrisy’ of the Church of Uganda. If they are to have any more credibility, says gug, Christians will have to claim back their Church.
Gug watched the programme Agenda Uganda on NTV last night, in which Pastor Solomon Male justified the killing of gay Ugandans because they have refused to change. He said gays should be killed because the Bible says so, and the audience applauded – another extraordinary message for Ash Wednesday.
The debate continues on how culture rewards people who advocate the killing of gays and the pastor airing his sentiments and how he has gone to far. Below are some of the comments left on Capital FM by readers:
Haiya.This whole issue can be looked at in two perspectives,one-A church as a group of people have the right to give out their views as far as homosexuality and lesbianism is concerned.This is because one of the purpose of the church is to mold and produce upright people of the nation. Since police deny them an opportunity to match and air their views in open places, there was no other way of informing the poor/innocent citizens of the facts of homosexuality life,other than to enter into there places of work and teach them there followers. On the other side,the pornographic films are not supposed to be shown inside the God's temple.It could have been maybe at Mandela stadium where,though not sure,any group can demonstrate. Therefore let us not only see that part of showing porn at church but how will the common man in the village know what is good and /or bad of homo/heterosexuality? Lets not deny pastors of talking about the issue.
This is one of the results of being a mediocre church. The devil is very tactical so he knows how to do ‘infotainment’ even on the pulpit. Satan has used Martin Ssempe to entertain people who came to praise their creator, He has also used the pastor to educate people on bedroom gay instead of teaching God's word. Jesus is coming sooner than we think. That Kampala church is not a congregation but a crowd of onlookers and idlers. No wonder the reporter calls them crowd. How can they sit and watch,instead of ousting the pastor?
It is very worrying at this moment in Uganda to see a “man of God” i hear “Dr,Pastor Martin Ssempa” doing a disgrace to the Christians of Uganda and East Africa as a block. In Uganda to start with promoting pornography is illegal, Un christian/un Godly if its done in church, To worsen matters its un cultural/ un African to talk about sex in public irrespective of being homosexual or heterosexual porn. This makes me wonder, Do we really have law enforcement people in Uganda? or the Right wing Christians are becoming untouchable simply because the state house is full of right wing Christians starting with the Big man to the gardener? Having met one on one with the LGBTI activists in Uganda several times, i have come to believe and respect them for the work they are doing, simply because one has to step on them for them to wake up and say we are being stepped on. These people do not condone Defilement and pedophilia irrespective of sexuality. So that leaves me wondering How is it the church's business for what 2 consenting adults do in the privacy of their bedroom? Is the church out of work or its clergy men are just too obsessed with sex and how people have it? Fellow Christians, lets get our facts right about the responsibilities of the church and the state. lets not mix the two otherwise we shall find ourselves having canon laws or Quranic laws governing us. I am not saying they are bad, but they don't fit anymore because they are not fair to the non believers. “Give God what belongs to God and to Ceaser ………”
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