A Ugandan tabloid has published what it is terming a list of the “200 top homos” just a day after the country’s president signed into law a bill that criminalises homosexuality.
News of the list is featured on the front page of the Red Pepper newspaper and is headlined: “EXPOSED!”
It also outs some Ugandans who had previously not identified themselves as gay, the Associated Press reports.
Ugandan lesbian activist Jacqueline Kasha is listed in the story. On Tuesday she tweeted: “The media witch hunt is back.”
Others listed in the piece (which at time of press was not yet online) reportedly include prominent Ugandan gay activists including Pepe Julian Omziema, a popular hip-hop star and a Catholic priest, AP adds.
President Yoweri Museveni gave the bill his approval after claiming he had been informed by scientists that there is no gene for homosexuality and that it is merely “abnormal behaviour”.
“It was learned and could be unlearned,” he said.
In a speech reported by Daily Monitor, President Museveni added: “I could not understand why a man could fail to be attracted to the beauties of a woman and instead, be attracted to a fellow man.
"It meant, according to me, that there was something wrong with that man - he was born a homosexual - abnormal."
In comments referenced on the cover of Red Pepper, President Museveni also denounced oral sex, adding: "The mouth is not engineered for that purpose except kissing. Besides, it is very unhealthy. People can even contract gonorrhea of the mouth and throat on account of so-called 'oral sex', not to mention worms and hepatitis."
Red Pepper is infamous for its homophobic copy, which has included the headlines: "This gay monster raped boys in school but failed to bonk wife", "Smoked out! Uganda Cranes boss nabbed sodomising players."
The new law will punish people convicted of having gay sex with jail terms up to life, according to drafts of the legislation. It also makes it a crime not to report gay people.
Rights groups worldwide have condemned the bill as draconian and "dangerous".
In a statement, Gemma Houldey, Amnesty International’s Uganda Researcher told the Huffington Post UK the "deeply offensive piece of legislation" was an "affront to the human rights of all Ugandans."
“This legislation will institutionalise hatred and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in Uganda. Its passage into law signals a very grave episode in the nation’s history," she said.
Homosexual acts are already illegal in Uganda. The new law punishes first-time offenders with 14 years in jail, and allows life imprisonment as the penalty for acts of "aggravated homosexuality".