"Nothing Is More Poignant"

by Chris Bodenner

The Ugandan Daily Monitor runs a front-page profile of Val Kalende, a lesbian who refuses to cow to the threat of life imprisonment, or even death, at the hands of the state:

The Sunday before last, Val Kalende listened quietly as her pastor’s sermon digressed into a soft tirade against homosexuals. “We may even have one in our midst,” the cleric told a congregation of about 50 born-again Christians. If Ms Kalende did not know her pastor to be an honourable man, a father figure, his sudden anti-gay remarks would have left her shifting uncomfortably in her chair, wondering if those dreaded words were meant for her.

In the end, the woman who also serves as a minister, regularly taking her place on the worship team at her church of eight months, chose to let it go. It would not be her last time there.

Continued here. GayUganda is in awe of Kalende:

Val comes out, full face photo. With her partner. And the partner is disguised. Nothing is more poignant. They both are risking their very lives, grabbing the headlines like this, when they can. For, when the bill is passed, this kind of article will not be possible. But, she dared to do it. [...] I salute you. Me, who is still hiding in my anonymity, I salute your reckless courage.

Meanwhile, David Bahati - the Ugandan MP who proposed the anti-gay bill - is digging in his heels against mounting pressure from Christian conservatives like Warren, Coburn, and Grassley.