Former lesbian and LGBT activist says she has renounced homosexuality
A prominent lesbian and LGBT activist in Uganda has reportedly renounced her same-sex attraction and now says homosexuality is a 'sin.'
Val Kalende shocked members of the international LGBT community when she made the public declaration during a church service in Uganda that was broadcast live on Christian channel Salt TV last month, according The Edge.
She came out as a lesbian in 2002 and spent over a decade advocating for LGBT rights, with her writing featuring in The Huffington Post, among other publications.
When Uganda passed laws criminalising homosexual behaviour in 2014, she sought refuge in Canada.
According to The Edge, she said in last month's broadcast that she 'joined' lesbianism after university, at which point her Christian parents 'cut their times with me for being gay.'
'I became rebellious,' she said, according to The Edge's translation. 'We always wondered why the world forced us to become girls who do not love men'
The newspaper also reported that the former lesbian has now returned to Uganda and is getting married soon.
According to Ugandan newspaper the Monitor, Kalende elaborated further on Facebook about the change in her sexual identity.
The website quoted her as saying: 'I'd be glad to respond to questions concerning what I have learned about the sin of same-sex attraction and the mystery that surrounds the homosexual lifestyle, especially for Christians, parents and people with family members or friends who struggle with same-sex attractions.'
According to PinkNews, the declaration has taken the LGBT community by surprise, with Frank Mugisha, executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda, telling the website that he was 'very much worried about her.'
Ugandan human rights activist Stella Nyanzi, who identifies as queer, reportedly responded to the news by saying on Facebook that religion is 'powerful and dangerous.'
"She is not the first homosexual to make public declarations about converting back to heterosexuality. Religion does all sorts of things to people," she was quoted as saying by Nairobi News.
