ANGER AS MUSEVENI & OBAMAS POSE IN WHITE HOUSE

Uganda’s homophobic president can now hang a glamorous portrait of himself hobnobbing with the Obamas in the White House on his wall.

President Museveni – who defiantly signed the now-annulled Anti-Homosexuality Act into law and has condemned his gay and lesbian citizens as perverts and deviants – was photographed with President Obama and the First Lady on Tuesday.

Museveni was attending a dinner at the White House as part of the US-Africa Summit in Washington DC. The photo was proudly displayed on the Facebook page of the US Embassy in Kampala.

This despite Obama and his administration’s condemnation of the anti-gay law and the US’ promise to support LGBT Ugandans as they face continued persecution. Obama has also ignored his own sanctions, announced in June, restricting travel to the US for Ugandans associated with LGBT human rights violations

American activist Melanie Nathan expressed her outrage at Obama socialising with Museveni in the White House on her blog, describing it as a “betrayal”.

“President Obama – I have been a huge supporter of yours. Where are your principles? – You and the First Lady have now welcomed this gay hating corrupt dictator into OUR White House!” she wrote.

Nathan commented that the US Embassy that posted the picture, was the same embassy that denied seven LGBT Ugandans visas to the US for them to be able march with her when she was a Grand Marshal in the San Francisco Pride Parade in June.

“I am angry and as a lesbian American feel betrayed! There is no justification for this whatsoever. You have lost my support! I fought hard for you President Obama and I stuck up for you – often – not anymore! This is not a mistake, its a slap across the face,” she added.

In Uganda, a group of MPs held a press conference on Tuesday to announce the launch of a petition demanding that a new parliamentary vote be held within three days to reinstate the Anti-Homosexuality Act.

The law was declared invalid by the country’s Constitutional Court on Friday because it had been passed without a quorum of MPs by Parliament in December last year.