QUESTIONS ASKED ABOUT UGANDA GAY STONING REPORT

Questions have been asked about the veracity of a report that seven LGBT people were stoned to death in the past month in rural Uganda.

The group Friends New Underground Railroad (FNUR), a US-based Quaker initiative “helping LGBT people in Uganda,” claimed in a media statement on Monday to have received reports from Ugandan activists about the mob attacks that apparently let to the murder of four gay men, two lesbians and a transperson.

The organisation further claimed to have some evidence of at least one of the attacks but declined to provide names and details of the victims and witnesses due to security concerns.

Colin Stewart, from the blog Erasing 76 Crimes, has now reported that Kampala-based LGBT community leaders “are united in their belief that the report of the fatal stoning of seven LGBT people this month at two locations in rural Uganda is a fabrication.”

He also said that FNUR, which claims to assist LGBT Ugandans escape from danger, stands by its report and says it has provided more details to other groups, including Human Rights Watch, in order for them to further investigate the claims.

In a statement sent to Thegayuk.com, FNUR said that “it reports as much information as we can and operate this project as transparently as we are able – while protecting the identities of those whose work we support. They are on the ground working to save others. The safety and well being of the activists/conductors and their passengers is our reason for creating FNUR and it is our only consideration.”

Added the group about its critics: “It is unclear to us if they are calling us liars who are conning people, or dupes who have been conned and are too stupid to realise it. Or both. It really doesn’t matter. We are not doing this for those people’s approval.”

Mambaonline will report on any further developments on this story.