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The media must not give African leaders platforms to spout homophobia – it only helps their populism

Covering gay rights in Africa is hard work, for both local and international journalists. CNN’s Christiane Amanpour got it wrong in Uganda.

By Lydia Namubiru
The media must not give African leaders platforms to spout homophobia – it only helps their populism
Christiane Amanpour interviews Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni on CNN.
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On 12 January, a couple of days before Uganda’s presidential elections, CNN’s star anchor Christiane Amanpour aired an exclusive interview with President Yoweri Museveni, who had already ruled the country for 35 years and was standing for his sixth term. 

The interview covered familiar territory: youth unemployment, allegations of government repression, and Museveni’s extremely long tenure in office. Then came her final question – about the “constant haranguing of the gay community in Uganda”. 

Uganda is infamous for widespread homophobia and Museveni’s answers were brazenly intolerant. When a clip from the interview was posted online, many reactions from Ugandans seemed to echo his sentiments. “I rarely agree… [with Museveni], but I support him on this. He’s right. 100%,” one person said on Twitter. 

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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0