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28 January 2011
Last updated at 07:47 ET
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David Kato's death puts Uganda homophobia in spotlight
The funeral has been held for David Kato, a Ugandan gay rights campaigner murdered on Wednesday.
The BBC's Joshua Mmali in Kampala says hundreds of people gathered in his home village near the capital, Kampala, for the burial.
Last year, Mr Kato sued a local paper which outed him as homosexual.
Uganda's Rolling Stone newspaper published the photographs of several people it said were gay, including Mr Kato, with the headline "Hang them".
Homosexual acts are illegal in Uganda, and can be punished by 14-year prison sentences. An MP recently tried to increase the penalties to include the death sentence in some cases.
The Sexual Minorities Uganda (Smug) group said Mr Kato had been receiving death threats since his name, photograph and address were published by Rolling Stone last year.
Our reporter says it is unclear whether the death is linked to the Rolling Stone campaign, but police have said there is no connection between Mr Kato's activism and his death.
'La luta continua' He says hundreds of people - friends, family, colleagues and diplomats - crowded outside Mr Kato's family home in the village of Nakawala in Mukono district, 40km (about 25 miles) from Kampala.
Many members of the lesbian and gay community wore T-shirts with Mr Kato's portrait on the front and the words "La luta continua [the struggle continues]" printed on the back.
There was a moment of drama when a pastor preaching at the outside service told homosexuals to repent, our correspondent reports.
The man warned that they would face the fate of residents in Sodom and Gomorrah, the biblical cities destroyed by God.
He was interrupted, accused of preaching hate, taken away and someone else took over the proceedings, our reporter says.
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote
Police have made one arrest in connection to Mr Kato's murder in his home near Mukono town.
The main suspect - who the police say was living in Mr Kato's house - remains on the run.
"His homosexuality has not come up as an issue in the preliminary investigation," police spokeswoman Judith Nabakooba told Reuters news agency.
"At the moment, we think theft is the most likely motive," she said.
There has been a recent spate of "iron-bar killings" in Mukono in which people have been assaulted with pieces of metal.
Witnesses have told the BBC that a man entered Mr Kato's house and beat him to death before leaving.
Smug's executive director Frank Mugisha told the BBC Mr Kato had recently been concerned about the threats he had received.
"He was killed by someone who came in his house with a hammer, meaning anyone else could be the next target."
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has urged authorities to investigate and prosecute the killers.
The UN refugee agency head Antonio Guterres has said people facing persecution for their sexual orientation in Uganda should be given refugee status in other countries.
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Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.David Kato's death puts Uganda homophobia in spotlight
The funeral has been held for David Kato, a Ugandan gay rights campaigner murdered on Wednesday.
The BBC's Joshua Mmali in Kampala says hundreds of people gathered in his home village near the capital, Kampala, for the burial.
Last year, Mr Kato sued a local paper which outed him as homosexual.
Uganda's Rolling Stone newspaper published the photographs of several people it said were gay, including Mr Kato, with the headline "Hang them".
Homosexual acts are illegal in Uganda, and can be punished by 14-year prison sentences. An MP recently tried to increase the penalties to include the death sentence in some cases.
The Sexual Minorities Uganda (Smug) group said Mr Kato had been receiving death threats since his name, photograph and address were published by Rolling Stone last year.
Our reporter says it is unclear whether the death is linked to the Rolling Stone campaign, but police have said there is no connection between Mr Kato's activism and his death.
'La luta continua' He says hundreds of people - friends, family, colleagues and diplomats - crowded outside Mr Kato's family home in the village of Nakawala in Mukono district, 40km (about 25 miles) from Kampala.
Many members of the lesbian and gay community wore T-shirts with Mr Kato's portrait on the front and the words "La luta continua [the struggle continues]" printed on the back.
There was a moment of drama when a pastor preaching at the outside service told homosexuals to repent, our correspondent reports.
The man warned that they would face the fate of residents in Sodom and Gomorrah, the biblical cities destroyed by God.
He was interrupted, accused of preaching hate, taken away and someone else took over the proceedings, our reporter says.
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote
At the moment, we think theft is the most likely motive”
End Quote
Judith Nabakooba
Police spokeswoman
Police have made one arrest in connection to Mr Kato's murder in his home near Mukono town.
The main suspect - who the police say was living in Mr Kato's house - remains on the run.
"His homosexuality has not come up as an issue in the preliminary investigation," police spokeswoman Judith Nabakooba told Reuters news agency.
"At the moment, we think theft is the most likely motive," she said.
There has been a recent spate of "iron-bar killings" in Mukono in which people have been assaulted with pieces of metal.
Witnesses have told the BBC that a man entered Mr Kato's house and beat him to death before leaving.
Smug's executive director Frank Mugisha told the BBC Mr Kato had recently been concerned about the threats he had received.
"He was killed by someone who came in his house with a hammer, meaning anyone else could be the next target."
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has urged authorities to investigate and prosecute the killers.
The UN refugee agency head Antonio Guterres has said people facing persecution for their sexual orientation in Uganda should be given refugee status in other countries.
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