It can’t hurt that the Methodist cleric who serves as General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, Samuel Kobia, has written a letter to Ugandan President Museveni expressing “concerns” about the proposed anti-homosexuality act. Coming from next-door neighbor Kenya, Kobia can hardly be accused of being just another neo-colonialist seeking to impose Western values on Africans.

At the same time, the letter is not notably strong. Rather than urging Museveni to pledge to veto the measure it merely says:

It is my hope and my prayer that you will join the African church
leaders and fellow people of faith, to abstain from supporting any law
which can lead to a death penalty; promotes prejudice and hatred; and
which can be easily manipulated to oppress people.

Moreover, Kobia had nothing critical to say about the Uganda clergy who have been supporting the bill–in contrast to his criticism of politicized American churches after the 2004 election. Grade: B