28 Jan 2011

Gay activist beaten to death in Uganda

6:07 am on 28 January 2011

A leading gay activist in Uganda has been found dead.

Police have confirmed the death of David Kato and say they have arrested one suspect. However, they say the main suspect - who they say lived with Mr Kato - remains at large.

Mr Kato was one of the people who were named and pictured last year by a newspaper calling for gays to be murdered.

A court ordered the paper to stop publishing the personal details of gay and lesbian people.

The Sexual Minorities Uganda group said Mr Kato had been receiving death threats since his name, photograph and address were published by Rolling Stone last year.

The BBC reports homosexual acts are illegal in Uganda, with punishments of 14 years in prison.

Witnesses have told the BBC that a man entered Mr Kato's home near Kampala, on Thursday afternoon and beat him to death before leaving.

There has been a recent spate of "iron-bar killings" in Mukono, where Mr Kato lived.