Rainbow tower to be removed from Ugandan park after parents claimed it was ‘satanic’

Authorities in Uganda have announced they will have remove a rainbow tower from a children’s park after parents claimed it was “satanic” and promoted homosexuality. 

The park tower in the city of Entebbe had been painted in rainbow colours by a local organisation in a bid to refurbish the site.

But Emmanuel Mugabe, from the National Parents Association of Uganda, told local publication Monitor that the rainbow colours were “satanic” and signalled an “invasion of homosexuality through manipulation of children’s minds”. 

He added: “We are happy the rainbow painting has been removed before we removed it ourselves.” 

Uganda has strict anti-gay laws, with same-sex relations being punishable with sentences of up to life in prison and the country’s 2014 Anti-Homosexuality Bill meaning even the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality is a crime.

What have Ugandan official’s said about the rainbow?

Entebbe mayor, Fabrice Brad Rulinda, addressed the removal on Wednesday (1 February). 

Monitor reported that he said: “For years, the children of Uganda have only understood the rainbow as a beautiful arch of colours and biblically it reflects the beauty and majesty of God. 

“It is unfortunate that certain movements have decided to use the rainbow to represent and reflect certain acts that go against the norms of the people of Uganda.” 

Rainbow colours are often associated with the Pride flag, which stands for LGBTQ+ equality.

Rulinda continued: ”We need to curb any vices that would corrupt the minds of our children and it is on this background that the concerns raised by the public were heeded to and the rainbow painting was removed from the children’s park.”

Uganda’s fight for LGBTQ+ equality continues

In a progressive move, local authorities in Uganda’s Kasese district tried to pass legislation last year to recognise the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

But speaking to parliament on Wednesday (1 February), Uganda’s state minister for local government, Victoria Busingye, struck down the proposal. She advised authorities “to drop the proposed by-law since it was contradicting the laws of Uganda and the social, cultural well-being of the people of Kasese and Uganda at large”. 

The Ugandan government also set up a committee last month to investigate the “promotion” of LGBTQ+ rights in schools. 

Last year, government officials shut down leading LGBTQ+ rights group Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), claiming it was operating illegally.

The group had advocated for the rights of sexual minorities in Uganda since 2004, and in 2010 it successfully obtained a court order preventing a newspaper from printing details of gay Ugandan men under the headline “hang them”.

But despite hostility towards the queer community, a report released last year showed that LGBTQ+ rights are a growing priority for young African people.