WHY AFRICAN HOMOPHOBIA IS STILL THE REAL WESTERN IMPORT

African homophobes say they are saving the continent and the world from homosexuality, but they are just serving their own selfish interests and the interests of right-wing Christian nationalists in the West.African political leaders and religious zealots (both Christian and Muslim) have used homophobia as a tool for political and religious power for many years. They say that same-sex relations and gay rights are imports from the west. They have used homophobia to portray themselves as nationalists and defenders of African and religious values. They have used homophobia to frighten and divide people to mobilize popular support and votes.But it is homophobia, as others have said before me, that is the real import from the West. And the whole panoply of weapons employed by the homophobes in Uganda and elsewhere in Africa are themselves colonial imports, ranging from sodomy laws that were a legacy of colonial rule to the parliaments that pass these laws.And homophobia is growing stronger in Africa. In mid-March of 2023, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was quoted by the Monitor newspaper website as saying that the Western countries should stop wasting the time of humanity by imposing their social practices on us. And Kenyan President William Ruto declared at the same time that our culture and religion does not allow same-sex marriages.