Gay activist in the eyes of his friends and foes

• To some, he was the epitome of selflessness and a relentless crusader for human rights. To others, he was too opinionated for their liking and certainly not their idea of a moral warrior

“When I heard Kato was dead, I was saddened but also relieved. He was such an assuming person who thought he was better than anyone else, even amongst the gay community.”

Paul Kagaba, a former homosexual now crusading against gay practices, and who claims to have first met Kato in Masaka during a school holiday at a time when Kato was the headmaster of a primary school, describes him as loud, rude and arrogant.

“Some people found him impatient and sometimes rude but that was his way of getting things done. He didn’t mince his words. He told it as it was. His selfless leadership endeared many of us to him,” says Kalende.

The motif in Kato’s story from whomever you hear it is that he was a generous man.

“He was public spirited and generous. He settled other people’s hospital bills and was among the first people to have electricity installed in the area,” recalls a local council chairman.

By now there seems to have been a flipside to Kato’s concern for the welfare of others.

Anti-gay crusader Kagaba, for instance believes that the façade was used to trap people and use them for his sexual satisfaction.

“I was young when I met him. He bought me my first take-away meal ever and two beers. I ended up in his house being sexually used which is how I was initiated into homosexuality. That’s how he always initiated other people then indoctrinated them against women, insisting they were filthy,” claims Kagaba.

On Thursday a press statement posted on the Uganda Media Centre website of the Office of the President, Uganda, reported that a suspect, Nsubuga Enock aka Sydney, had confessed to murdering Kato.

According to the site, the suspect’s police statement indicated that he bludgeoned Kato to death after the latter failed to reward him for sexual services.

“He (Nsubuga) told us that he killed Kato after he failed to give him a car, a house and money he promised as rewards for having sex with him,” the Daily Monitor quoted police sources as saying.

According to the Monitor, “Kato is alleged to have bailed the suspect (Nsubuga) out of Kawuga Prison on January 24, where he been remanded on charges of theft of a mobile phone. The suspect told police that he stayed with Kato for two days. He accused the deceased of having sex with him and promising to pay him during the period. The suspect allegedly told the police he got tired of having sex with Kato but the latter would not have any of his excuses.”

And more worms are crawling from the woodwork.

“Whoever knew Kato and is truthful, knows that he was not a kind, generous person but a sly show off, popular in bars where he offered free drinks to unsuspecting victims who he later initiated into sexual partnerships,” says Kagaba.

A member of the Ugandan gay community writes on the BlogSpot GayUgandan that there were times when Kato’s drinking worried them.

“When we had dated (for) a while I asked him to take an HIV test with me after hearing rumours that he could be infected. His refusal confirmed my fears and I left him. I always thought that his positive status, which most people didn’t know about, could have been the reason for his over-drinking…,” writes the blogger.

A doctor told us that Kato was HIV positive, having confirmed his status in December 2008.

“In fact the day he was murdered at his home I was expecting him at the hospital but he didn’t show up,” adds the doctor who requested anonymity.