Ugandan bishop who supported LGBTQ rights dies at 94

Bishop Christopher Senyonjo, a rare public supporter of LGBTQ rights in Uganda, has died at the age of 94. Rights groups in Uganda paid tribute to him on Monday after his death on Sunday.

Senyonjo was one of the few public figures in Uganda to speak in support of LGBTQ people. He was expelled from the Anglican Church in 2006 over his stance on human sexuality. The church said at the time that he had persisted in misrepresenting Scripture.

Uganda passed one of the world's harshest anti-gay laws in 2023. It allows penalties of up to life imprisonment for consensual same-sex relations and the death penalty for so-called aggravated homosexuality.

Senyonjo also criticised an earlier anti-gay law passed in 2014, which was later struck down by Uganda's Constitutional Court on procedural grounds. During debate over that law, he said he could not condemn homosexuals because he was called to serve all people, including marginalised people. He also said people should not be punished for their sexuality.

In 2010, Senyonjo appeared on the front page of a Ugandan tabloid alongside rights activist David Kato in an article that claimed to expose the country's top homosexuals and used the headline "Hang Them". Kato was murdered a few months later, and Senyonjo delivered the prayer at his burial.

Sexual Minorities Uganda said Senyonjo had offered hope, compassion, courage and unconditional love for many years. Freedom and Roam Uganda said his legacy would continue to inspire future generations.

Uganda is about 80 percent Christian, and roughly a third of the population belongs to the Anglican Church. Uganda's Anglican Church welcomed the 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act. Archbishop Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu said at the time that homosexuality was being forced on Uganda by outside actors against the country's culture and religious beliefs.