Victoria University, an affiliate of the UK-based University of Buckingham, has announced that it is to close its campus in Uganda on account of the Bahati anti-gay bill.
Money quote from the Vice Chancellor:
“Over the last few months, the University of Buckingham has been in discussions with our partners, Edulink, who own Victoria University in Kampala, Uganda, about our continued validation of some of Victoria University’s courses. We have both become increasingly concerned about the proposed legislation in Uganda on homosexuality and in particular the constraints on freedom of speech in this area,”
Really? A center of learning is closing its doors solely on account of discriminatory legislation instead of writing briefs on behalf of or in support of those fighting the legislation? Why does that make any sense? What message does that send the students at this school? That you should close down and run when faced with policies you don’t like or agree with?
A New Vision reader’s [edited] comment sums up my own thoughts:
My opinion is that gays should be tolerated as long as they do their things in private as we all do . But now , I am about to change my mind . It seems that homosexuals are more intolerant than I thought . They are a wicked and selfish … Why on earth do you close down a University just because politicians are about to make a law that you don´t like ? Is there any country where everybody likes the laws their leaders make ? If homosexuals had a country where they are the majority, would they allow other people to have a voice ? Why don’t they close when government shoots people ? Why don´t they close when some Ugandans are not allowed to demonstrate? Why don`t they close when politicians steal money that is supposed to help the sick ? It has been always said that homosexuals have an agenda to recruit . Is this the evidence that the allegation is true ? University is the place where people are provided with the keys to open all doors. If a government is taking away “freedom of speech” from the people, isn’t that the reason why a university should stay open at least with the aim to teach students that free expression is a right?
From a gay Ugandan man I say …
Amen. Amen, Amen.
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Victoria University, an affiliate of the UK-based University of Buckingham, has announced that it is to close its campus in Uganda on account of the Bahati anti-gay bill.
We should still share some Kindle books. I beg to differ, it depends on the type of legislation being made into law. You have the Nazis with the Jews, Apartheid and the Hutus with the Tutsis- there was a mass consesus (legislated or not) to exterminate a segment of the population due to their difference. With Apartheid, the -40 year sanctions and company withdrawals were effective in their shunning and elucidation of plight prupose, weren’t they? Which I think is what Victoria Uni is aiming for. Yours and the NV readers argument- sweeping all legislation into one category is faulty- Kill the gays is extreme!?
When Victoria University opened its doors, the Bahati Bill was already tabled. Why didn’t they complain about it then, or simply refuse to open as a matter of principle then? Why have they not taken the same decision prior to this when journalists are jailed routinely, patients die because their drugs are stolen by government officials, women and children die in childbirth due to state neglect? Or is it the case that homosexuals have the only human rights that are worth defending in this manner?
Apparently, one of the solutions they have come up for their students is to relocate them to, among others, their campus in the United Arab Emirates. Really? Doesn’t that country have even more pernicious anti-gay laws?
I initially thought this was a good thing until reading the above comment in the paper. I think a firmly worded statement on the University’s website condemning the bill and homophobia and a refusal to host anti gay pastors etc would have been enough.
It would have been good for Buckingham to consult with gays in Uganda, especially those who attend or who have attended Victoria University. Gays need support but not the paternalistic kind.
The Ugandan community that is pro the AHB bases part of its argument on the concept of its sovereignty. Their argument is that as Ugandans we should be free to make the laws that speak to our moral values. By the same token the west should be afforded the same privilege. Surely its hypocritical for the Ugandans to think the West should continue its affiliations in a country that refuses to subscribe to its ideals. That is what Buckingham is saying here. They are saying they do not want their degree associated with University of Victoria – who by the way had Giles Muhame come speak to their journalist students. The latter may have triggered these events.
But even more importantly for Ugandans to note and that is this is beyond blackmail or mere idle threat – what this withdrawal speaks to is the reality of the AHB. How do Ugandans expect Barclays, and others to operate in Uganda if theses corporations have open diversity policies on their websites inviting gays and lesbians to openly apply for jobs and assuring them of non-discrimination? Are you asking that these western corporations continue to operate in Uganda where if the Bill passes, managers and employees can be arrested for failure to report “known homosexuals?” (The bill says they are criminals if they dont make the reports within 24 hours and they can go to jail for 3 years. Ugandan must prepare itself if it allows the Bill to pass – that corporations will leave Uganda as a matter of necessity, pragmatism and safety and not out of a desire to blackmail or hurt anyone.
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