ABSTRACT
The contemporary treatment, presentation and location of homosexuality and public religion in Africa cannot be considered without an appreciation of the colonial past. In Uganda and East Africa by extension, the current public configuration of homosexuality in relation to religion is largely dependent upon events of Buganda and Uganda's nineteenth century transition to British colonisation. The burnt bodies are used as symbols of glory for Christian believers, and their canonisation, an artistic ceremony to justify their status as saints. During Idi Amin's regime, the same narrative was further reinforced with Mwanga mostly being described as a hero for resisting colonial domination, albeit with a new twist to it: Mwanga was used to justify nationalism from an anti-Christian perspective. In patriotic fashion, his pederasty was denied as a lie invented by missionaries and other colonial agents who in the attempt to distort Buganda and Uganda's history realigned the tale to justify colonial slavery and civilisation.
