Child Rape Festival: Why Are There Fake Stories about Uganda?

An article claiming that Uganda was hosting a "child rape festival" has been proved to be a hoax. The article follows another fake story alleging Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni's daughter was lesbian.

The stream of fake articles come during controversial times for Uganda, as the country is under the spotlight for promulgating a controversial homophobic bill.

The new law stipulates life imprisonment for homosexual offences.

The article about the Ugandan rape festival was posted by South African-based satirical site, Lifestyle Tabloids.

According to the latest hoax, the child rape festival, "which will see girls as young as two months being helplessly raped 'the natural way', has been unanimously welcomed by the parliament as it upholds Ugandan Christian principles, as opposed to two consenting adults in homosexual sex.

"Under the tagline 'God Loved Child Rapists – Not homosexulas' , the festival will present an array of child rape activities which will see the winner being awarded a 'Yoweri Prize' for the most rapes, consisting of a diamond encrusted trophy named after Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni."

The story alleging Museveni's daughter's homosexuality reads: "Diana Kamuntu, Museveni's daughter, said that though she loves her father unconditionally, she does not agree with Uganda's anti-gay stance, and will fight against it.

"'I am gay, I am homosexual. I have known this since I was a little girl. Also, I have been Christian all of my life, so I will not tolerate any law of this supposedly democratic nation, that will place hate on any person just because of what his or her sexual orientation happens to be,' said Kamuntu."

These recent fake articles almost certainly represent an affront to Museveni's crackdown against homosexuals and to Reverend and State Minister for Ethics and Integrity Simon Lokodo's claim that child rape is better than homosexuality.

As a result of these controversial strands which deny basic human rights and violate international laws, the World Bank has postponed a $90m (£54m) loan to Uganda following the enforcement of the new law.

The US has warned that the homophobic bill will complicate relations with the US.