Call Me Kuchu
| Call Me Kuchu | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by |
Malika Zouhali-Worrall Katherine Fairfax Wright |
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Release date
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Running time
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87 minutes |
| Box office | $3,476 |
Call Me Kuchu is a 2012 American documentary film directed by Malika Zouhali-Worrall and Katherine Fairfax Wright. The film explores the struggles of the LGBT community in Uganda, focusing in part on the 2011 murder of LGBT activist David Kato.
The film jointly received the 2014 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary alongside Bridegroom.
At the beginning of the film, it is explained that "Kuchu", a word of Swahili origin, is a way to refer to homosexuals in Uganda; Sylvia Tamale documented the usage of the word by homosexual Ugandans as a catch-all self-description.
In Kampala, two men are having a ninth year anniversary party together with friends. However, it is a very quiet event and everyone is dressing casually to avoid attracting attention. Meanwhile, we see footage of pastors and politicians describing homosexuality as a Western and sinful activity.
Outside his home, David Kato (1964-2011) recounts how he found out about "gay life" when he was living in South Africa ten years earlier. He picked up a gay escort and had sex for the first time, at the age of twenty-eight. He then decided to return to his home country of Uganda and spread gay rights there. At the headquarters of Sexual Minorities Uganda, the LGBT non-profit organization he runs, he explains he is the first openly gay man in Uganda. He adds his job is to track all instances of homophobia in Uganda. We then see a man from Mbale explaining he was arrested and humiliated by police officers... We are then introduced to Naome Ruzindana, a lesbian activist with two children. In 2004, she founded the Coalition of African Lesbians.
Gilles Muhame, managing editor of the weekly Ugandan tabloid Rolling Stone, talks about his decision to publish pictures of homosexuals with a quotation from a pastor: "Hang them!" He adds he would like to raid their homes and take their pictures in their own bedrooms, and thus "ignore the right of privacy in the interest of the public." Meanwhile, Naome reveals she became a target for homophobia after her picture was published in the newspaper. Later, David sees a copy of Rolling Stone falsely accusing homosexuals of aiding and abetting terrorist organizations such as the Lord’s Resistance Army, Allied Democratic Forces and Al-Shabaab during the July 2010 Kampala attacks. David then talks to his lawyer, who advises him not to sue over every homophobic article published. We then meet Long Jones, who tells us about another article in Rolling Stone, suggesting they have a list of 100 homosexuals are spreading AIDS in Uganda. At a trial over the articles, Gilles Muhame does not present a defense and the ruling is adjourned; Pastor Solomon Male is present.
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