Masaka — The  Vice President, Prof Gilbert Bukenya, has said he cannot support the legalisation of abortion and homosexuality in Uganda. He said this at St Joseph's Church Kinoni in Masaka District on Sunday during a fundraising function to complete the church building.

"The practice might be legal in some western countries, but we cannot adopt it here because our cultural norms are different," Prof Bukenya said. "As a member of Parliament, I will definitely oppose any proposal to adopt such abnormal and immoral practices." He said as a leader of the Ngabi clan, he knows there are unwritten laws governing our cultures. For example, he said, people of the same clan cannot get married to one another.

He was reacting to the issues raised in the sermon of the Bishop of Masaka Diocese, Rt. Rev John Baptist Kaggwa, who had earlier criticised the gay group that had recently gone public and hosted a press conference asking for the legalisation of homosexuality.

"Even if it is a fundamental human right to marry a person of one's choice, our members of Parliament should come out boldly to oppose homosexuality since it is not only against the teaching of God it is also against nature," the Bishop said.

Prof Bukenya also urged Christians to love one another and avoid hypocrisy. "We often say to one another, 'Peace, be upon you!' We should say this with sincerity and genuinely love one another because when we do we shall have peace and development in the country."

On the remarks attributed to the Minister of State for ICT, Mr Chresosytom Alintuma Nsambu that he made recently at Mbiriizi in Masaka District about closing down Radio CBS and Radio Buddu. "The government has no plan to close any radio station and there is no reason why people should waste time on this," he said.