>> Uganda president hit by Texas hotel snub over anti-gay law
Yoweri Museveni, 70 ans, au pouvoir depuis 28 ans, qui vient notamment de limoger son Premier ministre sur fond de rivalité en vue de la présidentielle de 2016, se trouvait la semaine dernière dans la ville texane d’Irving pour y rencontrer de potentiels investisseurs et des membres de la diaspora ougandaise.
« Mes services ont fait une réservation d’hôtel, et des homosexuels l’ont bloquée », a-t-il affirmé, cité par sa porte-parole Sarah Kagingo.
« Je leur ai demandé de dire à ces gens qui m’ont invité de me trouver un endroit où dormir. Je ne meurs pas particulièrement d’envie d’aller au Texas ». Le président ougandais a donc finalement trouvé une autre solution d’hébergement.
>> Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni was blocked from staying at a hotel in Texas due to a campaign by gay rights activists, his office said Monday.
The president faced international condemnation after the Ugandan parliament passed a bill earlier this year that would see homosexuals potentially jailed for life, although the legislation was struck down by the east African nation’s constitutional court.
Museveni, aged 70 and one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, visited Irving, Texas last week to meet potential investors and members of the Ugandan Diaspora.
“My people made hotel bookings for me, but homosexuals blocked it,” Museveni was quoted as saying by his spokeswoman Sarah Kagingo.
“I said, tell those people who invited me to find me where to sleep. Am not dying to come to Texas,” the president said.
The president was initially booked to stay at a five-star hotel in Irving, but lobbying from gay rights activists reportedly prompted the hotel to cancel his booking. Officials in Uganda said the president finally managed to find alternative accommodation.
