UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- The international community put pressure on the Ugandan government to reform its sexuality laws after a gay rights activist was beaten to death near Kampala.
A lawyer for gay rights activist David Kato said Thursday that authorities found Kato's bludgeoned body in his home roughly a year after a Ugandan tabloid published his name on a list of "top homosexuals."
Kato told CNN in an interview in 2009 after the list was published that he feared for his life.
Michel Sidibe, the executive director of the U.N. Program on HIV/AIDS, said in a statement that Ugandan authorities must take the Kato slaying seriously.
"I urge the government of Uganda to conduct a thorough investigation into his death, as well as to ensure adequate security for its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens," he said.
U.S. President Barack Obama said rights for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender citizens "are not special rights; they are human rights."
The Rolling Stone newspaper in Uganda last year sparked controversy when it published the names of people the editors said were homosexuals. Many of those listed by the magazine were attacked after their names were published.
