David Kato
Encyclopedia
David Kato Kisule was a Uganda
n teacher and LGBT rights activist, considered a father of Uganda's gay rights movement. He served as advocacy officer for Sexual Minorities Uganda
(SMUG). Kato was murdered in 2011, shortly after winning a lawsuit against a magazine which had published his name and photograph identifying him as gay and calling for him to be executed.
, he received the name "Kato" because he was the younger of a pair of twins. He came out
to his family members, namely his older twin brother John Malumba Wasswa, before he left to teach for a few years in Johannesburg
, South Africa
during its transition from apartheid to multiracial democracy, becoming influenced by the end of the apartheid-era ban on sodomy and the growth of LGBT rights in the country. Coming back to Uganda in 1998, he decided to come out in public through a press conference; he was arrested and held in police custody for a week due to this action. He continued to maintain a contact with pro-LGBT activists outside the country, with LGEP
Executive Director Phumzile S. Mtetwa later citing an encounter with Kato at the 1999 ILGA
World Conference
When St Herman Nkoni Boys Primary School was founded in 2002 in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Masaka (Masaka District
), Kato joined the faculty.
, eventually becoming one of the founding members of SMUG on March 3, 2004.
According to a series of confidential cables written by a Kampala-based United States diplomat and later released by WikiLeaks
, Kato spoke during a November 2009 United Nations-funded consultative conference on human rights. During the conference, Kato spoke on the issue of LGBT rights and the anti-LGBT atmosphere in the country, but members of the Uganda Human Rights Commission
"openly joked and snickered" during the speech, and a rumor circulated that David Bahati
MP, the leading proponent of the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill
, had ordered the Inspector General of Police to arrest Kato, causing Kato and other attending members of SMUG to leave the conference immediately after he finished the speech. Bahati then made a "tirade against homosexuality" to the conference, resulting in massive applause and Martin Ssempa, an Evangelical Christian cleric, pounding his fist on the table in agreement..
By 2010, he had quit his job as a school teacher in order to focus on his work with SMUG in light of the events surrounding the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill
. Kato was subsequently given a one year fellowship at the Applied Centre for Human Rights based at the University of York
in the United Kingdom, a centre which provides fellowships to vulnerable and threatened Human Rights activists as a reprieve from the dangers they face in their own Countries.
in an article which called for their execution as homosexuals. Kato and two other SMUG members who were also listed in the article — Kasha Nabagesera
and Julian Patience "Pepe" Onziema — sued the newspaper to force it to stop publishing the names and pictures of people it believed to be gay or lesbian. The photos were published under a headline of "Hang them" and were accompanied by the individuals' addresses. The petition was granted on November 2, 2010, effectively ruling for the end of Rolling Stone. Giles Muhame, the paper's managing editor, commented: "I haven't seen the court injunction but the war against gays will and must continue. We have to protect our children from this dirty homosexual affront." On January 3, 2011, High Court Justice V. F. Kibuuka Musoke ruled that Rolling Stones publication of the lists, and the accompanying incitation to violence, threatened Kato's and the others' "fundamental rights and freedoms;" attacked their right to human dignity; and violated their constitutional right to privacy. The court ordered the newspaper to pay Kato and the other two plaintiffs 1.5 million Ugandan shilling
s each.
, by at least one unknown male assailant who hit him twice in the head with a hammer before fleeing on foot; Kato later died en route to the Kawolo Hospital. Kato's colleagues note that Kato had spoken of an increase in threats and harassment since the court victory, and they believe that his sexual orientation and his activism were the motive for the murder. Joe Oloka-Onyango
, who worked with Kato on the court case, said, "This is a very strange thing to happen in the middle of the day, and suggests pre-meditation." According to reports in the New York Times
and the Sydney Morning Herald
, questions are being raised about the murder's being linked to Kato's sexuality. Human Rights Watch
and Amnesty International
have both called for an in-depth and impartial investigation into the case, and for protection for gay activists. James Nsaba Buturo
, the Ugandan Minister of State for Ethics and Integrity, is on record as having declared that "Homosexuals can forget about human rights".
that Enock had murdered Kato because Kato would not pay him for sexual favors.
[sic] luta continua
" in the back and having rainbow flag
colors inscribed onto the sleeves. However, the Christian preacher at the funeral preached against the gays and lesbians present, making comparisons to Sodom and Gomorrah
, before the activists ran to the pulpit and grabbed the microphone from him, forcing him to retreat from the pulpit to Kato's father's house. An unidentified female activist angrily exclaimed "Who are you to judge others?" and villagers sided with the preacher as scuffles broke out during the proceedings. Villagers refused to bury Kato at his burial place; the task was then undertaken by his friends and co-workers, most of whom were gay. In place of the preacher who left the scene after the fighting, excommunicated Anglican Church of Uganda bishop Christopher Senyonjo
officiated Kato's burial in the presence of friends and cameras.
, with senior Africa researcher Maria Burnett adding that "David Kato's death is a tragic loss to the human rights community." Amnesty International
stated that it was "appalled by the shocking murder of David Kato," and called for a "credible and impartial investigation into his murder." Both also asked the Ugandan government to protect other gay rights activists.
U.S. President
Barack Obama
, U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton and the State Department, and the European Union
also condemned the murder and urged Uganda authorities to investigate the crime and to speak out against homophobia and transphobia. "I am deeply saddened to learn of the murder," Obama said. "David showed tremendous courage in speaking out against hate. He was a powerful advocate for fairness and freedom."
Rowan Williams
, the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury
, spoke on behalf of the Anglican Communion
, "Such violence [as the death of David Kato] has been consistently condemned by the Anglican Communion worldwide. This event also makes it all the more urgent for the British Government to secure the safety of LGBT asylum seekers in the UK. This is a moment to take very serious stock and to address those attitudes of mind which endanger the lives of men and women belonging to sexual minorities."
For his newspaper's alleged role in the murder, Rolling Stone
editor Giles Muhame stated "When we called for hanging of gay people, we meant ... after they have gone through the legal process ... I did not call for them to be killed in cold blood like he was." However, he stated, "I have no regrets about the story. We were just exposing people who were doing wrong."
In Spring 2011, Boston
's American Repertory Theater and System of a Down
's Serj Tankian
dedicated their production of Prometheus Bound
to Kato and seven other activists, stating in program notes that "by singing the story of Prometheus
, the God who defied the tyrant Zeus
by giving the human race both fire and art, this production hopes to give a voice to those currently being silenced or endangered by modern-day oppressors".
On the 30th July 2011, in the City where Kato studied a fellowship at the University's Applied Centre of Human Rights, the York
Gay Pride event was held in commemoration of Kato. In front of the thousands of attendees, some of whom had befriended Kato during his time in the City, a minute silence and hundreds of rainbow coloured balloons were released in Kato's memory by Member of Parliament for York Central Hugh Bayley
and the Lord Mayor of York
.
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
n teacher and LGBT rights activist, considered a father of Uganda's gay rights movement. He served as advocacy officer for Sexual Minorities Uganda
Sexual Minorities Uganda
Sexual Minorities Uganda is an umbrella non-governmental organization based in Kampala, Uganda. Headed by Executive Director Frank Mugisha and Chairperson and founder Victor Mukasa and formerly co-headed by Advocacy Officer David Kato , it pushes for the protection and human rights of lesbian,...
(SMUG). Kato was murdered in 2011, shortly after winning a lawsuit against a magazine which had published his name and photograph identifying him as gay and calling for him to be executed.
Earlier life
Born to the Kisule clan in its ancestral village of Nakawala, Namataba Town Council, Mukono DistrictMukono District
Mukono District is a district in Central Uganda. Like most other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town' - Mukono.-Location:Mukono District is bordered by Kayunga District to the north, Buikwe District to the east, the Republic of Tanzania to the south, Kalangala District to the...
, he received the name "Kato" because he was the younger of a pair of twins. He came out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
to his family members, namely his older twin brother John Malumba Wasswa, before he left to teach for a few years in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
during its transition from apartheid to multiracial democracy, becoming influenced by the end of the apartheid-era ban on sodomy and the growth of LGBT rights in the country. Coming back to Uganda in 1998, he decided to come out in public through a press conference; he was arrested and held in police custody for a week due to this action. He continued to maintain a contact with pro-LGBT activists outside the country, with LGEP
Lesbian and Gay Equality Project
The Lesbian and Gay Equality Project , formerly known as the National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality , is a non-profit, non-governmental organization in South Africa that focuses on the expansion of LGBT civil rights in South Africa and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa...
Executive Director Phumzile S. Mtetwa later citing an encounter with Kato at the 1999 ILGA
International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association
The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association is an international organization bringing together more than 750 LGBTI groups from around the world. It continues to be active in campaigning for LGBT rights on the international human rights and civil rights scene and...
World Conference
When St Herman Nkoni Boys Primary School was founded in 2002 in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Masaka (Masaka District
Masaka District
Masaka District is a district in Central Uganda. Its main town is Masaka, whose estimated population in 2011 was 74,100.-Location:The district is bordered by Bukomansimbi District to the northwest, Kalungu District to the north, Kalangala District to the east and south, Rakai District to the...
), Kato joined the faculty.
Involvement with SMUG
He became highly involved with the underground LGBT rights movement in UgandaLGBT rights in Uganda
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender persons in Uganda have virtually no orientation-related protections at all. Both male and female homosexual activity is illegal...
, eventually becoming one of the founding members of SMUG on March 3, 2004.
According to a series of confidential cables written by a Kampala-based United States diplomat and later released by WikiLeaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
, Kato spoke during a November 2009 United Nations-funded consultative conference on human rights. During the conference, Kato spoke on the issue of LGBT rights and the anti-LGBT atmosphere in the country, but members of the Uganda Human Rights Commission
Uganda Human Rights Commission
The Uganda Human Rights Commission serves to monitor and advance human rights in Uganda.The UHRC is a body established under the 1995 Constitution Article 51 under the Bill of Rights found in Chapter four of the Constitution. It is based on the Paris Principles which are the guidelines for the...
"openly joked and snickered" during the speech, and a rumor circulated that David Bahati
David Bahati
David Bahati is a Ugandan politician and MP in the Ugandan parliament. He is the MP for the constituency of Ndorwa West and is a member of the National Resistance Movement, the ruling party of Uganda...
MP, the leading proponent of the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill
Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill
Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill is a legislative proposal that would broaden the criminalisation of same-sex relations by dividing homosexual behavior into two categories: "aggravated homosexuality", in which an offender would receive the death penalty, or "the offense of homosexuality" in which...
, had ordered the Inspector General of Police to arrest Kato, causing Kato and other attending members of SMUG to leave the conference immediately after he finished the speech. Bahati then made a "tirade against homosexuality" to the conference, resulting in massive applause and Martin Ssempa, an Evangelical Christian cleric, pounding his fist on the table in agreement..
By 2010, he had quit his job as a school teacher in order to focus on his work with SMUG in light of the events surrounding the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill
Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill
Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill is a legislative proposal that would broaden the criminalisation of same-sex relations by dividing homosexual behavior into two categories: "aggravated homosexuality", in which an offender would receive the death penalty, or "the offense of homosexuality" in which...
. Kato was subsequently given a one year fellowship at the Applied Centre for Human Rights based at the University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
in the United Kingdom, a centre which provides fellowships to vulnerable and threatened Human Rights activists as a reprieve from the dangers they face in their own Countries.
Rolling Stone case
Kato was among the 100 people whose names and photographs were published in October 2010 by the Ugandan tabloid newspaper Rolling StoneRolling Stone (Uganda)
Rolling Stone was a weekly tabloid newspaper published in Kampala, Uganda. The paper published its first issue on August 23, 2010, under the direction of 22-year-old Giles Muhame and two classmates from Kampala's Makerere University...
in an article which called for their execution as homosexuals. Kato and two other SMUG members who were also listed in the article — Kasha Nabagesera
Kasha Nabagesera
Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera is a Ugandan LGBT rights activist. She is the founder and executive director of an LGBT rights organisation called Freedom and Roam Uganda. She has publicly campaigned for an end to homophobia in Uganda, where homosexuality is illegal...
and Julian Patience "Pepe" Onziema — sued the newspaper to force it to stop publishing the names and pictures of people it believed to be gay or lesbian. The photos were published under a headline of "Hang them" and were accompanied by the individuals' addresses. The petition was granted on November 2, 2010, effectively ruling for the end of Rolling Stone. Giles Muhame, the paper's managing editor, commented: "I haven't seen the court injunction but the war against gays will and must continue. We have to protect our children from this dirty homosexual affront." On January 3, 2011, High Court Justice V. F. Kibuuka Musoke ruled that Rolling Stones publication of the lists, and the accompanying incitation to violence, threatened Kato's and the others' "fundamental rights and freedoms;" attacked their right to human dignity; and violated their constitutional right to privacy. The court ordered the newspaper to pay Kato and the other two plaintiffs 1.5 million Ugandan shilling
Ugandan shilling
The Shilling is the currency of Uganda. Technically, the shilling is subdivided into 100 cents but no subdivisions have been issued since the revaluation of the shilling in 1987.-History:...
s each.
Murder
On January 26, 2011, at around 2 p.m. EAT (11:00 UTC), while talking on the phone with SMUG member Julian Pepe Onziema, Kato was assaulted in his home in Bukusa, Mukono TownMukono Town
Mukono Town is a municipality in Mukono District, Central Uganda. The town is administered by Mukono Town Council, an Urban Local Government within Mukono District Administration. Mukono Town has links to the English town Guildford.-Location:...
, by at least one unknown male assailant who hit him twice in the head with a hammer before fleeing on foot; Kato later died en route to the Kawolo Hospital. Kato's colleagues note that Kato had spoken of an increase in threats and harassment since the court victory, and they believe that his sexual orientation and his activism were the motive for the murder. Joe Oloka-Onyango
Joe Oloka-Onyango
Joe Oloka-Onyango is a Ugandan lawyer and academic. He is Professor of Law and Director of the Makerere University Human Rights and Peace Centre in Kampala, Uganda, as well as the former Dean of Makerere Law School...
, who worked with Kato on the court case, said, "This is a very strange thing to happen in the middle of the day, and suggests pre-meditation." According to reports in the New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and the Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
, questions are being raised about the murder's being linked to Kato's sexuality. Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
and Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
have both called for an in-depth and impartial investigation into the case, and for protection for gay activists. James Nsaba Buturo
James Nsaba Buturo
James Nsaba Buturo is a Ugandan politician. He was the Minister of State for Ethics & Integrity in the Office of the Vice President in the Ugandan Cabinet, from 01 June 2006 until 27 May 2011. In the cabinet reshuffle of 27 May 2011, he was drpped from the cabinet as replaced by Father Simon Lokodo...
, the Ugandan Minister of State for Ethics and Integrity, is on record as having declared that "Homosexuals can forget about human rights".
Arrests
A police spokesperson initially blamed the murder on robbers who have allegedly killed at least 10 people in the area over the last two months. Police arrested one suspect, Kato's driver, and were seeking a second. On February 2, 2011, police announced the arrest of Nsubuga Enock, saying that he had confessed to the murder. A police spokesperson described Enock as a "well-known thief" and local gardener, but stated as to Enock's alleged motive, "It wasn't a robbery and it wasn't because Kato was an activist. It was a personal disagreement but I can't say more than that." A police source alleged to the Uganda MonitorThe Monitor (Uganda)
The Daily Monitor is Uganda’s leading independent daily newspaper. The "Monitor" name is shared by the Saturday Monitor and Sunday Monitor, which are also published by Monitor Publications Limited. It has an online readership of over 1,000,000.The newspaper was established in 1992 as The Monitor...
that Enock had murdered Kato because Kato would not pay him for sexual favors.
Funeral
Kato's funeral was held on January 28, 2011, in Nakawala. Present at the funeral were family, friends and co-activists, many of whom wore t-shirts bearing his photo in front, the Portuguese "laA luta continua
A luta continua was the rallying cry of the FRELIMO movement during Mozambique’s war for independence...
" in the back and having rainbow flag
Rainbow flag (LGBT movement)
The rainbow flag, sometimes pride flag, LGBT pride flag or gay pride flag, is a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender pride and LGBT social movements in use since the 1970s. The colours reflect the diversity of the LGBT community, and the flag is often used as a symbol of gay pride in...
colors inscribed onto the sleeves. However, the Christian preacher at the funeral preached against the gays and lesbians present, making comparisons to Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and later expounded upon throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources....
, before the activists ran to the pulpit and grabbed the microphone from him, forcing him to retreat from the pulpit to Kato's father's house. An unidentified female activist angrily exclaimed "Who are you to judge others?" and villagers sided with the preacher as scuffles broke out during the proceedings. Villagers refused to bury Kato at his burial place; the task was then undertaken by his friends and co-workers, most of whom were gay. In place of the preacher who left the scene after the fighting, excommunicated Anglican Church of Uganda bishop Christopher Senyonjo
Christopher Senyonjo
Christopher Ssenyonjo is a clergyman and LGBT rights activist from Uganda. He studied at the Union Theological Seminary in 1963, and was ordained into the priesthood in 1964 in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. He served in the Church of Uganda and was elevated to bishop in...
officiated Kato's burial in the presence of friends and cameras.
Reactions
The murder was decried by Human Rights WatchHuman Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
, with senior Africa researcher Maria Burnett adding that "David Kato's death is a tragic loss to the human rights community." Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
stated that it was "appalled by the shocking murder of David Kato," and called for a "credible and impartial investigation into his murder." Both also asked the Ugandan government to protect other gay rights activists.
U.S. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, U.S. Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Hillary Clinton and the State Department, and the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
also condemned the murder and urged Uganda authorities to investigate the crime and to speak out against homophobia and transphobia. "I am deeply saddened to learn of the murder," Obama said. "David showed tremendous courage in speaking out against hate. He was a powerful advocate for fairness and freedom."
Rowan Williams
Rowan Williams
Rowan Douglas Williams FRSL, FBA, FLSW is an Anglican bishop, poet and theologian. He is the 104th and current Archbishop of Canterbury, Metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury and Primate of All England, offices he has held since early 2003.Williams was previously Bishop of Monmouth and...
, the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, spoke on behalf of the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
, "Such violence [as the death of David Kato] has been consistently condemned by the Anglican Communion worldwide. This event also makes it all the more urgent for the British Government to secure the safety of LGBT asylum seekers in the UK. This is a moment to take very serious stock and to address those attitudes of mind which endanger the lives of men and women belonging to sexual minorities."
For his newspaper's alleged role in the murder, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone (Uganda)
Rolling Stone was a weekly tabloid newspaper published in Kampala, Uganda. The paper published its first issue on August 23, 2010, under the direction of 22-year-old Giles Muhame and two classmates from Kampala's Makerere University...
editor Giles Muhame stated "When we called for hanging of gay people, we meant ... after they have gone through the legal process ... I did not call for them to be killed in cold blood like he was." However, he stated, "I have no regrets about the story. We were just exposing people who were doing wrong."
In Spring 2011, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
's American Repertory Theater and System of a Down
System of a Down
System of a Down, also known by the acronym SOAD and often shortened to System, is a rock band from Southern California. The band was formed in 1994. It consists of Serj Tankian , Daron Malakian , Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan...
's Serj Tankian
Serj Tankian
Serj Tankian is a Lebanese-born Armenian-American singer–songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, playwright, record producer, poet, and political activist...
dedicated their production of Prometheus Bound
Prometheus Bound
Prometheus Bound is an Ancient Greek tragedy. In Antiquity, this drama was attributed to Aeschylus, but is now considered by some scholars to be the work of another hand, perhaps one as late as ca. 415 BC. Despite these doubts of authorship, the play's designation as Aeschylean has remained...
to Kato and seven other activists, stating in program notes that "by singing the story of Prometheus
Prometheus
In Greek mythology, Prometheus is a Titan, the son of Iapetus and Themis, and brother to Atlas, Epimetheus and Menoetius. He was a champion of mankind, known for his wily intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals...
, the God who defied the tyrant Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
by giving the human race both fire and art, this production hopes to give a voice to those currently being silenced or endangered by modern-day oppressors".
On the 30th July 2011, in the City where Kato studied a fellowship at the University's Applied Centre of Human Rights, the York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
Gay Pride event was held in commemoration of Kato. In front of the thousands of attendees, some of whom had befriended Kato during his time in the City, a minute silence and hundreds of rainbow coloured balloons were released in Kato's memory by Member of Parliament for York Central Hugh Bayley
Hugh Bayley
Hugh Bayley is a British Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament for York Central. He held the City of York seat from 1992 to the 2010 general election, when boundary changes took effect.-Early life:...
and the Lord Mayor of York
Lord Mayor of York
The Lord Mayor of York is the Lord Mayor, Chairman of City of York Council, first citizen and civic head of York. The appointment is made by the council each year in May, at the same time appointing a Sheriff, the city's other civic head...
.