32 Facts About Christopher Senyonjo

Christopher Senyonjo is a clergyman and campaigner for LGBT rights in Uganda.

Christopher Senyonjo was elevated to bishop in the Church of Uganda in 1974 and retired in 1998.

Christopher Senyonjo has since worked with the Charismatic Church of Uganda and the progressive Episcopal Church of the United States, and founded Integrity Uganda and the Saint Paul's Reconciliation and Equality Centre in Kampala.

Christopher Senyonjo's father died in 1944, and Senyonjo went to live with his aunt in Kitii, near Kasangati.

Christopher Senyonjo described being without blanket or shoes in a cell with people who were dirty and infected with lice.

Mary later received cataract surgery in the United States while Christopher Senyonjo was speaking in Washington in 2011.

Christopher Senyonjo is the father of seven children, and has adopted three.

Christopher Senyonjo began a three-year diploma course at Buwalasi Theological College in 1961, being ordained deacon two years later, after which he attended Union Theological Seminary in the United States.

Christopher Senyonjo was attached to an Episcopal Church of Epiphany and mentored by Hugh McCandlas for priest ordination, later performed by Bishop Donegan in 1964.

Christopher Senyonjo was ordained in the Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York City.

Christopher Senyonjo taught on African traditional religion for four years.

Christopher Senyonjo served in the Church of Uganda and was chosen to fill the vacant position of Bishop of the Diocese of West Buganda in 1974, a position he retained until his retirement in 1998.

Since 2001 Christopher Senyonjo has been viewed as an important advocate for the Ugandan LGBTQ community.

Christopher Senyonjo founded a community centre as a safe place for Ugandan gays, and worked to provide housing and employment for those denied them after being outed.

In June 2008, Christopher Senyonjo explained his beliefs for the film Voices of Witness Africa.

Christopher Senyonjo described the interaction of conference participants with government officials as leading to the introduction of the bill, and the need for education regarding claims of homosexual recruitment in schools.

Christopher Senyonjo testified against the anti-gay bill and was part of a delegation to the Speaker of the House to oppose it.

Christopher Senyonjo said that it was inhumane, violated the UN Declaration of Human Rights and "the sacred bonds of the Ugandan extended family", would make Uganda a police state, and increase the spread of HIV as people would be afraid to seek treatment.

In May and June 2010, at the age of 78, Christopher Senyonjo made a six-week speaking tour of the United States and Ireland, organized by the Rev Canon Albert Ogle.

Christopher Senyonjo spoke in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, Orange County, San Francisco, Minneapolis, New York City, Belfast, and Dublin.

In 2010, Christopher Senyonjo founded the St Paul's Foundation for International Reconciliation to support LGBT equality internationally.

Christopher Senyonjo is the executive director of St Paul's Reconciliation and Equality Centre in Kampala, Uganda.

In February 2011, Christopher Senyonjo responded to the murder of David Kato with an open letter to Archbishop Rowan Williams and the Anglican Communion, calling on the church to speak out against the persecution of gays.

Christopher Senyonjo starred in the documentary film God Loves Uganda, which was filmed around the time of David Kato's death in 2011, and premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.

In September 2011, Christopher Senyonjo came to the United States again on a tour called "Compass for Compassion", speaking at locations including the All Souls Memorial Episcopal Church in Washington, DC.

In March 2014, at the age of 82, Christopher Senyonjo continued to minister to congregants in a makeshift church the size of a small office in Kampala, though their numbers were reduced to a handful, possibly due to intimidation.

Christopher Senyonjo was an inaugural contributor to Bombastic Magazine, a publication concerning the Ugandan LGBTI community that was launched in December 2014.

Christopher Senyonjo joined protesters for LGBTI rights, making a presentation in Jamaica at the 2016 Montego Bay Pride parade.

Christopher Senyonjo was included in Huffington Post list of the ten most influential people in religion in 2010.

Christopher Senyonjo was featured in the award-winning 2012 documentary Call Me Kuchu and God Loves Uganda.

In 2012 Christopher Senyonjo was honoured by former US President Bill Clinton with a Clinton Global Citizen Award for leadership in civil society.

The day after the passage of the anti-gay law in 2014, Christopher Senyonjo was included by the Ugandan tabloid Red Pepper among a widely publicized list of names and photos of "200 Top Homos", as an alleged gay "sympathizer".