Peter Waldron, the adviser to Rep. Michele Bachmann who was charged with terrorist acts in Uganda in 2006, also had a close relationship with Pastor Martin Ssempa, the preacher who has led efforts in Uganda to pass anti-gay laws.
In “Missionaries of Hate,” “Vanguard” correspondent Mariana van Zeller (above left, with Ssempa) investigated the influence of American evangelical leaders on Ssempa’s campaign. [Watch the full episode here.]
Andrew Rice, who worked for The New Republic in Uganda during the same time Waldron was there, wrote in Capital this week that Ssempa welcomed Waldron into his church. Waldron spoke to Ssempa’s congregation about the connection between American and African evangelical Christians:
“When you were born again, you became a new person. You left your tribe,” Waldron said. Now, he said, they were all bound together by their common love of God. “I am not American. I am a Christian who comes from America. You are not Ugandan. You are a Christian who comes from Uganda.”
Rice credited that appearance with helping him connect the dots between American evangelical movement and African politics:
For many Americans of faith, Uganda, a country where homosexuality and abortion are outlawed, where politicians freely mix church and state, and where outward displays of religious devotion are the norm, represents a kind of haven. America may have a born-again president, but it is far too diverse to be, as conservatives call it, “a Christian nation.” But Uganda is on its way to becoming one.
Watch a scene from “Missionaries of Hate” in which Ssempa shows graphic excerpts from gay porn as part of a press conference in support of proposed “Kill the Gays” legislation:
