Oral history interview with Moses Mworeko Kushaba, 1979-

Moses KUSHABA was born in Nyarweshama, Uganda, on February 01, 1979. In this RHP oral history Kushaba discussed his life growing up in Uganda, traveling to the United States, and subsequently applying for asylum in the US because of anti-gay legislation in his native Uganda. Kushaba describes his young life in a wealthy family in the Ugandan countryside and his life at day and boarding schools. Kushaba discusses sexual experimentation among school-aged children in both co-ed and all-boys schools, particularly the stigma attached to homosexuality and homosexual acts in years preceding anti-gay laws in Uganda. Kushaba describes an underground LGBT community during his secondary school, university, and graduate school years. Kushaba discusses the threat of losing his job in 2007 after being accused of being gay and his subsequent marriage and the birth of two children. Kushaba details his careers as a teacher, social worker, and HIV/AIDS activists in Uganda and as a military contractor in Iraq before attending an HIV/AIDS conference in South Parade Island, Texas, in 2009. Kushaba discusses his application for asylum after arriving in the United States and mentions organizations that provided assistance (e.g. Immigration Equality and the Other Sheep). During his asylum application Kushaba lived in Dallas, TX; Washington, DC; and San Francisco, CA. At the National Prayer Breakfast in 2009 (Washington, DC) Kushaba came out publically as a gay man and spoke about conditions for the LGBT community in Uganda. He discusses his LGBT media activism in the US (Metro Weekly and Sexual Freedom blog publications) and tabloid publications in Uganda (Red Pepper). Kushaba’s asylum application was approved in 2011 and he relocated to Washington, DC. At the time of the interview he lives in Langley Park, MD. Kushaba closes the interview discussing his service as a medic in the US National Guard (Washington, DC) and his wife and children’s immigration to the United States.

1979-2014

Elliott Wrenn

Silver Spring, MD

No, not yet transcribed

Yes, recording available in two digital files.