But Kato’s formidable task just became much more difficult. A new ’Anti-Homosexuality Bill’ proposes death for HIV-positive gay men, and prison for anyone who fails to turn in a known homosexual.

Meanwhile, local newspapers have begun outing kuchus with vicious fervour. Kato, Uganda’s first openly gay man, is one of the few who dare to publicly protest state-sanctioned homophobia. Working with an idiosyncratic clan of fellow activists, Kato fights Uganda’s government and tabloids in the courts, on television, and at the United Nations. Because, he insists, "If we keep on hiding, they will say we’re not here."

But one year into filming and just three weeks after a landmark legal victory, in January 2011, the unthinkable happens: Kato is brutally murdered in his home. Broadcasting on BBC World News as part of the Storyville Global documentary series and with unprecedented access, Gay in Uganda: Call me Kuchu depicts the last year in the life of a courageous, quick-witted and steadfast man whose wisdom and achievements were not fully recognized until after his death.

Watch Gay in Uganda: Call me Kuchu on Saturday, 21 March at 17:10 and Sunday, 22 March at 11:10 and 22:10, on BBC World News, channel 400 on DStv.