Earlier this year, while campaigning to regain the presidency, Mugabe labeled UK Prime Minister Tony Blair a "gay gangster," with a cabinet dominated by homosexuals. He contrasted it with his own cabinet line-up, which he boasted was full of "real men who could distinguish between Adam and Eve and Adam and Steve."

As awful as the Zimbabwean leader may sound, he is not alone in Africa. Homosexuality is a serious offence throughout the continent, punishable by up to life imprisonment in several African countries, where it is described as an offence against the order of nature.

"In many African nations homosexuals are considered perverts, which forces them to hide their sexual orientation," says William Kamket, a Kenyan development worker.

Just over a year ago, in the wake of reports that homosexuality was on the rise in his East African country, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni ordered his police to round up and imprison all gays in the nation.

In neighboring Kenya, President Daniel Arap Moi has blamed Westerners for bringing "the bad culture" to Africa, and criticized South Africa's extraordinary constitution for recognizing gay rights.

And ironically, just last June champion gay-basher Mugabe was faced with allegations that several members of his government were homosexuals. In turn, he ordered a witch-hunt to flush out gays and lesbians in the Zimbabwean government.

The leaders' hatred for homosexuals is shared in almost equal measure by the ordinary people. In Uganda for example, an opinion poll two years ago by New Vision, a daily paper, found that 85 percent of respondents hated homosexuals and thought the practice was unnatural.

Tolerance levels vary regionally. Along Kenya's expansive and scenic Indian Ocean coastline and other areas frequented by foreign tourists, homosexuality is rampant and practiced fairly in the open, notes Juma Onyango, a resident of the capital, Nairobi. "But in the western part of the country if you say you are homosexual you can even get lynched."

In Nigeria recently, a bar frequented by gays on the Lagos waterfront was burnt down. The West African country punishes "indecent sexual practices between males" with up to 14 years in jail, but in those states that practice Sharia, the Islamic legal system, action is more severe, including flogging. The price paid when one is gay and in public life can be devastating.

In June Zimbabwean politicians from both the ruling and opposition parties called for a probe into allegations of homosexual tendencies said to be prevalent in the public service. When Alum Mpofu resigned last April as head of the powerful Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, after purportedly being found in a compromising position with a fellow man, Parliament demanded from the information minister a report on the alleged widespread homosexual activity at the state broadcaster.

Outside influences, especially from the US and Europe, are often blamed for homosexuality, which in rhetoric throughout the continent is seen as not truly African.

"We received a container of books from a US publishing firm to distribute to schools but when we screened them, 500 of them with titles like Man on Man contained gay literature," said Robby Muhumuza, the director of World Vision Uganda, a Christian humanitarian agency, which then burned the books.

Schools in Kenya and Uganda regularly expel boys accused of engaging in homosexual activities. They are often alleged to have received money and gay literature from the West.

African gays and lesbians are, however, becoming bolder across the continent, with associations in such countries as Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana — and of course South Africa, the only country on earth whose constitution protects individuals against discrimination based upon their sexual orientation. Gays and lesbians convene international conferences, circulate literature and lobby states to grant gay rights. For despite the official proclamations from heads of state, gay Africans aren't going away.

"People in government know that there is homosexuality in Nigerian society, even in high levels of government," the head of Alliance Rights, a Nigerian gay group, told Radio Amsterdam in an interview last April. "But because of political considerations they have to tread softly."

Observers say African gays are coming out of the closet mainly due to the backing they get from Western countries. The US State Department two years ago issued a statement criticizing Museveni for "harassing" homosexuals. But as the political landscape tilted rightward in the US, such actions have slowed — just over a year ago, US legislators tabled a motion in the House of Representatives for a resolution condemning Uganda and other countries for violating the rights of gays and transgendered individuals.

Even such limited support of gay rights can raise objections. Pastor Michael Kyazze of Kampala says US government is promoting homosexuality in Africa. "While many people spend sleepless nights outside the US embassy in an attempt to get US visas, when one proves that he is gay he can get the visa in a day on top of other favors," he said.

The church, particularly influential in many African states, has joined governments in fighting homosexuality. At a meeting in Kampala in May 2001, the African Bishops adopted a resolution rejecting "unnatural sexual practices," adding that the church would not "compromise with the devil" at any cost.

Four months later the House of Bishops of the Church of Uganda handed Museveni a memorandum seeking state intervention in the fight against proliferation of homosexuality.

In a similar vein, the Anglican Church of Kenya last month expressed shock at the decision by the New Westminster Diocese of Canada to approve gay relationships, making it the first diocese in the Anglican Communion to officially approve the blessing of gay relationships. The head of the church in Kenya, Archbishop David Gitari, said gay relationships are immoral and contrary to the teachings of the Bible.

In a widely circulated statement, Gitari added that the church in Africa would be disappointed if it is proved that the new head of the Anglican Church, Rev. Rowan Williams, supports gay unions. Williams, the primate of Wales, had just been appointed by Tony Blair to be the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

But some unlikely repercussions are resulting from African churches' opposition to homosexuality. Since last year a number of organizations in the US and UK have threatened to cut aid to Ugandan and Zimbabwean churches. The issue is becoming a wedge between some African clergy and their colleagues in the West. And, bit by bit, it seems more African clergy are changing their stance.

A Ugandan bishop announced his support of gay people — he was excommunicated for the statement, but that he said it at all was extraordinary.

Alone in the continent, South Africa remains a paradise of tolerance. The country's constitution forbids discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The formal launch of the workers union for gays — Lesbigay Union South Africa — is set for October 1, following a Constitutional Court ruling in July that gave gay and lesbian couples the same financial benefits as married partners.

"Formal recognition of same-sex partnerships is the last hurdle in total normalization of lesbigay lifestyle in South Africa," said the Gay and Lesbian Alliance (GLA), in a press release.

Evert Knoesen, project director for Lesbian and Gay Equality, said the judgment confirmed the constitutional right of people in same-sex relationships to have their relationships recognized and protected by the law and to enjoy the same benefits as married couples.

But even in South Africa, all is not roses. Bishop Reginald Cawcutt, Cape Town's auxiliary Roman Catholic bishop, was forced to resign in July amidst accusations that he compromised his position by being a member of a gay website and e-mail support group for priests.

Cawcutt acknowledged that he had been involved with the site through his ministry to gays and AIDS victims, and that he consistently promoted celibacy in the group. The site was reportedly started by a priest in Portland, Maine, USA, who was allegedly disciplined two years ago before being removed from his parish.

"It would appear that this bishop's honesty was too much for Rome," Knoesen said. "We regret Cawcutt's resignation, but we understand the tremendous pressure that he was under.

"It is regrettable that in this matter, just as in relation to HIV/AIDS, the Catholic Church would rather choose to deny than to face a challenge."