Kato Mukasa

Kato Mukasa is an Ugandan lawyer who plays a national and international role in the secular humanism movement.

Kato Mukasa
Born
Kampala, Uganda
NationalityUgandan
OccupationLawyer
Known forCo-founder of the Humanist Association for Leadership, Equity and Accountability

Background

Mukasa studied commercial law at Cavendish University Uganda and social administration at Makerere University. [1]

He credits his father, Nobert Eden Mukasa, for his interest in critical thinking and his grandfather for his skepticism of religion. By age 12, he was reading through several of the foundational books of humanism, such as the works of David Hume. He was nevertheless interested in religion at a young age; he was beaten at the age of 8 when it was found that he has taken communion without going through the preparatory rites. He attended Catholic high school, but was eventually expelled for refusing to attend mass.[1][2][3]

Humanist Association for Leadership, Equity and Accountability

Mukasa is heavily involved in Uganda's humanist and secular groups. He co-founded the Humanist Association for Leadership, Equity and Accountability (HALEA) in 2007 to promote critical thinking and human rights. Its monthly campus discussions are attended by people of faith and non-believers. It also sponsors students and assists young mothers in acquiring entrepreneurship skills, among other programs.[2][3] He currently works for the organization, handling legal issues and building a program to train humanist celebrants.[1]

As of 2018, Mukasa was Chair of the Uganda Humanist Association. He is a former member of the board of directors of the International Humanist and Ethical Union.[2][4][5]

In a country where only 0.2 percent of the population identifies as non-religious,[6] his public profile as a humanist and atheist made him a target for religious violence, including an attempted break-in and the burning of his automobile.[2] The police have also been investigating burglaries and harassment against HALEA staff.[2][7][8]

gollark: I like it, although it *is* a video.
gollark: It's not like I pick my school, so you should obviously not blame me for it.
gollark: I did.
gollark: The correct action is to laugh at my provably optimal memes.
gollark: This would be mean, and I would invoice you for it. You would also be invoiced for my death.

See also

References
  1. Jacobsen, Scott Douglas (2017-07-14). "An Interview with Kato Mukasa — Board Member, IHEU". Medium. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  2. Feni, Jean (2019-08-12). "The man who does not believe in God". The Observer (Uganda). Archived from the original on 2019-08-16. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  3. Fidalgo, Paul (2019-08-13). "The Morning Heresy: Cry Just As Hard As You Need To". Center for Inquiry. Archived from the original on 2019-08-16. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  4. "Humanists remember two colleagues and friends from Uganda". Humanists International. 2018-08-15. Archived from the original on 2019-08-16. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  5. Hurd, Steve (2018-05-20). "Mustard Seed School proclaims its Humanist Vision". Archived from the original on 2019-08-16. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  6. "2014 Uganda Population and Housing Census – Main Report" (PDF). Uganda Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  7. "Humanist group needs help after robbery". Humanists International. 2014-07-11. Archived from the original on 2019-08-16. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
  8. "'We Can Now Afford To Dream Again' – How You Helped Humanists In Uganda". Center for Inquiry. 2014-10-08. Archived from the original on 2019-08-16. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
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