Martin Ssempa

 ( 1968 Births ) 

During his time at Makere University, both Ssempa's brother and sister contracted HIV. Ssempa sat by their beds as they grew sicker. When they died in 1990, he blamed their promiscuity and feared that his lifestyle would also lead to his death via AIDS; thus, he decided to take action. Ssempa converted to Evangelical Christianity at the Wandegeya Baptist Youth Center. He travelled the country with a drama group that performed in schools in an effort to educate students about AIDS.

In 1996, Ssempa founded the Makerere Community Church on the campus of Makerere University. Akiyo M. Kasaija, Uganda: Ssempa Shouts for His Rights, Monitor via allafrica.com, March 10, 2004

Ssempa opposes the separation of church and state and the use of condoms to prevent HIV contraction, and supports abstinence plus fidelity education in the fight against sexual diseases. He claims to be leading a crusade to "kick sodomy out of Uganda, endorsing proposed legislation in Uganda that makes certain homosexual acts punishable by life in prison or, in some severe cases of rape, death". In 2007, Ssempa organised a rally, in which a speaker suggested the systematic killing of gays and lesbians through intentional mass starvation. In 2009, Ssempa doxxed several gay men by name and workplace.

He is a strong advocate of the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill, "UN rights boss urges Uganda to shelve anti-gay bill". reuters.com. Retrieved on 24 September 2016. although he was not in support of the capital punishment as a penalty, which was formerly included in the bill. He champions the bill by showing gay pornography, depicting fisting, anilingus, and coprophilia in his church and at conferences. These sermons became a viral meme on the internet as "Eat Da Poo Poo". He has become a popular Internet meme due to this and his many other anti-homosexual performances, most notably an appearance on the NBS Television breakfast television show Morning Breeze, opposite LGBT activist Pepe Julian Onziema. He has become known as "the Pasta" and "Pasta Senpai" in these memes.

Of the bill, Ssempa has stated the following:

Some people have asked about the rationale of a death penalty mentioned in the Bill. There has been a lot of misinformation about this matter with headlines such as: “Gays face death penalty in Uganda”. These headlines are deliberately misleading. This penalty applies only in special cases termed 'aggravated homosexuality', which include, those convicted of unlawful homosexual rape of a child or handicapped invalid; this is a conviction of paedophilles!

As highlighted in the problem of 'virgin rape cures HIV/AIDS' the offender can be a person living with HIV; a parent or guardian of the victim where there is abuse of authority! Finally is the use of drugs to stupefy the child so that they can rape them! Clearly, the intent of this penalty is to protect weaker members of society from being victimized. Please note that for over 15 years Uganda has had the same penalty for persons who have carnal knowledge of minors heterosexually, mainly to protect against sexual abuse of girls by men. This time, this provision intends to provide equal protection of boys, among others.

In addition to his anti-gay agenda, Ssempa has co-authored Uganda's 2004 "Abstinence and Being Faithful" AIDS policy; this policy is a revision of the previous "ABC Program" – Abstinence, Being Faithful, and Condom Usage. As well, he is a special representative of the Task Force on AIDS of Ugandan First Lady Janet Museveni. He has testified before the United States Congress on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa.

Ssempa is opposed to abortion. He cited his mother's refusal to terminate her pregnancy, despite repeated threats by Ssempa's biological father and his family, as they did not want her to give birth to a mixed race child.

Ssempa has stated his belief that the Father absence in black families contributes to juvenile delinquency, maintaining that single mothers "can’t raise kids appropriately" as they "usually shower their with lots of love".

In the past, Ssempa was associated with Rick Warren and Saddleback Church's HIV/AIDS Initiative. During this time period, he served as keynote speaker at Warren's Disturbing Voices AIDS conference; Warren has since distanced himself from Ssempa and completely severed ties with him in 2007.

In February 2024, Ssempa asked the Committees of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and Gender, Labour and Social Development at the Parliament of Uganda to "legalise polygamy for Christians, criminalise adultery and set a minimum number of times for couples to honour their conjugal obligations" in the upcoming Marriage Bill, 2024. Ssempa claimed that there was no biblical basis against polygamy, stating that many Christian Ugandans already had multiple marriages. Some women's rights activists voiced support if the change also included polyandry; Ssempa subsequently retracted polygamy from his proposal. In regards to the other two requests, Ssempa argued that infidelity was not punished severely enough and that little to no sex in marriage contributed to domestic violence, stating a new law should render marriage void if a couple did not have sex within six months following their ceremony. He advocated for a mandatory minimum amount of marital sex, numbering three times a week, with criminal penalties should this not be upheld. In February 2025, Members of Parliament denied the proposal. He subsequently apologised for his "misunderstood and misinterpreted" views on polygamy, saying that he personally practices monogamy and had specifically been referring to Christian converts, whose previous faiths allowed multiple marriages, as a means to "sort out their polygamous marriage provided for in the Bible through Discipleship and Grace, according to Titus 2:11-13".