Minnetonka native's story stirs protest in Uganda

In a country where homosexuality is illegal, the 22-year-old journalist wrote about a gay activists' news conference.

By Norman Draper, Star Tribune

Last update: August 23, 2007 - 11:42 PM

It was Tuesday morning when Cynthia Eyden got the maddeningly short, frightening e-mail from her daughter, Katherine Roubos.

"I got a rather cryptic message saying, 'Don't worry, I'm OK,'" said Eyden, a Minnetonka physical therapist. "I thought, 'What is it I'm supposed to not be worried about?' I was not able to get through to her on her cell phone, so that was really troubling."

The not-to-worry situation was a controversy Roubos fueled in Kampala, Uganda, when the 22-year-old journalist covered a news conference convened by gay activists. Her coverage in the Daily Monitor newspaper had anti-gay protesters clamoring for her to be deported.

Reached in Kampala on Thursday, Roubos, who was born and raised in Minnetonka and graduated from Minnetonka High School, said the hubbub continues.

"There have been no direct personal threats," she said. "But it's been pretty stressful just trying to evaluate my safety situation. I've been in touch with the U.S. Embassy, so that's been helpful. I'm taking common-sense precautions. I don't feel entirely safe, but I don't feel I'm in imminent danger."

Roubos will return to the United States next month to finish her last semester at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. She said calls for her deportation have even reached the nation's parliament.

She was assigned to cover gay issues in Uganda, where homosexual activity is illegal and carries a prison sentence. Working at the Daily Monitor in Kampala on a three-month internship, she reported last week on a news conference called by members of Uganda's gay community, who wore masks to conceal their identities. Tuesday's protest followed.

Roubos said she has not been detained or arrested, and continues to do her job.

"Today I wrote articles about solar energy in rural Africa, and its potential or lack of potential," she said. Roubos also writes about such issues as agriculture and water quality.

Roubos' adventurous spirit comes as no surprise to her mom.

"She looks for opportunities, and she moves on opportunities," Eyden said.

That hasn't stopped her from worrying.

"I think it's really hard to understand what's going on there when you're not there," Eyden said. "It's hard to fill in the gaps long-distance. I'm getting a thumbnail sketch of what's going on. I am not so worried today, but I was pretty much beside myself Tuesday. I'm very concerned that there could be an angry crowd with a backlash about the whole situation."

Friends at Eyden's church contacted the office of Rep. Jim Ramstad, R-Minn., about Roubos' situation. Ramstad's staff then contacted the State Department, which in turn alerted the U.S. Embassy in Kampala, said Karin Hope, Ramstad's legislative director.

"We just handled it as an urgent constituent issue that came up," Hope said. "We are not aware of any specific threat of violence against her but understand why she is concerned."

Roubos' editor, Moses Sserwanga, has defended her reporting as accurate and conscientious.

Eyden would just as soon her daughter hopped on the next flight home. Roubos said she has no plans to do that.

As for her thoughts on the debate, she strives to maintain journalistic objectivity.

"That is a question I have been avoiding," she said. "I wasn't writing it with an agenda to spark the intensity of the debate. The debate that's happening needs to be about Ugandans, not about what I think."

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Norman Draper • 612-673-4547

Norman Draper • ndraper@startribune.com

Recent Local + Metro stories

Keillor performance to be beamed to movie theaters - August 23, 2007

Keillor performance to be beamed to movie theaters - It may be the next best thing to seeing Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" live. More