A Ugandan man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the killing of a gay rights activist in Ugandan.

A high court judge on Thursday handed down the sentence to 22-year-old Sidney Nsubuga Enoch, who admitted that he bludgeoned David Kato to death with a hammer in January.

Kato’s slaying came only months after his picture was published in an anti-gay newspaper next to the words “Hang Them.”

Enoch says he was provoked by Kato, who he claims made sexual advances toward him.

Homophobia in Uganda has been on the raise, in which gay rights activists have blamed on evangelical preachers. Also, in May of 2011, the Ugandan parliament adjourned without discussing a controversial bill that proposed the death penalty for some homosexual acts.