Cape Town hate preacher fumes at “sodomites” as he’s ordered to court

Notorious anti-LGBTQ Cape Town pastor Oscar Bougardt is furious after finally being ordered to appear in the Equality Court to again account for his hate speech.

On Friday, Bougardt lashed out at “filthy sodomites” and the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC ) on his Facebook page.

He said he’d received a notice from the Equality Court to appear again on 9 March because he’s violated an agreement to stop making anti-LGBTQ hate statements. (This has since been confirmed by the SAHRC.)

Bougardt fumed that his only crime was “preaching the Word of God that sodomites is an abomination to God”.

He ranted: “It is clear SAHRC and sodomites is trying to make an example of me, but I don’t care what they say God will be glorified in everything, even if they send me to jail God will be glorified.”

Bougardt continued. “As Christians do we have humans rights in South Africa? Do we have freedom of speech or freedom of religion? We don’t have religious freedom when the very same people the SA Human Rights drag you to court for preaching what’s in the Bible. The rights of sodomites are more important than anything in this country.”

Last month, Bougardt claimed that Cape Town’s drought is God’s “divine judgement” because it “is the capital sodomite city of the world…”

He has been charged with contempt of court for failing to uphold a 2014 court approved settlement with the SAHRC regarding his previous hate speech statements.

In it, he agreed to stop making discriminatory or hateful comments against the LGBTQ community. He also apologised and asked for forgiveness.

However, he soon after went back to attacking and demeaning LGBTQ people on social media and in the press, including making hateful comments on Mambaonline. Because he has blatantly failed to uphold the agreement, the SAHRC wants the pastor to be jailed for 30 days and fined R500,000.

Since at least 2011, Bougardt has conducted a vile campaign against the LGBTQ community, accusing gay people of being child molesters, of being sinful perverts and even appearing to call for their execution.

Bougardt has aligned himself with American hate evangelist Steven Anderson; visiting him in the US, and promising to open branches of the banned preacher’s church in South Africa.

In December 2016, he told News24 “that 99% of the paedophiles have a homosexual background”. He then threatened to sue the site and other publications, including Mambaonline, for reporting this.