BAHATI “OFFENDED” BY LESBIAN KISS
Around 30 people turned out to protest against the author of Uganda’s gay-death bill at an emotional television debate on homosexuality in Africa, taped in Johannesburg for the BBC on Sunday.
The five-member studio discussion panel included David Bahati, the MP behind the Ugandan bill which seeks to impose the death penalty in certain cases of homosexuality, the former president of Botswana, Festus Mogae, as well as South African writer Eusebius Mckaiser.
Studio audience members were seemingly evenly split, representing various LGBT activist groups as well as anti-gay organisations including the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa) and the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP).
Mambaonline was not allowed access to the studio by security, but according to Coenie Kukkuk, the Director of Operations of Mr. Gay South Africa, who was a member of the audience, the debate was “very emotional”.
Kukkuk said: “The shouting from both sides in the audience was so loud that you couldn’t hear the people speak. It nearly came to blows.”
A key issue in the debate was the question of whether homosexuality is “un-African”, a position vigorously defended by Bahati, who is a born-again Christian.
He also claimed in the debate that children were being “recruited” by gays in Uganda and that gays and lesbians were placing the family under threat.
During the discussion, Mogae said that he supported the legalisation of homosexually and revealed that during his ten year tenure as president he ordered police not prosecute gays and lesbians under his country’s anti-gay laws.
When asked why he had not worked to decriminalise homosexuality while president, Mogae reportedly replied that “I did not want to lose an election just for gays”. He advocated gentle persuasion, debate and discussion to bring people around.
According to Kukkuk, Bahati was shocked to be faced with a lesbian couple from the audience proudly kissing.
“He said that he was offended [by the kiss] and later said that the debate had only made him more determined to push through his Anti-Homosexuality Bill in parliament,” said Kukkuk.
Despite a poor turnout by members of the LGBT community, protesters stood outside Urban Brew Studios during the debate holding placards accusing Bahati of having blood on his hands.
Mazibuko Jara, the Chairperson of The Lesbian and Gay Equality Project, told Mambaonline that the protest aimed to send a message to Bahati that he “must take responsibility for the death of David Kato,” the recently slain Ugandan LGBT activist.
“Next time we will not be so kind to [Bahati] and allow him to speak. He should be handed over to the criminal justice system,” added Jara. Other activists slammed the South African government for allowing Bahati to enter the country.
The BBC World debate on homosexuality in Africa will be broadcast on BBC World on 12 and 13 March. Check local schedules for more details.
In the old Apartheid days, you just had to call something “communist” to demean and deprecate it automatically. Now, in the new South Africa, the term “un-African” is being used to the same end and purpose. It hardly matters how you define “un-African”.
However, just because something is “un-African” doesn’t automatically make it bad. There are lots of “un-African” things which are quite wonderful and beneficial, such as “Western” medicine, for example, which has saved millions of African lives.
And, although this is emphatically not one of the wonderful “Western” things, what about the very Christianity which Bahati freely espouses? What is “African” about that, having been introduced into Africa (and other parts of the world) – where it had previously been unknown – and avidly promoted by the henchmen who travelled with the colonists, the missionaries?
Isn’t it ironic that it this typically “un-African” Western import, viz. Christianity, which is making the African, Bahati, so anit-gay?
What a pity that that people like him get into positions of power and influence.
Unfortunately, Ziggy, he is a pawn in the game of neo-colonialism taking place in Africa at this time. We can only hope that the Ugandan citizens wake up to the true agenda before it’s too late.
Divide Panel. So let me get this straight: the panel was evenly divided over the issue of a modern genocide program??!! What, may I ask, can the LGBT hope to face in Africa in the future? Let us not take this matter lightly. Our actions today decide our fates tomorrow.
Proud. Thank you to the 30 protesters who gave up their Sunday afternoon in solidarity with our Ugandan community! I am very proud of you all.
Your protest was not in vain.
In our community. Can someone help. I stay in a suburb with a large gay community in Cape Town. I was subjected the harshest anti gay verbal abuse in the Street outside our house. What can we do to get a case opened?
We complained about noise at the neighbours house at 02h00 in the morning to the police and we got back extreme verbal abuse in front of all the neighbours in the street outside our house.
Basically these guys defamed us.
How about Mambaonline start a column for enquiries for the gay community regarding legal and social issues like this offering help. Basically a legal/ social help line/ column?
Do we approach a lawyer? Do we go to the police to open a docket? I want to take this further and get some publicity. We as gays live in suburbs and cities in this country and pay taxes and contribute to a better SA. We will not be made second class citizens by bigots.
Thanks for any advice and contact details.
Would have loved to have been there.
Badly organised. I was one of the people there and it was badly organised. Sad attempt at a protest.
Agreed. Really wanted to go, But I only became aware of it on monday.
Such a pity.