EDITORIAL: THE TRUE ‘CULTURE OF DEATH’
In October last year Mambaonline broke a story about a Christian minister, the Rev. Oscar Peter Bougardt, whose anti-gay views caused considerable outrage. The story was quickly picked up by other media outlets.
Surprisingly, Bougardt was in no way upset that our report led to him being thoroughly lambasted by the mainstream media. He seemed, instead, to revel in the attention. He continues to send us regular unsolicited e-mails with hate-filled diatribes which we refuse to report on. The more we ignore Bougardt, the more horrific his words become. His desperation in trying to goad us to repeat his rants is both transparent and tragic.
Pastor Errol Naidoo of the Family Policy Institute also understands the power of vilifying the gay and lesbian community. He is aware that he needs to up the ante in sheer outrageousness in order to secure headlines and column inches in the press. The truth is, without this kind of exposure Naidoo’s reach would probably remain limited to a fringe monitory of Christians.
Naidoo has long been a thorn in the gay community’s side with his lobbying against LGBTI events in Knysna and Cape Town, all in the guise of a holy man doing righteous work. This past week, however, he achieved his most successful and most cynical coup yet; linking gays and lesbians, and a “death culture” we apparently perpetuate, to the tragic massacre of 34 protesting miners.
This absurd position was laid out in Naidoo’s regular newsletter at the height of the Marikana media frenzy and, unsurprisingly, became a sensation. Once again he was in the spotlight.
Soon after, it was both fascinating and disturbing to listen to Naidoo play the victim in an interview on 702 Talk Radio. He complained that he was being demonised by the media. “It is all meant to silence people because the homosexual lobby groups all talk about human rights, but they refuse to tolerate any other view other than their own,” he said.
This shows the naked ignorance and bigotry of Naidoo’s position. What he fails to realise, or acknowledge, is that the words he speaks and the actions he takes are of a very different nature from the right to equality sought by the LGBTI community.
“It is time that individuals like Naidoo be held accountable for the tangible harm that they cause through their self-righteous crusades…”
Our community wants no more than what is due to every other citizen in South Africa. Our community’s lobbying and campaigning are for rights that affect no-one other than its members. We do not wish to take anyone else’s rights away nor in any way lessen anyone else. We have never tried to force straight people of the same sex to marry, we have never tried to force churches to accept our marriages or even to marry us, nor do we, contrary to religious propaganda, try to “convert” people to homosexuality (as if such a thing were even possible).
Errol Naidoo, on the other hand, stands for something very different. He works to dehumanise and diminish us, including railing against our right to marry under civil law – an area that churches have no business in. He wishes to stop us from holding events that no one is forced to attend, and he, in his own words, “hates” us; a frightening admission from a religious man.
Bizarrely, despite the vast majority of South Africans identifying as Christians, including, ironically, many if not most gays and lesbians, Naidoo says that Christians are being persecuted. He believes that this empowered majority is somehow under threat from LGBTI people, a minority.
Unlike Christians, however, our persecution is not at all imagined.
Naidoo’s words seek to forcibly shape others outside of his fringe Christian constituency, based on little more than dogma and irrational beliefs. He actively works to disempower others through untruthful, biased and manipulative language. And make no mistake, his hate-filled words can harm.
While I am not aware of any on-going attacks against Christians in South Africa because of their religious beliefs, gays and lesbians are targets for physical, and sometimes deadly, attack on a daily basis. Disempowered men filled with rage and a desperate need to assert their power at any cost are fuelled by the patriarchal belief system championed by those such as Naidoo, Contralesa’s Patekile Holomisa and Jon Qwelane.
It is Naidoo and his kind who are stoking the fires of this true ‘culture of death’ in South Africa. It is their message and warped views that are used by some to justify a society in which LGBTI people are stabbed, shot, dismembered and set on fire simply for being who they are. If Naidoo were a true man of the cloth, modelled on Jesus Christ, it is these atrocities he would be vociferously condemning in his newsletters, instead of attacking the victims.
It is time that individuals like Naidoo be held accountable for the harm that they cause through their self-righteous crusades. Theirs is a campaign to impose their rigid, unloving and dangerous way of life on our society and to self-servingly bask in the media limelight, no matter the cost to the rest of us.
The news that Naidoo is to be given a broader public platform on the Trinity Broadcasting Network on DSTV to promote his dangerous and immoral campaign on a weekly basis is frightening indeed. This channel and its broadcaster need to question if they, as responsible media, are prepared to play a part in promoting Naidoo’s culture of death.
Ignore the arsehole, he merely wants airtime.
Well he’s a NAAI DOOs so what else would you expect
Sadly straight people don’t go through such great and intense personal lengths to bash the LBGTI the only way to stop ppl like this shit for brains is to have them followed… I give it no longer than a week before we find this dude on his hands and knees with a dick in his mouth while getting humped up his self rigteous ass. This is the only time I condone outting ppl
sigh. and here’s yet another example of someone struggling with their sexuality. only difference is he has a public platform with which to garner support for his rantings.
I wish we could ignore these crazies. Unfortunately, we can’t. The likes of Errol Naidoo cannot be ignored. His Family Policy Institute was viewed as a legitimated organisation with ties to government agencies like the Film and Publication Board, which has the power to censor, for example, a gay kiss in a film for being inappropriate. Naidoo also makes regular and frequent submissions to Parliament portfolio committees and during public comment periods for various bills. Ignoring him, given the conservative views many of our legislators have, would be to our peril. The only way is to discredit him and his ilk by exposing them for what they are. Perhaps you ought to take action against Bougardt. Ask him to stop sending you his diatribes. If he does not, report him to the police for harassment and escalate it further.
i see Naidoo is given regular space in the borderline-homophobic JOY! Magazine also, which, by way of the fact they provide the misguided, homophobic Naidoo column space brings this magazine into questionable repute. On their website JOY! introduces Naidoo as ” the Christian voice in government and the media, lobbying on current issues that concern each and every Christian”. What bullshit! Who made Naidoo THE authority on Christian issues – ESPECIALLY when CLEARLY his views are so far off the mark, yet the likes of Trinity Broadcasting Network and JOY! Magazine entertain this hate-filled liar because of his ties to government and because of that, that gives him some sort of authority? WAKE UP MEDIA!!!!
Another gap one like him is taking to make news and get money. Maybe we should make a “spear painting” of him too. Then this will go far and get rid of him in masses! What a DICK!
I challenged the chump and sent him my article called “The Gay Christian” which shows that the Bible and God have no issues on being gay. In fact it is a non-issue Biblically. I noted that the reason that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed was indeed noted in the Bible. The Bible tells us exactly why Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed.
Ezekiel 16:49 says the following : Behold this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before me therefore I took them away as I saw good.
The fact is that the people of the city wanted to take the angels and gang rape them. This is clearly not referring to a homosexual orientation or a loving same-gender relationship. This is talking about men abusing power in violent rape. To say this is wrong and sinful and that God condemns it is not to say that homosexuality is any of those things.
Lot refuses to surrender the visitors and offers his two virgin daughters instead. That this behavior is not condemned by the Bible is usually ignored by people trying to prove homosexuality is a sin.
In Luke’s Gospel (10:12), Jesus also understands the sin of Sodom to be inhospitality. In fact, Jesus says nothing anywhere in the Bible about homosexuality, but he has a lot to say about the importance of welcoming people.
According to the Bible, the sin of Sodom is failure to welcome people who are different. By biblical standards, then, those who fail to welcome GLBT people are the real sodomites that the Bible condemns
BE BLESSED AND PROUD
Wayne- I understand what you trying to say, that was not the reason for Gods judgment on Sodom. One has to read the whole chapter to fully understand. Abraham bargained with God, but at the end the where no God fearing people in Sodom- The cities morality was completely non existence they use to have sex in the open for everyone to see- sexual immorality was bestiality sodomy adultery and other sexual immoral acts. Worshiping of false gods steeling and killing at random. Sodom was not destroyed because of gay people.
After Jesus, now if we stay in line and be a good person its irrelevant , we receive Gods forgiveness by faith only and not by works. Some believe that homosexuality is not a sin- that is also irrelevant because thats not the only sin. We will get nailed for something and the wages for sin is death, even if we steel a sweet from the shop. So our sinfulness doesnt count, everyone gets treated the same. If we dont accept Jesus as the Son of God and not truly believe in him- lets say a person is screwed, you going to hell even if you not involved in a gay relationship or stayed a virgin for your whole life.
Wyane do u have a link for the article u send him I wud like to read it. I think Errol Naidoo is a closeted devil whorshipper… No real Man of God would use hate to do God’s work only Satanic people do that
R you can contact me and I will send to you via e-mail if you want. My tel no is 0836015655
R you can contact me and I will send to you via e-mail if you want. My tel no is 0836015655
IT IS QUITE LONG, SO IN 3 PARTS
PART 1
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THE GAY CHRISTIAN
At a very tender age I discovered I was gay. I did not know what gay was but boys were inevitably at the center of my thoughts. At the same time, however, I was born into a very staunch Christian home, where going to church was a way of life. My dad was the church pianist and my parents ran the young married couples group. I was born again and baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit. I had a yearning to be the best Christian in the world. I even became the Church Youth Leader. That is when my struggle really began. How does one love God and then do one of the most abominable sins by yearning for same sex love? Every time after self pleasure I would get onto my knees next to the bed and literally spend hours in tears of remorse and self-loathing. This went on for 20 years.
At the age of 26 and still a virgin, I in a drunken moment, picked up a stranger in the early hours of the morning and had someone touch me intimately for the first time in my life. For the next 6 years I spent my time looking for anonymous sex and didnt care about whether I lived or died as I was this terrible sinful being that God would not possibly love.
One night at the age of 32, I was very drunk and feeling very sorry for myself. I still do not know if I crashed into a stationary truck with intent or not as I cannot remember the actual crash. I do remember, however, my head was perfectly stuck in the windscreen. The reason I did not go through the windscreen was due to the fact that the impact of the accident had caused the bonnet to smash flat against the windscreen. The car was actually under the truck, so I pulled my head out of the windscreen, reversed the car and drove home having to drive with my bleeding head hanging out the side window so I could see to get home. At home in a very sad physical state, I undressed and lay in a pool of blood on the bed thinking I was dying and how happy I would be to be leaving this earth. I can honestly say it was the low point of my life. The police arrived and knocked on the door for what seemed like hours and I just kept wondering when I would die. The next morning I phoned my best friend and he covered for me with the police noting that I was at hospital getting attention. I, in fact, had severe concussion, several ribs smashed, glass in my head, collar bone bruised and eye damage. Still to this day when I get sleepy, the one eye droops, but, thank God, that is the only remnants of the accident. The car on the other hand was a total write-off.
While recovering, I started really searching and praying to God and suddenly a voice as clear as a friend talking said to me,
You can love me and be gay or you can hate me and be gay. That is your choice Now some people say it was caused by the accident and the like but I believe it was God speaking to me and I had an unbelievable realization. It was no longer my problem.
I prayed to God along these lines,
God, I am just too weak and tired to fight this battle any longer. You are my creator and I know you created me in your image. I am gay and, if it is a sin, I have spent 20 years praying for you to take away this sin. It notes in the Bible that you answer all our prayers and I believe that. If this is a sin, I challenge you to cure me. If not, I choose to live my life until you convict me that what I am doing is wrong. I am just too tired to fight this on my own anymore. It is in your hands
PART 2
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THE GAY CHRISTIAN
What a weight off my shoulder. Anyway, I then decided to come out to friends and family and then met the love of my life, who is the best partner anyone could wish for. Almost 14 years later we are very much in love.
I then decided it was time to really study the Bible and help others who might be going through what I had endured.
I can tell you all that the Bible and the God that I believe in never has and never would be anti-gay. I can tell you that homosexuality is NOT a sin.
I know it because of Biblical fact. I am not going to turn this into a scripture lesson but it is important to look at the Bible for affirmation.
Just what is sin though?
Sin, if you look at the 10 commandment, is very clearly defined as doing harm to another. Murder, committing adultery, stealing, lying all have the impact of causing harm to others.
Is being gay a sin according to the Bible?
Lets look at some of the famous references that society claim related to homosexuality being a sin?
Lev 18:22 It is an abomination for a man that lies with a woman if he also lies with mankind Note that a man lying with a woman is on fact a straight/ bi guy who then also lies with a man out of lust. In Bible times the very act of sex was a marriage covenant so for a man, especially during battle, to lie with a man was committing adultery and as we all know adultery is a sin as it causes harm to the person being cheated on.
Romans 1: 27 Likewise, their men have given up natural sexual relations with women and burn with lust for each other. Men commit indecent acts with men, so they experience among themselves the punishment they deserve for their perversion. When the Apostle Paul wrote of the perversion of men and women who committed indecent acts with those of the same sex, he was talking about people he understood to be heterosexuals engaging in same-sex acts and again committing adultery.
Also the scriptures refer to men committing unnatural act with men as with women. Historically, it is a fact that women were not much higher than slaves on the social strata of ancient society. In battle, when the Israelites or their enemies were overcome in battle, they used to rape their enemies in order to show that they were the same as women lower in society. That certainly would be referring to the unnatural act and I do believe that rape as a sin is clear.
Part 3
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THE GAY CHRISTIAN
The story of Sodom is what really gets me. It is not about homosexuality and never was.
It’s about inhospitality. The inhospitality is expressed as a same-gender gang rape threat. The strange part is that angels are neither male nor female but somehow it is assumed they were male. I again believe that rape is clearly a sin.
Also all logic tells us that the gay population of any place and time at most centre around 10 % of the population. So it is not likely that there was a gay city around the time.
In addition the Bible tells us exactly why Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed.
Ezekiel 16:49 says the following : Behold this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before me therefore I took them away as I saw good.
The fact is that the people of the city wanted to take the angels and gang rape them. This is clearly not referring to a homosexual orientation or a loving same-gender relationship. This is talking about men abusing power in violent rape. To say this is wrong and sinful and that God condemns it is not to say that homosexuality is any of those things.
Lot refuses to surrender the visitors and offers his two virgin daughters instead. That this behavior is not condemned by the Bible is usually ignored by people trying to prove homosexuality is a sin.
In Luke’s Gospel (10:12), Jesus also understands the sin of Sodom to be inhospitality. In fact, Jesus says nothing anywhere in the Bible about homosexuality, but he has a lot to say about the importance of welcoming people.
According to the Bible, the sin of Sodom is failure to welcome people who are different. By biblical standards, then, those who fail to welcome GLBT people are the real sodomites that the Bible condemns.
Sorry R. There is 4 PARTS
THE GAY CHRISTIAN
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In addition, the relationship between David and Jonathan tends to think that love between two people of the same sex was not a Biblical issue.
In Samuel, their love for each other exceeds a normal plutonic relationship.
Saul sees through their relationship and says to Jonathan, his son
(1 Sam 20 vs 30), Do Not I know thou has chosen the Son of Jesse (David) to thine own confusion, and to the confusion of thy mothers nakedness? The very words used by King Saul make it absolutely clear that David and Jonathan were indeed romantically involved.
In addition, there are 3 occasions where they swear a bond by covenant. This actually in Biblical time would be deemed marriage. Some of their statement included Johanathan to David Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee.
Davids poem in 2 Sam, Chap 1:26 to Jonathan , Very pleasant thou has been to me, passing the love of women
Saul tell Jonathan of his plan to kill David in a drunken moment and Jonathan runs to David and tell him to flee for his life (1 Sam Chap 20: 41).They are so distraught at having to depart from each other that they kissed one another and wept one with another until David exceeded
Again rather strange behavior from a Prince and his subject.
The meaning of the word exceeded from the Hebrew Higdal means to make large/enlarge. The word in context, according to Jewish scholars, could apply to a male who is sexually erect which would fit this passionate picture. And if God did not condemn it there is nothing to be ashamed of.
I always believed the story of David and Jonathan was used by gay extremists to defend homosexuality, but the more I read into it and based my observations on the scriptures the more I realized that we have a same sex love story, whether physical or not, in the very Bible fundamentalists use to critisise gay people.
In conclusion, I really believe that to be gay is not only OK but great. There is no condemnation of people in a loving relationship either gay or straight. It is how we choose to live that relationship that is important in terms of God and the Bible. Relationships are to be built on love, loyalty, respect, honor and honesty.
Also, our relationship with God is exactly that, OUR relationship. It does not matter what others think about you its important what you think about God and yourself.
You are all blessed creatures. Live proudly.
Sorry R
2 CORRECTIONS: There ARE 4 parts
Also my partner of 14 years is now my husband. We married on Valentines Day ( urgh I know but it worked out that way!) He is my soul and life
Genesis 18:20-21 GNB Then the LORD said to Abraham, “There are terrible accusations against Sodom and Gomorrah, and their sin is very great. (21) I must go down to find out whether or not the accusations which I have heard are true.”
Here is the reason why the angels went – your idea is completely off key like a croaking frog. I dont know where your inhospitality idea comes from. These angels are carnal angels they look like young attractive men- angels are A sexual they dont have a gender. No one will notice because these specific angels look like us.
1 Samuel 19:1-2 GNB Saul told his son Jonathan and all his officials that he planned to kill David. But Jonathan was very fond of David, (2) and so he told him, “My father is trying to kill you. Please be careful tomorrow morning; hide in some secret place and stay there.
Being fond of someone does not mean than you are in a sexual relationship with someone- maybe you need to learn how to use a dictionary- Jonathan played a key role in protecting David from his father as David was next in line for the throne. Jonathan would warn David of his fathers plans to kill him.
1 Samuel 20:17 GNB Once again Jonathan made David promise to love him, for Jonathan loved David as much as he loved himself.
This does not suggest any sexual relationship- if I love someone, does it mean that I am having sex with them?
Hi JC
One point of correction. At no stage did I mention a sexual relationship. In fact I noted the following.
” the more I realized that we have a same sex love story, whether physical or not…”
Also interesting is that the word gay or homosexuals do not appear in the King James Bible AT ALL yet the NIV has now added these words and it is said that Gods word is unchanging. You see you get hatemongers like Bougardt who dont even study the word of God but sprout HATE. If there is anyone who is a potential paedofile it is thhe dear Reverend as his thoughts and statement are all about sex. Noticed that ?
When you enter a house, first say, Peace to this house. 6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
8 When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, The kingdom of God has come near to you. 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near. 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
That was Luke Chapter 10
both naidoo and his immoral campaign and dstv shud be stoned. homophobe and goest agianst the whole christian ethic that he supposed supports and preaches
Homosexuality a Damn Disgrace. As long as there is homosexual idiots who confuse our children with their perveted lifestyle I will preach and teach against their lifestyles. Homosexuals are a damn disgrace in any healthy community and they should be removed from communities. if its up to me I will round them up and dump them in the desert, or on an Island far away from our innocent children. I say it again they are gay and leasbain because od their own choice and not by birth and they are out to confuse our children. I agree with a pastor in the USA who calls for the US government to execute them. As long as we have homosexuals in our communities and country our children are in danger. I firmly believe that our are being sexually assulted by homosexuals, all paedophiles are homsexauls becuase no saint person will ever touch a child sexually. I believe that all homosexuals should be crime and it should be punishable, and they should cast out of communities. We should homosexaulity like a cancer, disease and we should never allow our children near these monsters. Homosexuality is slowly but surely killing our communities and if we dont stop them we are going to be governed by homosexuals perverts.
Listen hear you fool- I have not seen any gay person mislead any person or children into homosexuality- the only person that misleading the flock is you- and you should know of better and you will be judged for your actions- I am too a pastor and I know scripture back to front- better than anyone with a theology degree. The biggest false prophets are the ones standing in the pulpits.
Seriously dude you can’t save my soul if you can’t manage spelling and grammar. In 2012 we spell check!!! Peace.
go fuck yourself with your unchristian attitude and remarks. going to report this to the human rights council and ensure that action is taken against you . it people like you that deserved to be stoned to death.
What a delightful idiot one Oscar Peter Bougardt makes … sadly nothing revered in relation to this, best ignored and left to his own sinister beliefs!
Thats because I am partially dyslexic and depended on Microsoft Word for assistance, it does not always show all the mistakes and limited with grammar and its a nuisance to ask someone for help all the time. I havent found decent software that I can load onto my system. Its not my fault I cant go back to fix a mistake once I pressed the send button. The contented is more important.
We are all looking for answers to help us understand so we can find acceptance- and last night in bed I was thinking about Waynes comments. Those that believe in God and really want to please Him find themselves torn between scripture. We see clearly what is acceptable to Him and whats not, but we struggle with it and look for things in scripture that are not there and we convince ourselves that it is.
The only problem is that we are looking in the wrong places. Jesus made it quite clear and opened his ministry with this statement.
Luke 4:18-19 GNB “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed (19) and announce that the time has come when the Lord will save his people.”
Jesus read this passage from Isaiah, but this was his official statement and purpose for coming. (Isaiah 61 vs 1-2) if we read the original version one will see that Jesus left out something (and the day of our God’s vengeance) this ties in with a passage in the new testament-
John 3:17 GNB For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its saviour.
James 4:12 GNB God is the only lawgiver and judge. He alone can save and destroy. Who do you think you are, to judge someone else?
In your FACE Rev Oscar Peter- Do you think that you are God? I am tired of people like you. When you preach condemnation you are jeopardising Gods mission and you are poisoning Gods people with false teachings and scattering his believers and destroying others faith. That means you are a prophet for Satan and not from God. When you congregation listens to you preach they are not listening to a man of God. Its Satan in the pulpit.
Galatians 3:10-11 GW Certainly, there is a curse on all who rely on their own efforts to live according to a set of standards because Scripture says, “Whoever doesn’t obey everything that is written in Moses’ Teachings is cursed.” (11) No one receives God’s approval by obeying the law’s standards since, “The person who has God’s approval will live by faith.”
Condemnation was not on His agenda yet we find acceptance and forgiveness from God through faith in Him. Just like that father wearing a skirt to support his little boy wearing dresses, God did something similar- he took the blame for our transgressions, mocked on the cross- God made a promises to all those who believe in Him, they will not die.
(if there are mistakes I apologise- dont have the whole day to try and edit work)
JC perfect. We may not agree on whether being gays is a sin or not but you seem a man who ubnderstands God’s word.Bougardt is from hell
Interesting posting on another website about our “man” of God
wesley potgieter says:
April 7, 2012 at 10:48 am
Reverend Bougardt: people and fellow citizens of the world, this fool does not represent the Pastors and Leaders of his community. this fool is an island on his own. A trusted source told me that 90% of his followers left him because of his arrogant cult that he is busy with. he believes he is right and no one is wrong. however the source tells me he is a beggar and a loafer. A friend of mine that works at tygerberg hospital told me that his wife is working alone and she is fed up with his lazy attitude. Anyway let me come to some real facts about this cult leader(REV BOUGARDT). He stole R8000 from my brother in law and also promised people that he could clear their names from itc, got their money (I mean poor people), and they are still blacklisted> this fool stays at nr 28 Pointer way Strandfontein Cape Town. We need to arrange a proptest march to his house. he is a human rights violator. Reverend bougardt You are being exposed. I am asking everybody to paste this notice where you can.
@Grant below
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Naa Grant….
Lets not stoop to Bogardt depths.
Just lets be factual
1) Bogardt is obsessed and facinated by us gays. He cannot get enough of us. He wants to be
they should both follow tutu’s example. should be reported to the human right council as well as the consitutional court