NAMIBIAN POLITICIAN: GAY SEX IS A PRIVATE ISSUE

The president of Namibia’s DTA political party, McHenry Venaani, has spoken out in favour of gay rights, saying that what people do in their bedrooms is not the state’s business.

In an interview with the Namibian Sun, Venaani said that Namibia is a secular nation and that gay people should be respected.

“They (gays) must have rights in this country. They are voters too and it is their choice. My politics does not want to dictate who should do what in their bedrooms,” Venaani said.

“… we cannot discriminate against somebody because they are gay. They should not be imprisoned because of their sexual orientation.”

He added: “Whomever they kiss at night, that’s their problem. We can’t dictate some of these things.”

His comments were in response to the recent formation of the Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF), modelled on Julius Malema’s EFF party, but with a vehemently anti-gay stance.

Last week, NEFF founder Epafras Mukwiilongo said that homosexuality is “foreign” and an “evil practice” that is being imposed on Namibia by “imperialists”.

Gay rights in Namibia are a contentious issue. Consensual “sodomy” is illegal and could be used to prosecute gay men, although this is not believed to have happened since the country’s independence in 1990.