Homophobic KwaZulu-Natal party to contest elections

The virulently homophobic People’s Revolutionary Movement (PRM) is set to contest the upcoming elections on an anti-LGBTQ platform.

The KwaZulu-Natal-based PRM was launched by former ANC councillor Nhlanhla Buthelezi in Durban in 2016. It asserted that, “As a movement we are 100 percent against same-sex marriages. The movement stands for a normal society that consists of men and women.”

The party’s then spokesperson added: “We denounce those leaders who promote Sodom and Gomorrah.”

IOL reported on Friday that the party has raised the R605,000 deposit to contest the elections and is planning to launch its manifesto on Sunday. Spokesperson Thembelani Ngubane said that it will continue its bigoted policies and insisted that, “The same-sex marriage law is wrong.”

Sibongile Khumalo, project co-coordinator for Durban’s Lesbian and Gay Community and Health Centre, responded that the organisation would speak out against PRM’s homophobia.

“If they campaign against us, we will go out to campaign against them, since the Constitution does not allow for gender and race discrimination. We will use the Constitution to tell them that they cannot conduct campaigns by violating other people’s rights,” said Khumalo.

While PRM won just one seat in the 2016 local elections, it claims to have thousands of members and supporters. The party affirms the role of kings, queens and traditional leaders and believes that foreign products, including cars, TVs and cellphones, should be banned.

In May 2016, Buthelezi was accused of making anti-LGBTQ statements on the VibeFM community radio station.

He allegedly stated that PRM does not accept gays and lesbians and that if a member of the party is found to be homosexual they would be fired from any position held.

Buthelezi also allegedly said that PRM would collaborate with other political parties against the acceptance of lesbian and gay people.

The Gay and Lesbian Network in Pietermaritzburg went on to take the party to the Equality Court for hate speech over the comments. The case, however, collapsed after the radio station revealed that it had no recordings of the interview.

KwaZulu-Natal is the second most homophobic province in South Africa, according to the Institute of Race Relations. Last week, a 21-year-old gay teacher was brutally attacked on a beach near Durban by three violent homophobes for wearing a Pride t-shirt.