Martin Endjala
The All Peoples’ Party has joined several political parties to condemn and reject the supreme court ruling recognizing same-sex marriages, labelling it as a taboo and an abomination to a country with 99 percent Christians.
APP’s Secretary General Vincent Kanyetu yesterday told the Windhoek Observer that said Same-sex marriages are a form of depopulating the nation.
Meanwhile, Equal Rights Namibia’s representative, Omar Van Reenen denounced APP’s stance on the same-sex marriage ruling, adding that the party’s manifesto of 2019 champions protecting and upholding the rights of the LGBTQ community.
“Why are they now going back on their promises?” he asked.
Van Reenen said that the APP has flip-flopped on its manifesto which then poses the question of whether they truly had the interests of all Namibians at heart when they were campaigning for votes.
He said that the announcement by the APP that it rejects the recognition of same-sex marriages is a clear indication that they are only after their own political interests and not that of the nation at large.
“How can a party come out saying that LGBTQ people can’t procreate and that their actions would lead to the depopulation of Namibia? There are other means of procreating such as foster care centres where one can adopt and there are many examples. The issue is not that, the issues are that these politicians only serve their selfish ambitions ones elected,” Van Reenen said.
In an interview with the Windhoek Observer, Kanyetu aired his views and labeled the ruling “a shock” to many people and one that is difficult to accept.
“We are going to have men marrying men and women doing the same. How will we make babies this way? This is unheard of.
A total abomination and we cannot allow such a thing. We felt it was necessary that we come out and publicly make it known that we are rejecting the ruling of the supreme court and those advocating for it should stop it,”Kanyetu said.
He vented his discontent towards the legislature for failing to revisit laws and repeal outdated ones and amend those that need amending in order to close the loopholes, adding that the much-publicized same-sex saga is the result of that.
Kanyetu stated that the legislature owes the public an apology for the outcome of the ruling by the supreme court, although he acknowledges that the minority who are advocating for same-sex marriages are within their rights. He maintains that these actions have undermined and overstepped the cultural norms that are known to everyone.
He said that if it should continue, he is in support of the call made by the church association and the Independent Patriots for Change for a referendum for people to vote to see who is for or against it.
Kanyetu further stressed that lawmakers should come up with a law that prohibits same-sex marriage, adding that Namibia should not be turned into a lesbian and gay nation.
“We do not want a Sodom and Gomorrah situation,” he said.
Kanyetu cautioned Namibians to be wary and aware of Western cultures, saying that they are tarnishing the culture of the country and that Namibians should not neglect their culture.
He stressed that he welcomes western assistance to Namibia financially, but he is of the opinion that Namibia is emulating ‘way too much Western culture’ .
“The APP is of the opinion that it is now time for attention to be directed at solving important issues like creating jobs to remedy the scourge of high unemployment in the country,” he said.
The Supreme Court of Namibia ruled in favour of recognizing same-sex marriages from other countries early this month, making Namibia the second nation in Africa to do so, after South Africa.
Kanyetu also cautioned the stance taken by the Ombudsman Basilius Dyakugha who vowed to help uphold the supreme court ruling that government must recognise foreign same-sex spouses in terms of the country’s immigration laws.
“Various sections of Namibian society have already expressed their concerns and the country now awaits the government to pronounce itself on the matter following the Attorney General’s statement stating that it is consulting on the matter and will pronounce itself in due course,” he said.
Van Reenen on the other hand expressed that politicians do not care about the bread-and-butter issues.
“They will only address an issue when it serves them and they are using this platform for their own political gain. Shame on them. Society is measured on how it treats vulnerable people,” he said.
Van Reenen said that those trying to use situations like this for their own interests are robbing the interests of society.
“Anyone who puts their interests before that of society is not fit for office or to lead that society,” he said.
