Respect Supreme Court, activist tells Ekandjo, /Gâseb

Gay rights activist and former Mr Gay Namibia Wendelinus Hamutenya says the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage should be respected by everyone, including Swapo parliamentarian Jerry Ekandjo and chief Immanuel /Gâseb.

Hamutenya says Ekandjo should be called to order.

“He can’t always instigate violence against homosexuals. Times have changed, and it’s time for him to retire as he has eaten enough,” Hamutenya says.

This comes as Ekandjo on Tuesday mocked the fundamental human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI+) citizens.

Ekandjo’s comments follow last week’s Supreme Court ruling in which the government was ordered to recognise two same-sex marriages legally concluded outside of Namibia.

Ekandjo went on a rant after posting a sexually explicit and degrading video clip on a Swapo WhatsApp group on Tuesday.

“Is this what the Supreme Court wants?” he wrote.

He said when the Constitution was drafted, it was made clear that homosexuality would not be allowed in Namibia.

“This is why chapter 3, article 14 of the Namibian Constitution states that men and women shall have the right to marry and found a family,” he said.

“If we wanted homosexuality in Namibia, we could have said ‘all persons’ have the right to marry and found a family, but we deliberately put it to read ‘men and women’,” Ekandjo said.

Contacted for comment on Tuesday, Ekandjo confirmed he was the author of the messages.

/Gâseb, the chairperson of the Council of Traditional Leaders in Namibia, says traditional leaders are saddened by the recent court ruling.

“This is not the kind of freedom Namibian people had in mind when they fought for the liberation of this country. If we surrender to this wave of immorality in our communities, it will be a betrayal of our sons and daughters who died for the liberation of our country,” he said.

He also said traditional leaders are calling on all Namibians, Africans and the world at large to join them in condemning same-sex marriage and LGBTQI+ campaigns.