Villagers denounce homosexuality

Comment & Analysis
BY FORTUNE MOYO   BINGA — Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was on Friday greeted by placard waving villagers during his tour of Matabeleland. 

Tsvangirai, who appeared to be playing into Zanu PF’s hands when he told the BBC last week that gay rights were also a “human right,” was eventually forced to address the thorny issue at a rally in Binga.

 

Villagers in Lupane and Tsholotsho carried placards with messages such as, “No to homosexuals.”

 

Speaking at a rally at Pashu Secondary School in Binga South, Tsvangirai said he did not understand why people were making such a fuss about his views on gays. “I am not gay, but I will not persecute someone who wishes to make his or her own choice about their sexual orientation, it is their own business,” he said.

 

But he admitted that homosexuality was a “very controversial subject” in Zimbabwe. “Surely we cannot spend time talking about gays and lesbians. Do you think that I have time to be responding to what I meant or did not mean when I made reference to the issue of gays? There are more serious issues to talk about, such as how to take care of the well-being of the people,” Tsvangirai told the rally.