Ekandjo says Kawana’s anti-gay bill not enough
• Ex-minister wants total ban on homosexuality
The former minister says the recently-tabled marriage bill cannot be used to shield the president from assenting to the pending private member's anti-gay bills submitted in 2023.
Swapo lawmaker Jerry Ekandjo says the new marriage amendment bill, tabled recently by home affairs minister Albert Kawana, won’t stop him from demanding that the president assent to his private member’s bills, which seek to criminalise homosexuality altogether.
Kawana tabled an amendment bill to replace the current Marriage Act 25 of 1961. It seeks to define ‘spouse’ as a person married to a person from the opposite sex. If passed, it would make same-sex marriages in Namibia illegal, including those solemnised abroad.
If gazetted, the amended law will render last year’s Supreme Court ruling recognising same-sex marriages solemnised abroad, and which involve a Namibia citizen, redundant.
Speaking to Namibian Sun yesterday, former Robben Island political prisoner Ekandjo said he still expects President Nangolo Mbumba to assent to his bills, which he said are more pointed than the Kawana bill, which leaves loopholes that can be exploited.
One of the Ekandjo bills seeks to define the term ‘spouse’ to mean people of genetically different sex, while the other seeks to pointedly ban same-sex marriages in the country.
Ekandjo said the bills were passed with overwhelming support in both houses of parliament, and therefore the president ‘has no choice’ but officially react to the bills. “He cannot just let it slide. The bills were unanimously endorsed by parliament and the president has to respect that, as provided for in the constitution,” the former home affairs minister said.
‘Gays should not be allowed’
On whether the amended marriage bill introduced by Kawana was not sufficient to address concerns raised in his private member’s bills, Ekandjo said: “Kawana’s bill simply looks to outlaw same-sex marriages, while mine seek to criminalise homosexuality altogether”.
“Ours is total opposition to men sleeping with each other. Gays should not be allowed in Namibia,” Ekandjo added.
Asked about the provision in the Namibian Constitution which states that no one should be discriminated against on the basis of their sex or gender, he said there was a deliberate attempt to misinterpret the constitution to advance the agenda of homosexuality.
“The equality that the constitution talks about was not about men sleeping with each other. It was to say, for example, you cannot pay someone less than the other on the basis of their sex. The sex being referred to is the categories of human – male or female. Not sex, the intimate activity,” the former minister said.
A member of the constituent assembly, which worked on the constitution the country adopted at independence, he added: “The principle in the constitution about not discriminating against anyone on the basis of sex and gender was not about homosexuality. I was part of that process and I can tell you that that was not the thinking at the time. If it’s what we meant, we would have stated so explicitly”.
“We have now realised that there are people who are trying to exploit the ambiguities, that’s why some of us took it upon ourselves to tighten the law by using clear terms while we’re still alive.”
Ekandjo further stated: “The Kawana amendment bill doesn’t talk about genetically-born males and females. That lack of clarity can be exploited by people who may go through therapies and change their gender. We have to clear that up”.
Kawana tabled an amendment bill to replace the current Marriage Act 25 of 1961. It seeks to define ‘spouse’ as a person married to a person from the opposite sex. If passed, it would make same-sex marriages in Namibia illegal, including those solemnised abroad.
If gazetted, the amended law will render last year’s Supreme Court ruling recognising same-sex marriages solemnised abroad, and which involve a Namibia citizen, redundant.
Speaking to Namibian Sun yesterday, former Robben Island political prisoner Ekandjo said he still expects President Nangolo Mbumba to assent to his bills, which he said are more pointed than the Kawana bill, which leaves loopholes that can be exploited.
One of the Ekandjo bills seeks to define the term ‘spouse’ to mean people of genetically different sex, while the other seeks to pointedly ban same-sex marriages in the country.
Ekandjo said the bills were passed with overwhelming support in both houses of parliament, and therefore the president ‘has no choice’ but officially react to the bills. “He cannot just let it slide. The bills were unanimously endorsed by parliament and the president has to respect that, as provided for in the constitution,” the former home affairs minister said.
‘Gays should not be allowed’
On whether the amended marriage bill introduced by Kawana was not sufficient to address concerns raised in his private member’s bills, Ekandjo said: “Kawana’s bill simply looks to outlaw same-sex marriages, while mine seek to criminalise homosexuality altogether”.
“Ours is total opposition to men sleeping with each other. Gays should not be allowed in Namibia,” Ekandjo added.
Asked about the provision in the Namibian Constitution which states that no one should be discriminated against on the basis of their sex or gender, he said there was a deliberate attempt to misinterpret the constitution to advance the agenda of homosexuality.
“The equality that the constitution talks about was not about men sleeping with each other. It was to say, for example, you cannot pay someone less than the other on the basis of their sex. The sex being referred to is the categories of human – male or female. Not sex, the intimate activity,” the former minister said.
A member of the constituent assembly, which worked on the constitution the country adopted at independence, he added: “The principle in the constitution about not discriminating against anyone on the basis of sex and gender was not about homosexuality. I was part of that process and I can tell you that that was not the thinking at the time. If it’s what we meant, we would have stated so explicitly”.
“We have now realised that there are people who are trying to exploit the ambiguities, that’s why some of us took it upon ourselves to tighten the law by using clear terms while we’re still alive.”
Ekandjo further stated: “The Kawana amendment bill doesn’t talk about genetically-born males and females. That lack of clarity can be exploited by people who may go through therapies and change their gender. We have to clear that up”.
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