ANGER AT SLUR BY TRADITIONAL LEADERS

Cape Town LGBTI services organisation Triangle Project has slammed anti-gay statements by Contralesa’s President Patekile Holomisa which equate homosexuality with bestiality

Speaking at the conclusion of the Contralesa National General Council meeting, Holomisa said, “It [homosexuality] is taboo. We know that it happens but it shouldn’t. If you accept this, you might as well accept people having sex with their relatives or with animals for that matter.”

The Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa) represents the interests of traditional leaders in the country.

In a statement, Triangle Project says that it “finds Holomisa’s statement to be despicable and downright hateful. Comparing gays and lesbians to incest and bestiality is an affront that is based on absurd ignorance.”

“This kind of statement promotes an atmosphere of hate, while perpetuating a culture rooted in prejudice,” said Vista Kalipa, Media Coordinator for Triangle Project.

“There already exists a pervasive hostility towards same-gender loving black South Africans, we do not need community leaders to fuel this kind of bigotry,” he said.

In his tirade against the gay and lesbian community, Holomisa went on to say “… [Contralesa] will continue to inform our people that this is something we do not support.”

Contralesa also slammed the recently passed Civil Union Act, calling it an error to allow a union between same-sex partners and that the Constitutional Court misinterpreted the Constitution.

In response, Triangle Project said that it “expresses deep concern at the fact that public officials do not have the cognitive capacity to interpret the Constitution correctly.”

Glenn de Swardt, Acting Director of Triangle Project, says, “To claim that homosexuality is unAfrican is an insult and an affront to black gays and lesbians. Perhaps it is time that we debate what constitutes being African – homosexuality is most definitely African, unlike Western medicine or Christianity.”