Minister Tells Police to ‘Eliminate’ Gays
Johannesburg Daily Mail &
Guardian, October 2, 2000
Braamfontein 2017, Johannesburg, South Africa
Fax: +27 11 727 7110
Email: manoim@icon.co.za
AFP and Own Correspondent
WINDHOEK—Namibia’s controversial home affairs minister Jerry Ekandjo has launched an
astonishing attack on gays and lesbians in his country, urging a group of new police
constables to "eliminate them from the face of Namibia."
Ekandjo told 700 newly graduated policemen and women at the police training college at
Ondangwa, in the far north of Namibia, that Namibia’s "constitution does not
guarantee rights for gays and lesbians."
"We must make sure we eliminate them (gays and lesbians) from the face of
Namibia," he said.
He urged police graduates to combat homosexuality and all other "unnatural acts
including murder."
"Even if gays and lesbians had a gay dog they would murder it," he added.
The Rainbow Project, an organisation promoting gay and lesbian rights in Namibia,
called on the government "to publicly reject" Ekandjo’s remarks.
In a statement the organisation said gays and lesbians were protected by the
constitution’s commitment to the "inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable
rights of all members of the human family."
Ekandjo previously made headlines in August when he said he would withdraw the work
permits of foreign judges who made judgments that were perceived as against government
policy.
He was later forced to back down and issue an apology.
Namibia’s President Sam Nujoma has previously criticised gays and lesbians,
calling them "unnatural," echoing the stance of his close ally, Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe.
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