I WILL NEVER CAMPAIGN FOR GAY RIGHTS; I HAVE A DUTY TO PROTECT THE CONSTITUTION OF ZIMBABWE-VOWS PRESIDENT MNANGAGWA
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By Taonga Botolo
The no-nonsense Zimbabwe President Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa has told CNN’s popular British Journalist Richard Quest that he will not be persuaded to violate the constitution and campaign for same sex marriages.
In a heated interview on the sidelines of CoP26 summit in Glasgow, Quest, tried to corner President Mnangagwa, who is a lawyer by profession, into submission on the thorny issue.
The shrewd Mnangagwa defeated Quest to the question by citing what the Zimbabwe constitution says on the subject matter.
“Richard, i am a constitutionalist. The current provision in Zimbabwe constitution forbids same sex marriages. It is banned,” responded President Mnangagwa.
Asked if he would campaign to change the constitution to include gay rights in the Zimbabwe constitution, President Mnangagwa told Quest point blank that the issue of gay rights is not a priority.
“My priority is to rebuild the economy, improve the living standards of my people and also embrace the international world as we aim to make our country a better place to live in. We have so many areas that require our full attention and issue of gay rights is not featuring anywhere on that list,” explained Mnangagwa much to the agitation of the CNN anchor.
Quest, who is openly gay, went to as far as accusing Mnangagwa of “keeping Zimbabwe in a different age when other countries are embracing same sex rights.”
Mnangagwa responded: “That is never a priority in our country. Zimbabwe is open for business. We are working hard to catch up with rest of the world by growing our economy, that’s my priority list NOT gay rights.”
Mnangagwa, a hardline-conservative politician, told Quest that as a democratic society, the ball is in hands of those that want gay rights to take the campaign to majority Zimbabweans saying, “The issue was already defeated during 2013 constitutional referendum. Those that campaigned for same sex marriages lost on the ballot. As it stands, the issue is unconstitutional in my country.”
The issue of gay rights is seen as sacrilege in most conservative African societies. The western countries led by United States pump billions of funds every year to force countries embrace the act.
In Zimbabwe, the opposition MDC Alliance led by Nelson Chamisa gets majority of its funding from individuals and institutions that promote same sex marriages.
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