In a world where the West often serves up its progressive ideologies like the daily special, it’s easy to forget that some nations are grappling with more fundamental issues than debating the recipe for social change. Picture this: while the prosperous West discusses LGBTQ+ policies over a gourmet meal, many nations are hustling to put bread on the table. But now, a twist in the menu!
Africa, long handed the “woke” menu without a say, is flipping the script. The continent, weary of being served someone else’s agenda, is finally speaking up.
During a press conference on Friday, Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye proposed that same-sex couples should face public stoning, urging the community to participate in carrying out this punishment.
“Personally, I think if we see these kinds of individuals in Burundi, we should put them in a stadium and stone them. And it would not be a sin for those who do,” Ndayishimiye told reporters, condemning marriage between same-sex individuals as an “abominable practice.”
The African leader also chastised wealthy Western nations for threatening to withhold financial aid from smaller nations should they choose not to embrace pro-LGBTQ policies. He said, “Let them keep their help, let them keep it.”
He declared that Burundians who had left the nation and “chosen the devil,” or turned into open homosexuals, “should not come back.”
Since 2009, homosexuality has been prohibited in Burundi. Consensual same-sex relationships are punishable by a two-year prison sentence; nevertheless, the death penalty is not a legal punishment for homosexuality. Following an announced crackdown on same-sex partnerships, Burundi charged 24 people with “homosexual practices” in March. Ndayishimiye called on the populace to treat the gays among them as “pariahs.”
Much to the anger of the West, which has attempted to use its tremendous financial leverage to push back against legislation that is primarily motivated by conservative religious convictions, over 30 African states have anti-LGBTQ laws on the books.
Earlier this month, Pope Francis said that the Roman Catholic Church could bless same-sex couples. However, Catholic officials in Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana publicly disagreed, claiming that homosexual marriage is against church law and African custom.
The World Bank cut off Uganda from new funding in May after the government passed anti-gay legislation that carried the death sentence for “aggravated homosexuality,” which included having sex with a juvenile or while HIV positive. This decision might cost the country billions of dollars in aid. Ugandan officials were prohibited from traveling by the US, and the country was kicked out of a trade agreement.
Ghana, which earlier this year voted to pass legislation that would have sentenced LGBTQ rights advocates to prison terms, has threatened to retaliate against US economic interests should Washington react similarly to its own law.
In addition, Uganda has passed one of the strictest anti-LGBTQ laws in the world on a continent where only 22 out of 54 countries permit homosexuality.
In several African countries, the consequences for same-sex relationships vary significantly. Mauritania, Somalia, and parts of Nigeria, governed by sharia law, prescribe the death penalty as the maximum punishment. Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia enforce life imprisonment for same-sex relations, while Gambia, Kenya, and Malawi could lead to jail terms of up to 14 years. Kenya’s High Court, in 2019, upheld a law criminalizing consensual same-sex activity as a strategy against HIV.
Chad followed suit in 2017, criminalizing same-sex acts, drawing concerns from the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) for legal regression.
Clearly, the African continent isn’t mincing any words and has finally given a message loud and clear: While the West dines on progressive policies, Africa’s choosing a different course.
Watch More:
https://youtu.be/7WTwQ3EkgAY?si=pizLgnCMQwcX_qxV