Activists claim LGBTQI+ community ‘violates human rights’ in Namibia

Stop Homosexuality in Namibia chairperson Pendapala Nakathingo says the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQI+) community does not fall within the context of ‘fundamental human rights’.

Speaking to Desert FM, Nakathingo said when one speaks of human rights, one must only refer to either a male or a female.

“When you talk about humans, there is no human that has no identity. You cannot be born a man then change to become a woman,” he said.

He said outside the context of fundamental human rights, the LGBTQI+ community no longer enjoys the protection of human rights. He claims these individuals are violating fundamental human rights.

President Nangolo Mbumba signed the anit same-sex marriage law on 2 October 2024, reversing the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that recognised such unions in Namibia.

The new law defines marriage strictly as a union between a man and a woman, excluding same-sex couples from legal recognition under both civil and customary law.

Nakathingo reiterated their stance against the LGBTQ+ community and said their organisation will continue to support the action of government and the action of parliamentarians.

“Finally, they have made laws protecting us as men and women, males and females,” he said.

According to Nakathingo, the LGBTQI+ agenda does not have a position in Namibia in terms of Namibian laws.

Coalition of Christian Churches and Organisations chairperson Shirley Magazi says the enacting of this law is a major victory for the Christian community.

She applauds the legislature, the executive, as well as the president for giving expression to the wishes of the Namibian people.

“We haven’t lost our identity. We may be secular, yes, but our morality and values are not secular. They are based and founded on our culture as well as on our faith, and this is what our new act has given us,” Magazi says.

She says the new law gives the Christian community the ammunition to protect the family unit, and to continue advocating family and marriage.

She says it solidifies the work of churches.

“The Constitution obliges each and every one of us to protect the family according to Article 14, if I’m not mistaken, to protect the family unit,” she says.