Although sexual acts between people of the same sex in illegal in Zimbabwe, the gay and Lesbian Association of Zimbabwe (GALZ) has 400 members according to former United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Charles Ray.
Ray thought this figure was small for a prominent organisation like GALZ.
He pointed out, however, that President Robert Mugabe has been one of Africa’s most outspoken and virulent critics of homosexuality describing gay people as “worse than pigs and dogs”.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 09HARARE1009, ZIMBABWE RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ON
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Reference ID |
Created |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO7123
OO RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #1009 3631333
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 291333Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5268
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 3232
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 3343
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 2970
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 0031
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 0033
UNCLAS HARARE 001009
SIPDIS
AF FRONT OFFICE
AF/S FOR B.WALCH
DRL FOR N. WILETT
AF/RSA FOR LOUIS MAZEL, LAURA GRIESMER, AND LEARNED DEES
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ASEC KDEM PGOV PHUM PREL PTER ZI
SUBJECT: ZIMBABWE RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ON
HUMAN RIGHTS TRENDS PERTAINING TO SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND
GENDER IDENTITY
REF: STATE 130765
¶1. (U) Under Zimbabwean law, sexual acts between same sex
individuals are criminalized. Specifically, the Zimbabwean
Criminal Code states that sodomy is illegal, while sexual
acts between women are unlawful as they constitute “unnatural
acts.” With strong support from President Robert Mugabe,
Parliament overhauled the country’s anti-homosexual
legislation in 2006 and broadened the definition of sodomy to
any “act involving contact between two males that would be
regarded by a decent person as an indecent act.”
Additionally, Section 11 of the pre-independence Censorship
and Entertainments Control Act of 1967 has been used to
harass gay people in Zimbabwe. The Act states that “no
person shall import, print, publish, distribute or keep for
sale any publication which is undesirable.” A publication is
undesirable if it is “indecent or obscene.”
¶2. (U) While Section 23 of the Zimbabwean Constitution
protects citizens from a variety of forms of discrimination,
including discrimination on grounds of race, gender,
ethnicity, and religion, it is silent on homosexuality. This
suggests that a challenge of the criminal code on the basis
of protection from discrimination would not be successful.
There have been numerous prosecutions of homosexuals in
Zimbabwe, most notably former ceremonial president of
Zimbabwe Canaan Banana (served from 1980 to 1987) who was
convicted of engaging in sodomy in 2000 and served eight
months in prison.
¶3. (U) Politically, President Robert Mugabe has been one of
Africa’s most outspoken and virulent critics of
homosexuality. He has made numerous statements attacking
homosexuals and has railed against homosexuals as being
“worse than pigs and dogs.” Consistent with many of his
anti-western messages, he has argued that homosexuality is a
western import. Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party has supported his
anti-gay rhetoric, while the MDC party has been more
supportive of gay rights.
¶4. (U) Zimbabwean culture has traditionally not been
accepting of homosexuality. While that has begun to change
in urban areas, criticism of homosexuality is still widely
prevalent in the country’s rural areas. Civil society groups
interested in the issue have failed in efforts seeking
legislative protection of gay rights, but these groups are
seeking to include gay rights in ongoing efforts to reform
the constitution. The Gay and Lesbian Association of
Zimbabwe is the most prominent organization advocating for
gay rights in the country, but only has 400 members.
RAY
(246 VIEWS)
