ZIMBABWE’S NEW CONSTITUTION MISTERY

By Mongezi Mhlongo (BTM Senior Reporter)

ZIMBABWE – 19 January 2010: Efforts to have gay rights integrated in Zimbabwe’s new constitution appear bleak as government wraps up final stages of the draft constitution without any positive indication.

What is left now, according to Parliament’s public relations officer Marshall Stambuli, is an outreach workshop where representatives from different organizations will convene to discuss “pertinent issues” brought forward in the new draft constitution.

Gay and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) says apart from last year’s meetings by the Zimbabwean government to explain the process of redrafting the constitution, there has never been any further consultation.

Fadzai Muparutsa of GALZ states that initially there was a unified voice with other human rights organisations to discuss issues of sexual orientation under the leadership of GALZ, “but lately there is a lot of uncertainty.”

She added, “There are mixed feelings in the LGBTI community. People are anxious about the outcome of the constitutional process as this will usher in a new era for LGBTI people in Zimbabwe.”

Despite the said lack of engagement by government, GALZ says it will continue to work with local network partners on the constitutional process and to engage the broader general public.

Meanwhile Mugabe’s stance on homosexuality remains a concern he is the one who, at the end, will have the final say.

Currently Section 23 of the Zimbabwean Constitution grants among others, “protection from discrimination on the grounds of race,” but there is no mention of gender or sexual minorities.