christian council ministers plead for gay tolerance

January 21, 1999: The Johannesburg Daily Mail & Guardian reports an appeal made by the Botswana Christian Council for a relaxation of social and legal prohibitions against homosexuality was greeted with outright hostility by an audience of mostly students at the University of Botswana.

In a panel discussion at the University, Reverend Dan Hoffman made a broad-based appeal calling for greater Christian compassion towards men and women who feel emotional affinity for members of the same sex.

Reverend Rupert Hambira, who also served on the panel and is running for a seat in the national legislature, said Christians must accept all people on humanitarian grounds, regardless of their sexual orientation. "We must judge no one," he said, "leave it to God."

Repeating assertions that have become a standard mantra of the African right, Biti Butale, a reactionary youth leader was quoted as saying the majority of Botswana'a people are "traumatized by homosexuality," and "other ideas from overseas and (European and American) donors."

Dr. Mulingi, who heads the University of Botswana's sociology department, refuted Butale's insistence that homosexuality was "non-African" in origin and pointed to numerous indigenous society's in Central Africa where same-sex relations were common. Mulingi said though he personally finds homosexual conduct immoral, that is a personal judgement, not a social one.

Reverend Hambira said finding a Biblical basis for anti-gay views was misguided, asserting the Bible was "tinted with human errors and subjective opinions." His most pointed condemnation against using the Bible to defend social prejudice came when he reminded his audience, "Remember, the Boers used the Bible to engineer apartheid."

The debate generated so much interest, the z Gazette was obliged to print an editorial comment. Surprisingly, says the South African Daily Mail & Guardian, the conservative paper chose to publish a defense backing the Rev. Hambira and his call for greater social tolerance of gay and lesbian Africans.

"We applaud the courage displayed by the Reverend Rupert Hambira in vigorously taking a stand during the debate at the University on homosexuality. Despite the obvious hostility of his audience he - and it must be noted the other panelists - called for tolerance towards homosexuality in the society and a relaxation of legislation."

"Because of his stand," the paper continued, "because of his strongly held beliefs in the rights of individuals to be protected from persecution, people should seriously consider him as the type of person we need in Parliament."