ZIMBABWEAN GAYS UNCERTAIN ABOUT THEIR FUTURE

By Mongezi Mhlongo (BTM Reporter)

ZIMBABWE – 17 July 2009: While pressure mounts for the Zimbabwean government to draft an inclusive constitution, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community in that country remains uncertain about its future in the newly formed government of national unity.

Following a public statement earlier this year that called for the drafting of the new constitution to be a people driven process, it now appears that the government is willing to engage.
 
Keith Goddard, Director of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) says so far, the meetings he has attended have been dedicated to explaining to the public the process of rewriting the national constitution.

“Towards the end of July there will be a stakeholder conference where about 5000 delegates are expected to put in submissions on how the final constitution should be”, Goddard added. 

After the conference a referendum will be held and results will be sent to parliament and if two thirds majority votes are in favor, then the president will pass it into law. 

Dubbed an autocrat, Robert Mugabe has been in power since Zimbabwe seized independence from Britain and according to Goddard “Mugabe would never allow Tsvangirai to sign anything to law.”

With the united government is up and running, many expect a much needed change from a country that has over the years been clouded by political instability under Mugabe’s regime.

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

Section 73 of Zimbabwean sodomy law still punishes anal sexual intercourse and any acts involving physical contact between males that could be regarded by a reasonable person as indecent acts.

While section 23 of the Zimbabwean Constitution grants “protection from discrimination on the grounds of race, etc” there is no mention of gender or sexual minorities.