Anti-Homosexual Bill to be Proposed by Bishop in Congo

This was posted by the Association for Women's Rights in Development

A Democratic Republic of Congo bishop and lawmaker said Monday he had put forward a bill that would make homosexuality a punishable offence, as being gay was an “abomination”.


“We would like the law to punish homosexuality, bestiality and necrophilia. Morally, homosexuality is a deviation, and spiritually, it is an abomination,” pentecostal bishop, Ejiba Yamapiale told global news agency, AFP.

The bill comprises seven articles including imprisonment and fines for homosexuals, and will be debated by the National Assembly's committee on society and culture.

“We have proposed this law to moralise our society,” said Yamapiale, who leads the Pentecostal Church of Saviours in the capital Kinshasa.

“As Africans, we know that there is polygamy but there must not be men who sleep with other men, with animals or corpses,” he said.

“It is necessary to punish these unnatural practices, which do not fit with our values,” he said.

Homophobia is widespread across Africa. The law put forward by Yamapiale echoes similar anti-gay legislation in Uganda, while last year two Malawian men were jailed after staging the country's first gay wedding.

Homosexuality is also outlawed in Cameroon and punishable by prison terms.

In August, African Anglican bishops voiced their strong disapproval of homosexuality at a meeting attended by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.

October 25 2010