Retired Lutheran bishops, Owambo chiefs slam same-sex ruling

Government must call the Supreme Court to order over a ruling which recognises foreign same-sex spouses married to Namibians in terms of the country's immigration laws, a group of retired Lutheran bishops said in a letter addressed to President Hage Geingob.

Similarly, the eight Aawambo traditional authorities have condemned the ruling, saying it amounts to Western interference in Namibian culture.

The bishops say the ruling infringes upon the constitution and openly shows the flow of the ‘obnoxious Western same-sex agenda’ into Namibian society.

“If reversing the ruling is not possible, government must call a national referendum for citizens to raise their voice on this crucial, ethical subject,” the letter - dated 23 May – read.

Tension

The retired clergymen include bishops Dr Kleopas Dumeni, Apollus Kaulinge, Tomas Shivute, Johannes Sindano, Josaphat Shanghala, Dr Veikko Munyika and Dr Shekutaamba Nambala.

They added: “This ruling brings along hatred and obvious tension between the church and the state in Namibia. [It] announces to the world that in this regard, Namibia is not an independent-thinking nation among other African states such as Kenya, Ghana, Uganda and others”.

The group said the recognition of same-sex marriages is a “gradual move of the Europeans’ snowballing agenda to diminish the Namibian and African population”.

They also fear that the ruling opens the door for same-sex couples to settle in Namibia and later pressure the church into blessing their marriages.

‘Grave concerns’

Meanwhile, the eight Aawambo traditional leaders have said they will not support the same-sex marriage ruling.

Chief Herman Iipumbu of the Uukwambi Traditional Authority - who also doubles as the chairperson of the eight traditional authorities - signed a letter addressed to Chief Immanuel Gaseb, the chairperson of the Council of Traditional Leaders, expressing their “grave concerns”.

Leaders of the eight Ovawambo tribes - Ondonga, Ombalantu, Oukwanyama, Ombadja, Uukwambi, Uukwaluudhi, Uukolonkadhi and Ngandjera - held an extraordinary meeting at Ongwediva last week and placed on record their discontent and disapproval of the decision.

“It is therefore imperative for the eight northern traditional authorities to place on the record the discontent, disapproval and dismay of our communities in our capacity as leaders of our communities and custodians of upholding the traditional values, customs, ethos and traditions of the respective authorities,” the letter read in part.

The leaders further said the Supreme Court's decision critically disregards the accepted norms and traditional practices in Namibian communities.

The ruling “subdued the rights of community members [as] subordinate to that of the western culture, which spearheads the LGBTQ agenda in Africa under the guise of financial aid”, the missive read.

‘Diabolic situation’

The traditional authority leaders opined that the Namibian nation is lost and scrambled by the “diabolic situation” born out of the ruling.

“The decision seems to concretise the notion that ‘the happiness of the slave is in the comfort of the slave owner/master’, of which Namibia is not and cannot be enslaved by the western countries through their horrible and immoral agendas,” they wrote.

They added that as traditional leaders, they have a collective responsibility to steer the behaviour of the communities under their leadership in a commonly accepted direction.

“It is therefore on this backdrop that the eight northern traditional authorities hereby reject the decision of the Supreme Court and appeal for the head of state and Parliament to nullify such decision.”

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