The stance taken by the Catholic Church over homosexuality has
confused the flock in the church who are now demanding that the
leadership should come out clearly on the matter.
And a visiting clergyman has cautioned Zambians against electing
leaders who are advocating homosexual rights, saying it is not Biblical.
A staunch Catholic, Hobday Kabwe said in Lusaka that the
position of the church on the matter was confusing, especially that the
leaders seemed to contradict themselves.
Mr Kabwe, who is a Lusaka lawyer, said it was confusing that while
the church was calling the act as "seriously wrong and sinful" it was on
the other hand saying homosexuals deserved respect and should not be
discriminated against.
He said it was misleading for the Zambia Episcopal Conference
president George Lungu to state that people should make a distinction
between the homosexual act and homosexual orientation or inclination for
which he said homosexuals were human beings who deserved respect.
"And what is this homosexual orientation and inclination our bishop is asking us to respect likely to achieve or result in?
"Is there a scripture or law of our land to back up the request to
respect this homosexual orientation or inclination?" Mr Kabwe said.
He said since homosexual-related inclinations were criminal offences
categorised together with defilement, rape, incest and abortion as
offences against morality under the Penal Code CAP 87 of the laws of
Zambia, it defied all perspectives and raised a lot of questions on why
respect should be accorded to homosexuals alone among other offences
against morality under the laws of Zambia.
Mr Kabwe said the Zambian Constitution called for the protection of
every person against discrimination on account of race, tribe, sex,
place of origin, marital status, political opinions, colour or creed and
not on account of criminal suspects or convicts for such moral offences
as homosexuality, homosexual related offences, defilement, incest and
abortion.
And Apostle Stephen Mwanaliti, a Zambian based in Botswana, said in
an interview that homosexuality was an alien practice to Zambia and
described it as an act of witchcraft.
He advised Zambians not to elect leaders advocating homosexual
rights, saying it was not Biblical and was an alien phenomenon to the
country.
Apostle Mwanaliti of Hope of Glory Apostolic Ministries, who was
guest pastor last weekend at the Dynamic Soul Saving Ministries in
Chelston under Bishop Peter Kamima, described homosexuality as an act of
witchcraft and advised Zambians to vote for God-fearing leaders.
He said the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation had made the country a blessed land.