Stop being hypocrites; gay talk is unnecessary!

By Prince Bill M. Kaping’a Political/Social Analyst

Our politicians seem to have a penchant for preoccupying themselves with petty things at the expense of real issues. In a case of monkeys making fun of their own bats (ukusekana ifipato!), we’ve seen politicians trading accusations with their competitors on the issue of gay rights, back and forth!

For instance, when Michael Sata’s PF started breathing heavily on the necks of the ruling party MMD at the time, they would engage in top gear and launch counter-attacks of all sorts. According to the Times of Zambia, (March 23, 2011) MMD spokesperson Dora Siliya described as shameful and disgusting the support rendered by Patriotic Front (PF) president Michael Sata to homosexuality and urged Zambians to reject his denial because the information was already in the public domain.

In 2016, four years after the Patriotic Front dramatically dislodged the MMD from power, they would ignore the log in their eyes and point at the speck in the eyes of the party that would evict them from Plot 1 Independence Avenue! “It is clear that the UPND is hell-bent on destroying our way of life and values. We shall not allow them to do this,” pontificated the party’s Deputy Chairman Elections Kelvin Bwalya at the time. He further accused the United Party for National Development (UPND) for planning to enshrine Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Rights in the Zambian constitution against what he called Zambian Christian values.

More than half a decade later though, the mindless accusations never seem to have subsided. On June 20, 2022, Economic Front president Wynter Kabimba in a letter of suspension to one of few his party members, Helen Mulala, accused the Socialist Party of associating with LGBT and homosexual movements outside the country. “I have been informed that you have recently attempted to recruit some members of the EF into the Socialist Party, a party which has association with LGBT and homosexual movements outside the country,” Kabimba wrote.

And a couple of weeks ago, UPND spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa seemed to engage in a rebuttal of some kind challenging Fred M’membe’s Socialist Party not to “allow homosexuality to blossom in this country.” He further challenged the Socialist Party to redeem themselves from accusations of supporting gay rights in the nation.

Of course, this follows earth shattering revelations whereby the Economic Front leader Wynter Kabimba continued accusing M’membe of supporting gay rights referring to his political formation as a “party which has association with LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender] and homosexual movements outside the country”.

Is such careless talk really necessary?

If two consenting adults of the same sex decide to indulge in unnatural practices in a private room, how does this deprive citizenry of bread and butter in their homes, medicine in hospitals, access to quality education or indeed job opportunities?

We pride ourselves as a Christian nation, doesn’t the Bible challenge us thus in John 8:7 “So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”

In the recent past, we have witnessed some of our presidents associating with individuals with questionable characters……nay drug barons, arms dealers, and typical mafias with whom they would cut corrupt deals!

And to add salt to injury, some of them have been known to be drunkards in the habit of frequenting nightclubs in the company of harlots and corrupt and heartless thieving individuals never shy of dipping dirty paws in the treasury! Why should we allow charlatans to portray this holier than thou image and pretend to be more perfect than others?