The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has received backlash after it revealed that the Kenyan Academic Patrick Lumumba will address the party’s Public Lecture. This, as it gears up for its 10th anniversary in July. The backlash comes after Lumumba congratulated Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni for signing the country’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
This is just months after EFF leader Julius Malema led a march to the Ugandan Embassy in Pretoria against its Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Malema vehemently charged that the law was draconian and should not be passed into law.
“You can hear there is barbarism, there is stupidity in the whole bill and if Museveni knows what is good for him, he must not sign it into law,” said Malema at the time.
The Bill has since been passed into law after Museveni recently signed it. The new Act will criminalise homosexuality with punishments up to and including the death penalty.
Following the signing, Lumumba took to social media and said, “All Africans of goodwill should congratulate Ugandan Parliamentarians and their President for defying Western Countries and doing the right thing.”
And now, the EFF is set to host a public lecture to be delivered by Lumumba in July. Concerns have been raised over the party’s decision for providing a platform to the professor who has expressed contrasting views on the human rights issue.
Malema previously likened the bill to apartheid.
“The people who don’t enjoy freedom in any other part of the world, be it in Western Sahara, be it in Palestine, be it in Cuba… for as long as they do not enjoy their freedom, we have no right to enjoy our freedom. Freedom must be enjoyed by all. You cannot promote hate and then we fold our arms and don’t show the Ugandan government that we don’t agree with hate,” Malema said.
According to a 2017 survey conducted by the Centre of Risk Analysis at the South African Institute for Race Relations, four in 10 LGBTQIA-plus South Africans know of someone who had been murdered because of their sexuality. This, while black members of this community were almost twice as likely (49%) as white respondents (26%) to know of someone who was murdered on these grounds.
“The EFF is in solidarity with the LGBTIA+ community of Uganda, of Africa and the world and we have invited Prof. Lumumba and one must remember the coming lecture of the EFF was not planned yesterday, it has been in the pipeline since it was announced at our media launch earlier this year. So, the comments are unfortunate, they come at a time when of course the EFF has taken a public stance against the laws being passed by Museveni in Uganda,” Malema explained.
The EFF is standing by its decision saying that it will be a platform for debate which will also persuade not only Lumumba but also other sectors of society who share similar views.
