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Columnist Jon Qwelane has equated homosexuality to bestiality
Qwelane has equated homosexuailty to bestiality
'Committed homophobe' to become SA ambassador to Uganda
A South African media personality who has been described as a "committed homophobe" is expected to be appointed his country's ambassador to Uganda next month.
In his column in the Sunday Sun, Jon Qwelane has equated homosexuality to bestiality, lauded Zimbabwe's President Mugabe for his "unflinching and unapologetic stance over homosexuals" and called for gay marriage to be outlawed in South Africa.
"Jon Qwelane is a committed homophobe and his appointment could be seen as a tacit endorsement of the repressive stance Uganda is taking on homosexuality," said Lindiwe Mazibuko, spokesman for the official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party.
Uganda's parliament is currently considering the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which would impose the death penalty for some offences and punish several others with imprisonment.
"The DA is of the opinion that the appointment of Mr Qwelane would not take into account the serious nature of this," Mazibuko told South Africa's Mail & Guardian.
Qwelane was a vocal supporter of South Africa's President Jacob Zuma when the ANC leader was facing fraud and corruption charges.
It has been reported that Qwelane would soon be heading to Kampala to take up his position, but South Africa's Sunday Times reported that the government was waiting for Uganda's approval.
Mazibuko said Zuma's government should be pressing Uganda to drop the death penalty from the bill, but instead "the president appears to be moving to appoint a man whose record for promoting intolerance, homophobia and prejudice in South Africa is well established and largely unparalleled."
