Elder statesman Ndungane: Deny entry to anti-gay pastor

CAPE TOWN, South Africa - Sept. 8, 2016 - PRLog -- Archbishop Ndungane made the call tonight after Anderson labelled the Minister of Home Affairs, Malusi Gigaba, a "sodomite" in a video broadcast. Anderson, of the Faithful Word Baptist Church in the United States of America, is outspoken in his anti-gay views and achieved notoriety when he welcomed the tragic Dallas gay night-club shooting earlier this year as having "rid the world of 50 sodomites".

Ndungane said: "Our Constitution, of which we are all immensely proud, makes it quite clear that there will be no discrimination against people of a different sexuality. Neither does it allow hate speech in South Africa. How, then, can we allow such an openly homophobic and anti-gay person the right to speak on public platforms in our country?"

Ndungane said he failed to see the logic of refusing entry to a human rights activist such as the Dali Lama, as the government had done previously, and yet allowing someone such as Anderson entry, albeit with conditions.

"South Africa is a society facing many challenges, including that of poverty. We don't need to have a man such as Pastor Anderson stirring up conflict and division through hate speech. I therefore call on Minister Gigaba to deny him entry to the country.

"I also call on Pastor Anderson to immediately apologise to Minister Gigaba for having insulted him on his video. He would do well to learn from the African concept of ubuntu, in which we respect others even if we differ from them.

"Clearly, Pastor Anderson has yet to experience the liberating freedom of the love of Jesus Christ, a man who accepted all people without reservation," the Archbishop Emeritus added.

Ndungane has been actively outspoken in the worldwide Anglican communion in defence of gay rights, and in moves to get the Church to be more accepting of gay people.

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Note: Archbishop Emeritus Njongonkulu Ndungane is the former Archbishop of Cape Town. He held this office as head of the Anglican Church in South Africa for 11 years from September 1996 to September 2007 when he retired. He is currently the Executive Director of the Historic Schools Restoration Project (an initiative to restore the historic schools of South Africa) and President of African Monitor (an independent continent-wide organisation that monitors the development of grassroots communities).