Gay marriage decision slammed

2005-12-14 11:41

Sizwe samaYende

Nelspruit - Traditional leaders have warned that homosexual couples risk being treated as pariahs in rural communities following last week's Constitutional Court ruling endorsing same-sex marriages.

The National House of Traditional Leaders (NHTL) members unanimously agreed during a three-day conference in Hazyview, Mpumalanga, that the ruling disappointed them.

"We are of the belief that, based on viewpoints of rural communities, this [ruling] will cause same-sex married couples to be ostracised, which is something that is not promoted by the institution and might lead to victimisation and violence," said NHTL spokesperson Sibusiso Nkosi.

Nkosi said that the leaders believed that same-sex marriages were at variance with African culture, and the decision went against the mandate of the NHTL to protect and promote the customs of communities that observe customary law.

"Traditional leaders have vowed to make it their mission for the coming fives years to campaign against this wicked, decadent and immoral western practice," he said.

The house, said Nkosi, would study the Constitutional Court's judgement and decide on the steps to take in order to challenge the ruling.

"This kind of marriage does not fulfil the notion of marriage in African culture, as only a man can pay lobola for a woman," he said.

The conference also deliberated on a number of issues especially on lobola, governance and laws regulating traditional leadership.

Escalating lobola prices were condemned, but it was agreed that no legislation was needed to regulate lobola.

The leaders committed themselves to working with all spheres of government, and urged the justice department to speed the process of finalising legislation on traditional courts.

- African Eye