The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ+) student community in Zimbabwe is living in fear after the government threatened organisations offering scholarships to such students with “appropriate measures to enforce national laws, and to protect and defend national values” – a development that activists believe may affect the access to higher education of this group.
Zimbabwe has outlawed same-sex relations under “sodomy” and “indecent acts” legislation.
A coalition of human rights groups said it demonstrated that sexual and gender minorities are endangered in Zimbabwe.
“We are extremely concerned about the statement from the second-highest office in the land because it exhibits intolerance, especially taking into account that the advertisement opens young people to so many opportunities,” Wilbert Mandinde, the programs coordinator at Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, said on Friday.
The government’s statement
On 15 February, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, a feared former general, said in a statement: “The Government of Zimbabwe strongly and firmly rejects and denounces as unlawful, un-Christian, anti-Zimbabwean and un-African insidious attempts by foreign interests to entice, lure and recruit Zimbabwe’s less privileged but able students into Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender activities and malpractices through offers of educational scholarships.”
“Zimbabwe has legislated against all such deviances, making any offers predicated on the same aberrations both unlawful and criminal, and a grave and gross affront on our national values and ethos as a Christian nation,” the statement continues.
In his statement, Chiwenga said young Zimbabweans who qualify for enrolment into tertiary institutions in the country or other countries should approach government departments tasked to give grants and scholarship support to deserving cases.
He said students should never be tempted to “trade or sell their souls for such abominable and devilish offers.
“Our schools and institutions of higher learning will not entertain applicants, let alone enrol persons associated with such alien, anti-life, un-African and un-Christian values which are being promoted and cultivated by, as well as practised in decadent societies with whom we share no moral or cultural affinities.”
It said the scholarship programme was created to provide financial support to LGBTIQ+ individuals between 18 and above who are pursuing university degrees in the field of democracy, governance, justice, human rights and conflict resolution studies.
The scholarship is intended to empower LGBTIQ+ learners to serve and contribute powerfully and meaningfully to the realisation of rights for all, including persons of a diverse sexual and gender identity and expression in Zimbabwe and beyond.
An LGBTIQ+ activist who preferred to speak on condition of anonymity said on a post shared on social media that Chiwenga’s statement is aimed at diverting the attention of citizens from everyday problems in the country.
“I think Zimbabwe right now is at a critical point where we are not yet inclusive. The moment that we talk about this more, people will turn away from the issue of ‘there is no money, there are no jobs’ and they will start targeting the community,” said the activist.
In December, Zimbabwe’s Catholic bishops, like many of their African counterparts, cautioned against the Pope Francis’ declaration allowing priests to offer blessings to same-sex couples, citing “respect of the law of the land, our culture and for moral reasons.”
Zimbabwe has in the past stopped public acts that may appear to demonstrate approval of gay people.
In 2021, a planned visit by a gay South African celebrity, Somizi Mhlongo, for the reopening of a trendy Zimbabwean restaurant was canceled after a Christian sect and members of the ruling ZANU-PF party’s youth wing vowed to block his appearance.
ZEKEY MEDIA ONLINE 
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