As his retirement draws close
Staff Reporter
SWAPO Member of Parliament Jerry Ekandjo has once more questioned the status of his private members’ bills, which would criminalise homosexuality in Namibia as well as limit marriage in the country to members of the opposite sex.
Through the bills, the lawmaker wants anyone who violates the law against same-sex marriage to face a fine of up to N$100,000, or up to six years in prison.
“We are playing a cat and mouse game. I have been waiting for two years for these questions to be answered. After two weeks, this parliament will be dissolved, and all the unanswered bills will lapse. For two years, whenever these questions are posed, the Minister in the Presidency is not there. After two weeks, my term as a member of parliament will expire. After 35 years, it is a cat and mouse game. I have been waiting for two years now. All the other bills, even the amendment of the Marriage Act, were done in 2023. Bills introduced at the end of last year have already been assented to. After two weeks, we will not be here,” Ekandjo said.
He added that according to Article 56, Sub-Article 2 of the Namibian Constitution, where a bill is passed by a majority of two-thirds of all the members of the National Assembly and has been confirmed by the National Council, the President shall be obliged to give his or her assent thereto.
“These two bills were passed by a majority of two-thirds of both houses of parliament. According to the constitution, if this is the case, the President has to assent to it. It is also to say that if the President is not of the opinion to sign, he has to communicate this to the Speaker; this has not been done. For almost two years now, it cannot be. It must be taken seriously; it is serious. Comrade, it is serious. We didn’t spend our years in jails for nothing. People in villages do not have arms and legs due to war. When the Boers came here, more than 100 years ago, Germany ruled this country. South Africa ruled this country since 1915. We cannot allow western countries to allow homosexuality. All the other laws were passed, but not this one. It is deliberate,” an irate Ekandjo said.
