EFF supports 'repulsive' pastor ban

14 September 2016

Cape Town - The Economic Freedom Fighters on Wednesday praised Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba's decision to prohibit homophobic US pastor Steven Anderson's entrance to South Africa.

The party called the anti-gay clergyman “poisonous and repulsive”.

“It cannot be correct that a man who celebrated the killing of an LGBT community in his own country, the US, must be allowed to enjoy the freedoms of our new democracy,” acting spokesperson Fana Mokoena said.

He was referring to Anderson's statement that the deaths of 49 people in an attack at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in June, meant there were “less paedophiles” in the world.

“He is poisonous and repulsive and it is only correct that he be declared persona non grata. Our government and the country at large cannot allow for the LGBT community to be victims of this imbecile’s vitriol.”

Suppression

Mokoena said South Africa had constitutional rights to certain freedoms of speech and association, with the proviso that the rights of others were not trampled.

His advocating for suppression of parts of society would take the country back to the oppressive days of apartheid, he continued.

“Our country is still struggling with racism which has openly reared its head again over the past two years. Allowing this half-wit to come in our country and sow more division and bigotry is not in the best interest of our country.”

The EFF commended the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual community for starting a petition against Anderson's visit. It showed that the country could stand together against unwanted characters.

GaySA radio presented Gigaba with a petition of around 60 000 signatures of people opposed to Anderson’s visit.

The EFF has ventured into religious terrain before. In 2015, supporters broke down and burnt a tent used by controversial “snake pastor” Penuel Mnguni in Soshanguve, Pretoria. Mnguni had convinced congregants to eat snakes, rats and grass.

The party threatened a service of a “different kind” for pastor Andre Olivier of the Rivers Church in Sandton, Johannesburg. It backed down when Olivier apologised.

UK ‘ban’

In a sermon delivered in June, Olivier said whites did well because they worked hard, and were the ones to step in when blacks needed help. Olivier apologised and the planned EFF sermon was called off.

In 2013, party leader Julius Malema visited controversial prophet TB Joshua of the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Nigeria, for blessings for the future. He came to Joshua's defence after the collapse of a church residence in Lagos in September 2014, in which 116 people were killed, most of them South Africans.

Mambaonline reported in June that a report claiming to quote Malema saying that he would kill all gays was fake. The report was on one of a number of hoax news websites that have sprung up recently.

Meanwhile, Anderson posted a video complaining that while he was waiting for his flight between the US and South Africa, he was informed that he would not be able to go via London, UK.

Claiming he had been banned, he said he had to make alternate arrangements to go to his next destination, Botswana, without travelling via the UK or South Africa.

He had only been expected in South Africa on September 18, but appeared to be already heading for South Africa on Monday.

Home Affairs spokesperson Mayihlome Tshwete said he knew nothing about the UK government's “ban” of Anderson.

Comment was not immediately available from the UK's Home Office, which deals with immigration matters.

This article first appeared on News24, see here.