Cape Town – The EFF has defended its decision to invite Professor Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba, despite the uproar over his “homophobic” views.
Lumumba has been a vocal supporter of an anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda that recommends severe penalties, including the death penalty, for homosexuality.
In an interview on DigiTalk TV, Lumumba said that he was a homophobe and believed homosexuality can be cured.
“Sex against the order of nature is wrong. This thing called LGBTQ, lesbian, gay, transgender, intersex – even if you want to be spiritual about it, the bible says it is sex against the order of nature,” he said.
University of Cape Town staff and students protested Lumumba’s lecture at the university on Monday.
However, the EFF spokesperson, Sinawo Thambo, said that the party did not regret inviting the professor and that there was no contradiction in their actions.
Thambo acknowledged during an interview with Newsroom Afrika, that the EFF disagreed with Lumumba’s views on the anti-homosexuality bill, but they still invited him to speak, asserting that Lumumba had no influence on passing laws.
“We saw his tweet applauding the passing of the bill. Of course we don’t agree with that and he knows the view of the EFF in that regard.
“We are aware of his views, he is aware of ours. He has no capacity to pass laws [and] he has no influence on those laws,” he said.
The EFF leader, Julius Malema, previously defended the decision to invite Lumumba, stating that they allowed different opinions on their platforms, even if they disagreed with them.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
