By CLAVER MUTINTA
MINISTER of Home Affairs Edgar Lungu says the police should bring to
book couples who attempted to register same-sex marriages with the local
authority in Lusaka over Easter.
On Saturday, four couples made up of four Zambian students and the men
of foreign origin approached marriage registrar, Henry Kapata, trying to
register their gay marriages but Mr Kapata sent them away.
The couples are Ritch Hemman, 64 and George
Nsama, 26, Clive Reeves, 48, and Bruce Lianda, 22, Jones MacPherson, 36,
and Sylvester Sichilima 30 and Humphrey Ray, 53 and Caleb Muswema, 34.
Mr Lungu said yesterday that the police should investigate the matter
and establish the truth as Government does not support homosexuality.
“If the men are found to have committed any offence, action should be taken accordingly,” he said.
He said it is not for him to direct the police to pursue the gay men
because the officers are competent enough to discharge their duties if
an offence has been committed.
“It is a pity that foreigners have started bringing this thing to us
now. We are on dangerous ground where people are bringing new things to
us and we are watching.
“The police must do their work…same-sex marriages are not a normal thing and we do tolerate such,” he said.
The minister said Zambian law does not support same-sex marriages and it
is shocking that some people can come out in the open and attempt to
register an illegal practice.
Mr Lungu challenged the church and community to condemn same-sex marriages and not embrace alien practices.
He said gay marriages have created problems in countries where they are allowed and that Zambia is not ready for the acts.
And Lusaka province commissioner Joyce Kasosa said the police will only
start investigating when Mr Kapata reports the matter to the police.
She said police have no basis on which to commence investigations in the absence of a formal complaint or report.
“We want the person who witnessed the event to help us to start investigations,” she said.
Ms Kasosa said police are aware that there could be bad practices in the
communities which are not reported to law enforcement officers.
- Courtesy of http://www.daily-mail.co.zm