Burundi: Churches fight homosexuality

  1. Posted on Monday 9 March 2009 - 10:35
    rubakana
    Image of rubakana
    Eddy Rubakana, AfricaNews reporter in Bujumbura, Burundi
    Bishops in Burundi plan an event to denounce what is perceived as a legalization of homosexuality in that country. At the root of what seems a religious consensus in Burundi, is the rejection by the Senate to amend a penal code whose result was the criminalization of homosexuality.
    homosexuals
    This amendment was adopted by the National Assembly of Burundi first. The law would have rendered sexual acts of the same sex punishable between three months to two years imprisonment, with a substantial fine.

    The law was passed at the National Assembly without causing too much noise.

    After the passage of this Act at the National Assembly, a powerful international lobby of homosexuals in the world, defenders of human right organizations in the fight against AIDS as well as donor countries rallied and pressured the Burundian Senate to reject the law and return it to the National Assembly for reconsideration and modification.

    Homosexuality is not a culturally accepted practice in Burundi and is practiced clandestinely. No coherent lobby group has publicly expressed opposition to homosexuality in Burundi.

    The Burundian church is extremely influential especially with a dedication to the religion which appears to have increased considerably in recent years of crisis.

    In the next few days, homosexuality could very well be a national conversation in Burundi.

    The government could be caught between a rock and a hard place: annoy the Christian population and lose votes in the next election or upset donors and potentially lose a part of international assistance.

Latest News

  1. African Peer Review Mechanism making progress11:50In 2003 the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the continental development plan, initiated the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM…
  2. Combating HIV infections among African women10:30With a lack of knowledge and power, African women continue to bear the brunt of HIV infections.
  3. Legume cultivation booms in Western Kenya07/02Small Holder Farmers (SHFs) who traditionally relied on seed companies for all their seeds are now bulking their own legume seeds for their farms.
  4. Malawi vendors chase out Chinese07/02Vendors in Kalonga, the Northern district of Malawi, on Wednesday petitioned the District Commissioner to flash out all Chinese nationals who are doin…
  5. Zim: Informal sector urged to join HIV battle05/02While the Harare City council is busy engaging in running battles with city vendors, Health Minister has called for authorities to devise ways to form…
  6. Elections: Wole Soyinka warns Mugabe, Wade03/02The Nigerian Nobel Prize winner for literature said heads of states who are trying to cling to power suffer the same fate as the dictators who were sw…
  7. AU elections rescheduled for June in Malawi01/02Following a deadlock during Monday's African Union elections, with a tie between former wife to South African president Jacob Zuma, Home Affairs …
  8. Senegal in turmoil as protest intensifies01/02Hundreds of anti-government protesters Tuesday gathered in the central Dakar, Senegal to show their dissatisfaction over the incumbent president Abdou…
  9. Zimbabwe’s inflation still favourable -…01/02Zimbabwe's annual headline inflation still compared favourably with economies in the region, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono said o…
  10. AFCON 2012: Sudan qualifies after four decades31/01The Sudanese national team has sealed a historic win over the Stallions of Burkina Faso.
  11. Senegalese opposition to intensify protests31/01Opposition and civil society groups in Senegal have vowed to increase their fight against incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade's presidential bid.
  12. Malawi: Rights coalition condemn stripping of…30/01The 39 members of the Solidarity for African Women's Rights Coalition based in 18 African countries have vehemently condemned the stripping of wo…
  13. Kenya to deworm five million children annually30/01Kenya launched the second phase of its national deworming programme at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012, aiming to treat 5 million childre…
  14. Benin’s Yayi Boni is AU’s new…30/01President Yayi Boni of Benin Republic has been elected chairperson of the African Union in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa
  15. Clashes in Senegal as Wade seek third term30/01Clashes have erupted in Senegal's capital Dakar and several other city cities ; after the Constitutional Council said President Abdoulaye Wade co…
News archive