NewsRescue
During a news conference on Friday, Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye called for same-sex couples to be publicly stoned, implying that the general public may assist in carrying out the penalty.
“If we see these types of people in Burundi, I think we should put them in a stadium and stone them.” And it would not be a sin for those who do,” Ndayishimiye told reporters, calling same-sex marriage a “abominable activity.”
The African leader also chastised wealthy Western countries for scaring smaller countries with financial sanctions if they do not adopt pro-LGBTQ values. “Let them keep their help, let them keep it,” he went on to say.
Meanwhile, Burundians living outside the country who have “chosen the devil” – that is, become practicing homosexuals – should “not come back,” he urged.
Homosexuality has been prohibited in Burundi since 2009, and is punishable by up to two years in prison for consensual same-sex behaviour, while there is no law imposing the death sentence. Following an announced crackdown on same-sex partnerships, Burundi charged 24 people with “homosexual practices” in March, with Ndayishimiye calling on the populace to consider homosexuals as “pariahs.”
Over 30 African governments have anti-LGBTQ laws on the books, much to the displeasure of the West, which has attempted to use its substantial financial clout to oppose legislation that is primarily motivated by homophobia.
When Pope Francis decided earlier this month that the Roman Catholic Church could bless same-sex couples, Catholic officials in Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana published public declarations opposing his instruction, claiming that gay marriage contradicts church law and African culture.
After Uganda passed anti-gay laws in May that imposed the death sentence for “aggravated homosexuality” – crimes such as having sex with a juvenile or while HIV-positive – the World Bank cut the country off from fresh funding, potentially costing billions of dollars in aid. Ugandan officials have been barred from travelling to the United States, and the country has been pulled from a trade agreement.
