Minister of National Guidance and Religious Affairs Reverend Godfridah Sumaili says gayism is a crime in Zambia and inviting such people means citizens are slowly accepting it.
And PR Girl Media co-founder Monde Nyambe says the Lusaka July fashion event will go on as planned without Somizi Mhlongo.
Speaking during a conversation meeting with PR Girl Media and the National Arts council of Zambia (NAC), Friday, Reverend Sumaili said Zambians should guard against “foreign influences”.
“In Zambia we do not condone gayism and this is a crime and inviting such people means we are slowly accepting this vice. We must guard against such foreign influences as they pose a risk of disturbing our social fibre as a Christian nation,” Rev Sumaili said.
“The young people that are coming up when they see his man who is homosexual but he is also an artist they will say okay, and I think as government we want to encourage innovations and creativity, I was just telling these girls that you are doing a great job and they need to be supported, but we are not going to compromise our shared values as a people.”
Rev Sumaili said her ministry was constantly speaking out against vices corruption and child marriage.
“Child marriages, child labour, defilement and corruption, we are speaking about all these things. I would like Zambia to be a shining example of a country that has values and a country that is peaceful. We cannot see the development we so desire as a nation if we do not uphold these values,” she said.
She urged event promoters to consider national values and principles when deciding who to invite.
“Performing artists have a strong influence in society and help to shape public perceptions and opinions. Therefore, in promotion of national values and principals, artists, musicians and event promoters are expected to develop a mechanism to hold their members accountable for compliance with national values and principles. They are equally expected to refuse to condone or participate in acts of commission or omission that undermine the national values and principles,” said Reverend Sumaili.
“Therefore, as government we would not condone a situation where event managers are inviting people with questionable characters that might undermine the morals of the land that are espoused in our Republican Constitution on National Values and Principles. Further, the Constitution demands that these national values and principles be applied in the enactment and interpretation of the laws as well as development and implementation of state policies.”
And Nyambe admitted that PR Girl did not apply to invite Somizi.
“As PR Girl Media did not officially put in an application to engage Somizi, I think it is great that we had an opportunity to have a conversation because we have all seen what has happened in the past that all will see that this person has been banned by the ministry. I think this is a great platform to unite and have a same voice we are not saying we agree on anything, however, we are Zambian and this our entertainment industry and the people should come first,” said Nyambe.
Meanwhile, PR Girl has since announced that Zimbabwean fashion influencer and former Big Brother Housemate Pokello Nare will be their special guest at the Lusaka July.
One Response
Debate and soul searching rather than political threats could go a long way in strengthening the country’s value system. Social values by definition have two contradictory but paradoxically complementary forces. The first force of social values is the conservative tendency and the second force of social values is the change tendency. The change tendency made remarkable recent strides in South Africa, Botswana and Angola. The conservative tendency resonated better in Kenya. When two neighbors cough, it is likely that neighbors catch a cold. Regional norms and practices can only be nurtured through free consultation and open dialogue. The prosperity of advanced developed countries is inseparable from freedom and liberty. In Beyond Freedom and Dignity (Skinner), these complex social issues receive adequate attention.