Same-Sex Marriage: Burundi President Calls For Stoning Of Gay Couples
He also lashed out at Western countries that press other nations to allow gay rights or risk losing aid.
The President of Burundi, Evariste Ndayishimiye, has strongly warned against gay marriage in the country.
Speaking on Friday, on Same-Sex marriage, President Ndayishimye said that same-sex couples should be publicly stoned.
He also condemned the Western countries that press other nations to accept gay rights laws or risk losing aid.
It was gathered that Homosexuality in Burundi, a conservative Christian country in East Africa, has been criminalized since 2009 with prison terms of up to two years for consensual same-sex acts.
Ndayishimiye, who is a Catholic, described marriage between same-sex couples as “abominable practice”.
Ndayishimiye who was answering questions at a public event in the east of the country said, “Personally, I think if we see these kind of individuals in Burundi we should put them in a stadium and stone them. And it would not be a sin for those who do”.
He also criticized Western countries that urge smaller nations to allow gay marriage or risk losing aid, saying: “Let them keep their help, let them keep it.”
The Burindi’s President also asserted, “Burundians living abroad who have “chosen the devil” and practise homosexuality should “not come back”.
Homosexuality is illegal in many East African countries, which have a history of repression and stigmas against gay people.
Uganda in May adopted what has been described as one of the world’s harshest laws against homosexuality, prompting outrage among rights groups and Western powers.
In response, Washington has said it would remove Uganda from a key trade deal and has imposed visa restrictions on some officials, while the World Bank suspended new loans to the country.
The legislation is currently being challenged at Uganda’s constitutional court.
In March this year, Burundi charged 24 people with “homosexual practices” in a crackdown on same-sex relationships.
The move followed a call by Ndayishimiye for citizens to root out homosexuality and treat gay people as “pariahs”.
Ndayishimiye took power in June 2020 after the death of President Pierre Nkurunziza and has been lauded by the international community for slowly ending years of Burundi’s isolation under his predecessor’s chaotic and bloody rule.
