Johannesburg – The infamous “kill the gays” pastor may not make it into South Africa after all, following his latest rant against homosexuals and the government.
On Thursday, the Department of Home Affairs confirmed that it had received a petition from the public asking Minister Malusi Gigaba to revoke the visa of the American pastor Steven Anderson, who publicly made homophobic remarks calling for gays to be executed.By Thursday night, more than 60 000 signatures had been submitted in an effort to block Anderson’s visit.
Meanwhile, Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Njongonkulu Ndungane added his voice to the calls for the government to deny Anderson entry to the country.
Ndungane said he failed to see the logic of refusing entry to a human rights activist such as the Dali Lama, as the government had done previously, and yet allowing someone such as Anderson entry, albeit with conditions.
“How, then, can we allow such an openly homophobic and anti-gay person the right to speak on public platforms in our country?” Ndungane asked.
In a video, which has since been shared multiple times on Twitter, Anderson dared the South African government, saying he was coming here to hold a “soul-winning marathon”. He said the local media were out to tarnish his reputation.“Homosexuals deserve to die. I will stand by that until I go to the grave,” he said in his video, adding that “a righteous government should execute homosexuals”.
Meanwhile, author and broadcaster Eusebius McKaiser, a prominent LGBTI campaigner, on Thursday called on Gigaba to ban the pastor.
“Minister Gigaba must revoke the visa for this hate-filled preacher,” he tweeted.
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