Africa, “We always ensure our lives, but what insurance have we made for Africa’s freedom?” Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni asked during the weekend Africa National Congress (ANC) centennial celebrations held on Sunday in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Although Most of African nations are celebrating half a century of their independence, there has been consistent foreign interference for the past half century in the internal matters of the continent which has caused genocide, poverty and proxy wars among other constraints.
It’s against this background that Africa’s freedom is once again subjected to test following the addition of voice of President Barack Obama and the United Nations’ human rights official to the British prime minister who recently in Perth Australia called for respect for gay rights in Africa in order to access Aid.
In October 2011 while in Perth Australia, British Prime Minister David Cameron threatened to withhold UK aid from governments that do not reform legislation banning homosexuality.
Cameron said those receiving UK aid should “adhere to proper human rights. British aid should have more strings attached”.
Under International human rights, everyone can agree that the right to culture is a human right. If it’s abominable in almost all African cultures for same sex marriage or sexual practice thus imposing such unAfrican social product would amounts to tampering with the freedom of the African people.
Dec 15, 2011 United Nations released its first-ever official report on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.
The report confirmed widespread discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in “all regions” of the world.
In a speech to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in December, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced $3 million from US government to help civil society groups promote LGBT rights.
“Being gay is not a Western invention. It is a human reality. Protecting the human rights of all people, gay or straight, is not something that only Western governments do.”
President Obama statement of December 6 condemned all forms of bias against homosexuals. However, a White House official argued that the US is “not cutting or tying” development aid to changes in the policies of countries that allow discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Although Rwanda’s law is very clear, article 26 of the constitution of the republic of Rwanda provides for marriage between man and woman. The government has refrained from taking position on the LGBT.
However, it doesn’t exist in the Rwandan culture and there is no vernacular word for homosexuality. UK is the largest donor to Rwanda.
Aid therefore seems to be the strongest weapon with which donor nations continue use in the imposition of their control over the weak nations especially Africa historically known for its rich natural resources.
Previously western religion, Education and force have been the most used weapons in imposing and extending colonial manoeuvres by western powers. What insurance have we thus made for Africa’s independence?
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