Flying the gay flag may be a flutter too far for Cyril in Africa

President Cyril Ramaphosa will have his work cut out for him trying to convince African leaders to further advance lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI+) rights and agendas across the continent.

This is according to The Other Foundation following Ramaphosa’s recent commencement of his role as the chair of the African Union.

African states with close relations to South Africa, such as Uganda and Nigeria, are globally notorious for gross human rights violations against transgender, gay and nonbinary communities.

The Other Foundation’s movement-building officer, Virginia Mgwaza, said Ramaphosa would be hard-pressed to find a balance between maintaining sound diplomatic relations and upholding the values of South Africa’s far more liberal legal and constitutional framework on the LGBTQI+ community.

“I think Ramaphosa will find it very difficult to do that based on the fact that many African leaders are highly homophobic and transphobic and you may find he won’t be able to risk his relations with other African states,” said Mgwaza.

“However, there is hope, because many African states are beginning to decriminalise [homosexuality].

“We see Madagascar and Angola have recently begun to, but there will always be that gap between what is decided by the courts and the political will of leaders.”

At the weekend, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen called for Ramaphosa to take leadership on LGBTQI+ issues in other African states.

He said while South Africans generally enjoyed more freedoms than 24 years ago, countries such as Nigeria, Tanzania, Sudan, Malawi and Kenya had extremely repressive laws, particularly on same-sex relationships.

“In places like Uganda, Mauritania and Somalia, this is even punishable by death. We cannot simply be satisfied with our own society’s liberation. We owe it to the people of these countries to help fight for the same freedoms we now take for granted.”

He said South Africans should not heed Deputy President David Mabuza’s recent call to “be decent enough to keep our mouth shut” when it came to LGBTQI+ communities elsewhere in Africa.

This was a reminder that platforms such as the African Union and the Southern African Development Community existed for such issues to be discussed, he added.

“Show the world you do not share your deputy president’s backward views on looking the other way when it comes to human rights abuses,” Steenhuisen said, addressing Ramaphosa. “Make your term as AU chair count.”

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