We are a party of straight people, Kanyetu says
• ADM positive it will do ‘very well’ in elections
ADM interim president Vinsent Kanyetu says the party does not tolerate homosexuality and rejects same-sex marriages.
Kenya KamboweEngoyi
Action for Democracy Movement (ADM) interim president Vinsent Kanyetu says the party will not tolerate anyone who identifies as homosexual within the party and that membership cards are only reserved for those who are ‘straight’. The party also condemns same-sex marriage, he said.
The seasoned politician added that ADM’s anti-homosexuality stance is one of the party’s founding principles and is neither negotiable nor up for discussion.
“We are not a party that wants same-sex marriage. On that issue, we have put our foot down from [our] formation until now,” Kanyetu told Namibian Sun this week.
“There is no gay, no lesbian, but only men and women. Finish. If you want to join our party but identify as a homosexual, your membership will be rejected. They must not even waste their time to come and join,’ he said.
“If there is a gay [person] who wants to join or who’s getting inspired by ADM, they must just get themselves straight. As for gays or lesbians, we are sorry – we don’t even need to negotiate or discuss. There’s nothing to discuss there. We are a party of straight people.”
Kanyetu’s stance on homosexuality is among the reasons he fell out with the leadership of his former political home, the All People’s Party (APP), where he made similar comments.
Kanyetu was the secretary-general of the party when he referred to same-sex marriage as “satanic,” a public opinion that did not sit well with APP leadership.
This resulted in his controversial departure from APP, from which he resigned while on suspension before he was expelled from the party last August.
November elections
With less than four months until the November presidential and national assembly elections, Kanyetu said that although their party was only recently registered with the Electoral Commission of Namibia, they expect to do well at the polls.
Asked about the already saturated political scene and other political players having campaigned ahead of this year’s elections, Kanyetu said ADM is not a party of noise but of action.
“In the upcoming election, we are going to do very well. We are going to obtain a good number of votes in this election. We will do very well,” Kanyetu explained.
“We are just registered now. Like you said, some colleagues have been campaigning for years and stuff. So, don’t expect rallies from us. We are not a rally political party. We are a party of discussion,” he said.
“We discuss with the people. We speak to people. We [ask] them what they expect from us if they vote for us.
“So, that is what we are busy doing now. Even as I am talking to you, we are busy in almost all constituencies. Establishing constituency committees. We believe that a party or an organisation can only be strong if it is established from the ground up.”
Kanyetu said the party is growing by the day and that it is difficult to keep up with up-to-date membership numbers.
“If I give you a figure right now, it won’t be a true reflection because the party is growing by the day,” he said.
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Action for Democracy Movement (ADM) interim president Vinsent Kanyetu says the party will not tolerate anyone who identifies as homosexual within the party and that membership cards are only reserved for those who are ‘straight’. The party also condemns same-sex marriage, he said.
The seasoned politician added that ADM’s anti-homosexuality stance is one of the party’s founding principles and is neither negotiable nor up for discussion.
“We are not a party that wants same-sex marriage. On that issue, we have put our foot down from [our] formation until now,” Kanyetu told Namibian Sun this week.
“There is no gay, no lesbian, but only men and women. Finish. If you want to join our party but identify as a homosexual, your membership will be rejected. They must not even waste their time to come and join,’ he said.
“If there is a gay [person] who wants to join or who’s getting inspired by ADM, they must just get themselves straight. As for gays or lesbians, we are sorry – we don’t even need to negotiate or discuss. There’s nothing to discuss there. We are a party of straight people.”
Kanyetu’s stance on homosexuality is among the reasons he fell out with the leadership of his former political home, the All People’s Party (APP), where he made similar comments.
Kanyetu was the secretary-general of the party when he referred to same-sex marriage as “satanic,” a public opinion that did not sit well with APP leadership.
This resulted in his controversial departure from APP, from which he resigned while on suspension before he was expelled from the party last August.
November elections
With less than four months until the November presidential and national assembly elections, Kanyetu said that although their party was only recently registered with the Electoral Commission of Namibia, they expect to do well at the polls.
Asked about the already saturated political scene and other political players having campaigned ahead of this year’s elections, Kanyetu said ADM is not a party of noise but of action.
“In the upcoming election, we are going to do very well. We are going to obtain a good number of votes in this election. We will do very well,” Kanyetu explained.
“We are just registered now. Like you said, some colleagues have been campaigning for years and stuff. So, don’t expect rallies from us. We are not a rally political party. We are a party of discussion,” he said.
“We discuss with the people. We speak to people. We [ask] them what they expect from us if they vote for us.
“So, that is what we are busy doing now. Even as I am talking to you, we are busy in almost all constituencies. Establishing constituency committees. We believe that a party or an organisation can only be strong if it is established from the ground up.”
Kanyetu said the party is growing by the day and that it is difficult to keep up with up-to-date membership numbers.
“If I give you a figure right now, it won’t be a true reflection because the party is growing by the day,” he said.
[email protected]
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