GALZ receives the news of the resignation of Robert Mugabe with much jubilation. Since 1995 GALZ has been on the receiving end of the brutality and hate of Robert Mugabe’s aversion to diversity. We are ecstatic that the face of brutality, hate and impunity has resigned.
Former President Robert Mugabe, repeatedly, fueled public prejudice against LGBTI individuals through public statements that endorsed abuse of LGBTI people in Zimbabwe. LGBTI people were subjected to abuse and harassment on account of their real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. In many cases, the state had been an active sponsor of homophobia in Zimbabwe by subjecting individuals suspected of being gay or lesbian to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.
Zimbabwe has come so far in its quest to return to constitutionalism. The generality of Zimbabweans still suffer the basic humiliations of oppressive laws, social stigma and propaganda spewed out by our national and religious leaders. Never again should citizens live in fear and be treated as second class in their own country. A new democratic Zimbabwe requires a new way of doing things, which does not repeat the intolerance and discriminatory politics of Robert Mugabe.
GALZ welcomes the news of Mugabe’s resignation with much celebration and implores Zimbabwe’s future leaders to uphold the rule of law, respect the constitution of Zimbabwe and allow for Zimbabweans to enjoy their freedoms particularly of expression and association and to ensure that Zimbabweans do not live in fear of their leaders. Mugabe represented a brutal system and the real work of sanitizing this system continues.
In light of the resignation of Robert Mugabe, GALZ hopes that the incoming Government will commit to upholding Zimbabwe’s constitutional obligations to protect the rights of all people, including LGBTI people. We further hope that the incoming Government will ensure that there is active participation of the citizenry in rebuilding the economy and returning Zimbabwe to its former economic glory.
We encourage our future Government to take all necessary measures to guarantee that the rights and freedoms of all people are respected and that human rights defenders are guaranteed space to promote and defend human rights. GALZ shares the common desire of Zimbabweans for freedom, justice and equality, as promoted in the Constitution.
Source: GALZ: An association of LGBTI people in Zimbabwe