22 Jan 2015

Residents of some villages in Bobonong contituency say they do not 
approve of same sex marriages or relationships.


Speaking during kgotla meetings addressed by their Member of Parliament, Mr Shaw Kgathi in Mabolwe, Semolale, Gobojango, Moletemane and Tsetsebye this week, they argued against the practice saying it was a new phenomenon introduced by youth who wanted to divert from the normal norm.


Residents said same sex marriages were  against the biblical scriptures where God in the book of Genesis created man and woman being Adam and Eve to multiply.
 Residents said the practice was also against the Setswana customs and culture.


Mr Kgathi, also Minister of Justice, Defence and Security, was in the area to solicit their ideas concerning the ongoing issue of same sex marriages and the proposed bill tabled by the Ministry of Labour and 
Home Affairs about section 9 of the Societies Act which it intends to amend.


Residents said legalising same sex was not a priority at the current moment and advised the MP to oppose it during parliamentary debates. 

Concerning the mushrooming of churches, residents also conquered with government that the mushrooming of churches was a cause for concern especially those established by foreigners.


They shared the same sentiments that such churches encouraged conflicts among families where some people had been labeled as witches by the so called prophets or pastors. 
They said law should be tightened to curb the mushrooming where some churches operate from home causing noise and disturbing neighbourhoods.


Most people suggested that a number between 200 or 250 was a desirable number to form a church arguing that mushrooming was caused by a small number that was required to form a church.


In Tsetsebye village, chairman of Ministers Fraternal Bishop Stephen Mathiane said churches in that village have proposed a number of 200 people as a desirable figure to establish a church instead of 10 as
the current norm.


He said there should be registration and advisory committee composed of chairperson from the Registrar of Societies, the vice chairperson from the security wing and the secretary should be from
the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, while member representatives should be from Organisation of African Initiated Churches (OAIC), Evangelical Fellowship Botswana (EFB) and Botswana Council of Churches (BCC).


Bishop Mathiane said the registration and advisory committee should be mandated to screen and secrutinise the intended church, interview, approve or reject the application.


Concerning the same sex marriages he said churches were against the idea which he said was an abomination and quoted verses from the book of Leviticus 18;22, 18;30 and 20;13 which disapprove such activities.


However Mr Kgathi said existing churches should not be worried as law could not be backdated but if passed it would affect new entrants.


He said 10 people under the current law could form the church and the ministry had tabled a bill to amend the section to 250 people as a suitable number to form a church.


He said the societies’ amendment bill also requires that two thirds of people forming the church should be citizens and want to increase charges from P500 to P2000. ENDS