So far, there is no time that the UPND as a member of ALN has convincingly explained its position on LGBTQ+ rights, and official disclaimers of public concerns have always been vague and roundabout. As youths of UPND we endorse President Hichilema’s stance and ask well-meaning Zambians to fully respect rights of gays and lesbians people. We have Muslims, Hindus and many other religions so we should seek to respect people’s choices of what they want to be. Zambia does not belong to Christians only. President Hichilema is of the view that gays and lesbians are part of us and should be allowed to do what they want. The meeting is said to have taken place under the auspices of the South African-based Brenthurst Foundation.Ģ) On October 3, 2019, Colin Stewart, writing in, reported a statement by UPND youth spokesperson Gilbert Liswaniso: “We as UPND youths we wish to state that despite President HH FULLY supporting gay rights, he remains an elder at the Seventh Day Adventist Church (SDA) and therefore a Christian. ALN has in its corporate membership 47 political parties and 29 countries in Africa. Here are two reasons why you, President Hichilema and Vice-President Nalumango, need to come out with utmost clarity:ġ) In October 2019, online media in Zambia reported that President Hichilema attended a meeting in the resort town of Lake Como in Italy of the Africa Liberal Network (ALN), an organisation which promotes liberal values, including homosexuality (as minority rights).
These are crucial matters, especially given that homosexuality is illegal in Zambia that no previous Zambian government ever permitted organized homosexuality in any space and that gay rights are a matter that has surrounded the UPND from its opposition days.
Given that you are the top two elected leaders of the Republic of Zambia, you need to openly and clearly explain why it is that under your watch, in the space of one week, two embassies in Lusaka hoisted LGBTQ+ flags on their premises, and NGOs that promote gay rights held a full conference in Siavonga to strategize on decriminalizing homosexuality in Zambia.