zimbabwe: zbc head quits

The powerful head of Zimbabwe's state broadcast station ZBC has quit his job ahead of a government inquiry into 'allegations of homosexuality', The Herald reported on April 3 2002.

Alum Mpofu resigned after he was accused of being caught in a 'homosexual
act' in a Harare nightclub owned by a ruling party lawmaker. The chairman of
the ZBC board of directors, Gideon Gono, said Mpofu cited 'personal reasons'
for his resignation. The report in Zanu-pf daily The Herald said Mpofu was
chained to a fire hydrant by a security guard at the nightclub after being found in 'a compromising position' with a man in a corridor but was released after the owner was called to intervene. In a press statement, the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) reveal that the organisation 'has been fully aware of Mr. Mpofu's homosexuality for some time now.' GALZ sees no reason 'to withhold this information in order to protect the man's honour.'
According to GALZ, Mr. Mpofu has not much honour: 'Alum Mpofu was in a
position of leadership and authority within ZBC and his golden rules provided by the Zimbabwean Broadcasting Act clearly stated that the media should not promulgate racist hate speech or comments which stigmatised minorities. And yet, Mr. Mpofu gave full play to President Mugabe's stream of anti-white and homophobic rhetoric during the presidential campaign. If Mr. Mpofu had not been able to prevent the broadcasting of this material, as a matter of principle and in all human conscience, he should have resigned.
He did not until he was caught with his pants downs outside a Harare nightclub last weekend.'

GALZ statement: Under The Cloak of Marriage

Statement from the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) regarding the case of Chief Executive of ZBC, Mr. Alum Mpofu. 4 April 2002

Until now, the policy of GALZ has been to out closeted homosexuals only in
the most extreme circumstances, namely those in which homosexual people
have vocally supported the stage-instigated homophobia prevalent in Zimbabwe. For years, GALZ said nothing about the homosexuality of former President Canaan Banana (which for years was an open secret within the lesbian and gay community) until he openly condemned homosexuality as unAfrican and an abomination in the sight of God.
The GALZ policy has now changed in light of the different political scenario now operating in this country. This makes a marked difference to our attitude towards Mr. Mpofu.

The political leadership of Zimbabwe is clearly illegitimate. The recent
presidential elections were characterized by state-sanctioned oppression,
intimidation and glaring irregularities in the voting process. In the mind of GALZ, no person can continue to lend support to or work within the present regime with a clear conscience.
Alum Mpofu was in a position of leadership and authority within ZBC and his
golden rules provided by the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Act clearly stated that
the state media should not promulgate racist hate speech or comments which
stigmatised minorities. And yet, Mr. Mpofu gave full play to President Mugabe's stream of anti-white and homophobic rhetoric during the presidential campaign.

If Mr. Mpofu had not been able to prevent the broadcasting of this material, as a matter of principle and in all human conscience, he should have resigned. He did not until he was caught with his pants down outside a Harare nightclub last weekend.

GALZ has been fully aware of Mr. Mpofu's homosexuality for some time now
and sees no reason to withhold this information in order to protect the man's honour. Clearly he has none. In the past, a good Jew working for a Nazi conce-ntration camp would have been a contradiction and an outrageous hypocrisy. The same applies to Mr. Mpofu who, as a homosexual man, has lent support to and benefited from a racist and homophobic system.
In case the two matters should be confused, in the mind of GALZ, the nature
of Mr. Mpofu's sexual act in public and his sexual orientation are entirely differ- ent matters. GALZ would not lend support to any sexual act, either homosexual or heterosexual, which is carried out on the street.

Mr. Mpofu's situation again lends credence to GALZ claims that, far from being absent from African cultures, homosexuality is deeply embedded in all strata of societies on this continent. It is tragic that homosexual men and women continue to be hounded and pressured into marriage but GALZ's calls for sensible changes to the law and for educational programmes to be disseminated through the state media have been systematically ignored and ridiculed. GALZ can, therefore, take no responsibility for the plight of Mr. Mpofu who clearly was in a position to make a difference. His betrayal is not that of an active camp- aigner against homosexuals but that of a deep silence and quiet acquiescence to state-led physical and psychological violence against defenseless minorities, including lesbian and gay people.

Keith Goddard
- Programmes Manager/GALZ

Go to zim main page