Cape Town — As the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) celebrates its 10th anniversary, the opposition party's move to host Professor Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba at the University of Cape Town (UCT) has been slammed over the academic's anti-gay stance, News24 reports.
The EFF invited Lumumba to present a public lecture at UCT's Sarah Baartman Hall at the university on July 24, 2023. However, Lumumba's support for an anti-homosexuality bill passed in Uganda prompted calls for the university to prevent Lumumba from making a public address.
In a petition to interim vice-chancellor, Daya Reddy, and deputy vice-chancellor, Elewani Ramugondo, students and staff allege that Lumumba's presence at the institution would signal its acceptance of his homophobic remarks, which borders on hate speech.
"Preventing homophobic speech and denying access to public platforms for homophobes is not about silencing dissenting opinions or stifling debate. Rather, ensuring that a homophobe does not have access to the University of Cape Town's most prestigious platform (i.e. the Sarah Baartman Hall) is a fulfilment of the university's responsibility to protect its community of staff and students," the petition reads.
"While we call on UCT to not provide any space for Prof Lumumba to speak, we find it notably unacceptable that a lecture by such a hateful and divisive figure be held in a hall renamed to honour Sarah Baartman, an indigenous woman trafficked, kept in captivity, and sexually abused by colonialists who sought to dehumanise her," it continued.
Twitter users have slammed the EFF for its choice of hosting Lumumba, with @zukolatest contrasting the party's condemnation of Uganda's anti-gay bill, with Lumumba's support of it. This comes after an interview on DigiTalk TV where Lumumba said outright that he was homophobic.
"Are you homophobic? My answer is yes. Do I think that those who belong to that club ought to be treated and cured? They are sick! They ought to be cured," Lumumba said.
EFF leader Julius Malema's response was that Lumumba was invited by the the party to allow different views. "You don't censor a different opinion on your platforms simply because you disagree. Allowing different views makes a discourse even more exciting," Malema said in a tweet.
