The weather outside my office is blazing hot, the temperature on my desktop monitor shows it is thirty two degrees Celsius. This sums up the mood among the Zimbabwean folk as well. The temperature within the court of public opinion has risen to an all-time high stoked by the interview which the Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai had with BBC News. The social networks mainly Facebook have been abuzz with even those who profess not to delve into politics jumping into the argument. There was no time to waste, it was a call to arms for many, sides were picked and daggers drawn mostly toward the Prime Minister. My first reaction was shock like everyone else but knowing the media especially the Zimbabwean one, I had to dig deep to the source which is BBC and my find was a one minute video clip, an excerpt of a lengthy interview. Could it be the whole conversation revolved around gays? Not sure but let’s use the transcript of what we have. For the benefit of many who have neither the time nor zeal to look for the source I will quote what Morgan Tsvangirai said and it reads thus:
“it’s a very controversial subject in my part of the world, my attitude is that I hope the new constitution will come out with freedom of sexual orientation, as long it does not interfere with anybody, who am I to define what individual opinion is going to be as far as their sexual preferences are concerned…there is a strong cultural feeling towards gays, to me it’s a human right, it is something that individuals must be allowed to make a choice”
Alright now this puts things into perspective, what follows is my own analysis of the obtaining situation, trying to separate myself from the emotional baggage around this issue. Key points I noted here are “I hope the new constitution will come out with freedom of sexual orientation” and “to me it’s a human right”. Morgan Tsvangirai knows that the issue regarding gays and a new constitution is beyond his control but determined by the people
