Africa's Moral Codes

I am not sure how many people are homosexuals in Africa but I can certainly put a bet that there are exceedingly more people who practice widespread corruption in public places such as bribe-taking, stealing of public money, fanning of ethnic hatred, and so on, on a daily basis in most African countries than there are homosexuals. Recently, however, the issue of homosexuality has taken center stage, especially since an American Episcopalian priest, who is a practicing homosexual, was consecrated bishop. Since then, some American Episcopalian churches have demonstrated their outrage by ceding from their American leadership and placing themselves under African leadership. By having a generally unfavorable view of homosexuality, Africans probably see themselves are displaying better moral standards than those Westerners whose societies are seen as corrupted by homosexuals. Robert Mugabe, the current president of Zimbabwe, is known to have described homosexuality as a Western tradition. In sentencing two homosexuals to 14 years in prison for "gross indecency and unnatural acts," a Malawi judge said that homosexuality is "an affront to Malawi's moral code."

While homosexuality is a controversial issue, I am not aware of any African country which is currently being ruined by homosexuality. I am, however, aware of many African countries that are being ruined by widespread corruption in public life evident in unwholesome practices such as bribe-taking, stealing of public funds, promotion of ethnic rivalry, and so on. Africans may want to stake they righteousness by fighting homosexuality but I wait to see that day when African judges would sentence practitioners of widespread corruption in public places, describing such corruption as "gross and unnatural acts," an affront to the moral codes of Africa. It is gross hypocrisy for the moral outrage against homosexuality to be marched only by a deafening silence about evident corruption in public places that ruin the lives of most people in the continent. Unless, perhaps, we are to say that bribery, stealing of public money, fanning of ethnic hatred, and so on, are somehow part of Africa's moral codes.