Ethics and Crisis in Africa: A Critique of the Rights-Based Approach to Homosexuality in Zimbabwe.

Abstract

Issues relating to homosexuality are one of the primary topics of moral debates in Africa. This
is necessitated by the different perceptions that Africans have towards homosexuality. Some
African societies condemn it while others embrace it with open hands. In Zimbabwe, gays and
lesbians have been seen as chaos being unleashed by the profane Western society which is
endeavouring to unseat governments and replace them with fiefdoms in the name of human
rights. So, the challenges presented by homosexuality in different cultures of the world assume
various degrees but in Africa, the phenomenon has raised issues that have proved to be a thorn
in the flesh. The view of this paper is that there is moral danger if we base our moral values on
the rights-based approach to homosexuality in Zimbabwe. To achieve this, the authors of this
article used the qualitative approach which included interviews, published documents and
internet sources to glean data. The paper argues that homosexuality is un-African and
unnatural sexual perversions that are not only alien, but perceived as outlawed in traditional
Zimbabwean societies. The paper discovered that the issue of homosexuality in Zimbabwe and
beyond is dividing people through what Oliver Phillips (2010) refers to as ‘Blackmail.’ The
paper argues that the best way forward in dealing with issues of homosexuality in Zimbabwe
is to use hunhu or ubuntu as the spring board of morality not human rights.