Activists condemn Burundian president over assertion gay people should be stoned
Activists have sharply criticized Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye over his assertion that gay people — married same-sex couples in particular — should be stoned in a stadium.
Ndayishimiye made the comment during a public event on Dec. 30. He also said any Burundian who is outside the country and openly identifies as a member of the LGBTQ community should not return.
Ndayishimiye has received a lot of backlash, but told a reporter who asked him about potential consequences of such statements that he did not care, even if other countries imposed economic sanctions.
Burundi’s 2009 penal code criminalizes anyone who identifies as LGBTQ with up to two years in prison and a fine. Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera, an LGBTQ activist in Uganda, which is in the same region as Burundi, said comments like those that Ndayishimiye made put a target on LGBTQ people and those who advocate on their behalf. “Why are we so quick to forget?