A BULAWAYO man has disowned his son and thrown him out of the family home in Tshabalala Extension after the 20 year-old confessed to being gay.
Irvine Mahachi told the Bulawayo-based Sunday News he was still struggling to come to terms with his son, Irvine Junior’s sexuality, which he described as “shameful and taboo”.
“I did not raise my son to be gay. I raised him to be a man. I expected him to chase after skirts like other boys but he never did that.
. . . the announcement stunned the family and his angry father said his wife had fainted when their son told them the shocking news.
“The manner in which he asked for an audience with me and my wife made me realise that something was wrong. He was nervous and not his usual self.
“I was so angry and shocked that I hit him with my fists, something that I have never done in my life. My wife suffers from high blood pressure and the shocking news almost killed her. Even today she is not herself,” Mahachi said.
He said Irvine was no longer welcome in the family home.
“As far as I am concerned I do not have a son anymore. The only child I have left is my lovely daughter. What Irvine has done is taboo and shameful. It’s unheard of in our African culture,” Mahachi is reported as saying.
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This is an ugly story but it's something to remember. No matter how many laws we pass in this country, no matter how we rage against "Gay Inc," or President Obama, or the religious right, or whoever else, the struggle for lgbt equality is worldwide. And while we fight for what we want in the United States, let's never forget those lgbts in other counties who are in a worse state than us.
Let our minds, hearts, and prayers be with them.
