Cape Town - A Cape Town pastor is refusing to be gagged by the Equality Court and has vowed to continue to teach Biblical views on sexuality, despite these being deemed as discriminating and inciting hatred against the gay community.
Reverend Oscar Bougardt was hauled before the Equality Court at the Western Cape High Court this week after numerous homophobic rants and slandering on his Facebook page which was in breach of his 2018 court order.
Bougardt, of Calvary H.O.P.E Ministries in Cape Town, was sentenced to a 30-day jail term which was suspended for five years provided he makes no further anti-gay comments – a period which ironically came to an end this week.
This, as the New Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill makes its way through Parliament.
In 2018, Bougardt was found guilty in the Equality Court for his 2015 and 2016 comments, which included: “99 percent of paedophiles have (a) homosexual background”, “To hell with homosexuals ... their lifestyle is an abomination to God, but Christians in South Africa are too scared to speak out against (it)”, and “If I was the president of my country I would lock them in cages where they belong. They don’t even deserve a prison cell.”
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) confirmed they were investigating at least three cases of hate speech relating to the gay community in the Western Cape and a further four cases nationally.
These include South African musician Steve Hofmeyr, who made anti-gay comments in April 2022, and agreed to pay a R100 000 fine after being ordered by the SAHRC. The popular late columnist Jon Qwelane, who wrote an article titled “Call me names but gay is not okay”. And the death of PJ Simelane Secondary School pupil Tiro Moalusi. The teen died by suicide following a homophobic slur by a student teacher.
A similar case as Bougardt’s is that of Richard Mushwana, a Johannesburg preacher and former ACDP election candidate. He has been using his social media posts to repeatedly proclaim that gay people are sinners no better than those who commit bestiality.
Another cloud hangs over Bougardt’s head after Clive Jacobs, an LGBTQI+ activist from Lavender Hill, filed a complaint against him at the SAHRC in February following the comments he made in a daily newspaper column.
In the column, Bougardt wrote: “homosexuality is an abomination to GOD” and people should stop “forcing these LGBTQI+ ideologies down our throats”.
Bougardt told “Weekend Argus” he had a shock on Monday when he received an email from the court registrar that he should have appeared in court in the Equality Court on Monday.
The hearing with the SAHRC was before the court May 15, but was stood down to get a hold of Bougardt and serve papers on him to appear the following day
“I was not notified by the human rights legal team, nor were any documents served on me to appear in court,” he said.
“The last time I was in Court was in May 2018 for my hate speech trial. After the matter was done, I left the court and never heard about the SAHRC or their legal teams.
“They are liars: in 2019 I was in the USA and upon my return we had a lockdown for almost two years. The last time I submitted an affidavit was in 2018 when my case was still active.”
Bougardt said when he returned from the USA, last week the person who cleaned his yard told him of the more than a hundred papers that were found scattered.
“I find it very strange that I am dragged before court a couple days before my suspended sentence for hate speech comes to an end,” he said.
“What is very disturbing and annoying is that the SAHRC is trying to bully me, they use our taxpayers’ money to try to jail me. What about my human rights, what about my constitutional right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion?” Bougardt asked.
In the separate case, Jacobs wants Bougardt to be found guilty of all complaints against him and stripped of all his rights as a priest.
“He needs to be made an example of,” said Jacobs.
Matthew du Plessis, acting provincial manager of the SAHRC, said they could not disclose much about the matter this week, as the litigation was still pending and the parties would likely still make legal arguments in court.
“The pastor proceeded during this time to post such content anyway,” he said.
Liberty Glenton Matthyse, executive director at Gender Dynamix, the first registered Africa-based public benefit organisation to focus solely on trans and gender diverse communities, said the Constitution was very clear concerning hate speech.
“The law should be implemented to deter anyone from engaging in speech which can incite violence and hate towards a particular community,” she said.
Matthyse said anyone who participates in hate speech or crime against a marginalised community should be held accountable.
“There is currently a hate speech/crime bill sitting in Parliament that constitutes how important it is to ensure the safety and security of all human beings.
“It is disgusting that a man of God would constantly target marginalised communities by promoting stereotyping, stigma, discrimination, hatred and violence,” she added.
Bougardt will be back in court on June 5.