She showed love to a gay couple – Wendelinus – Namibian
FORMER Mr Gay Namibia Wendelinus Hamutenya says those condemning her and her husband, Immanuel Jeremia, are doing so to gain followers on social media.
Hamutenya says she was condemned during the couple’s recent visit to her husband’s aunt’s house at Iikuku village in the Oshana region.
She yesterday told The Namibian the aunt, Anna Makili, invited her and her husband to visit her.
“Meme Makili told my husband to bring me to her so she, friends and neighbours could see me. Our visit to Iikuku caused no one any harm,” Hamutenya said.
She said she and Jeremia were welcomed, although some locals are now calling on the Iikuku village headman to call Makili to order.
“She shouldn’t be intimidated by anyone. She invited us with good intentions and to show us love and support.
“Meme Anna had invited neighbours and friends because many people there wanted to see us. The house was very full,” Hamutenya said.
She said after visiting Makili’s house, the couple visited local cuca shops where Makili also owns a shop.
Hamutenya said Makili’s stock sold out as people flocked to the shop to see the same-sex couple.
“It was a surprise for us. We are really grateful for the love she showed us as a gay couple. We want to make it a trend,” Hamutenya said.
She said she wanted gay weddings to be accepted like heterosexual weddings.
The couple is in the process of building a traditional homestead near Oshikuku in the Omusati region, Hamutenya said.
She said they received gifts from Iikuku village, and traditional food were cooked, with no one mistreating them.
“We did not commit any crime. Homosexuality is not illegal. If homosexual people are shamed and condemned, they will marry people they are not supposed to,” Hamutenya said.
She said she and Jeremia are used to being called names for being homosexual.
She met her husband in 2014, but first turned him down.
“I was pretending as if I did not want him. A person cannot just tell you he likes you, then you give in.
“I accepted him in 2015, and we got married in November 2020 in South Africa,” Hamutenya said.
Last year, Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) secretary general Efraim Nekongo said SPYL is sickened by homosexuality being discussed by the government and in parliament.
Nekongo at the time said elected officials should focus on “bread-and-butter” issues, and that homosexuality is “satanic and demonic”.
First lady Monica Geingos in a social media post last year called for the scrapping of all obsolete laws, while imploring the nation to stop being homophobic.
Makili’s husband yesterday declined to comment on the couple’s visit, saying the newspaper should stop asking his wife “irrelevant things”.