THE EDITOR

Welcome all

I am happy to report that this year’s Cape Town Pride month was the best to date, culminating in the biggest Pride March the city has ever seen and the Festival Mardi Gras where the city’s drag Kings and Queens took to the Pride stage, smashing the world record for the most drag performers on stage at the same time ... a huge feather in Cape Town Pride’s cap ... one wonders how Pride 2024 will top this.

In this issue there are a number of pages dedicated to Cape Town Pride, showing the parade .,and the Festival Mardi Gras - from the performers on the stage as well as the performers off the stage.

Whilst the South African LGBTQ+ community basks in their constitutional rights of equality and no discrimination, we must bear a thought for our brothers and sisters living in Uganda. The Ugandan President signed in to law the antiLGBTQ+ bill which criminalises homosexual behaviour and acts with mostly lengthy jail sentences and in some instances the death penalty can be imposed. It is now a criminal offence to even identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and more. According to BBC World News, leaders across the globe are expressing their concern and objections... but one must ask what are they going to do about it. US President Biden is considering sanctions ... This law which flies in the face of the constitution our lawmakers have sworn to support and uphold has brought the usual weak response from The South African Government. According to EWN “Deputy President Paul Mashatile said government does not agree with Uganda’s anti-gay stance, but it can’t impose its views on other countries.” This is a cop-out, and a hypocritical stand by any ANC member. After-all, the ANC not only called for, but praised countries and governments that isolated Apartheid South Africa on the global stage. As one of the most powerful economies on the continent, South Africa has the ability to influence and challenge other countries whose laws are in direct opposition to what our government purports to stand for. They can impose sanctions, travel and sports bans, and lead the African Union in pressuring Uganda to overturn this draconian breach of human rights. We urge all people making up the LGBTQIA+ community as well as our allies to put pressure on this ANC government to uphold the constitution they stand for and act against the Ugandan regime...

Sadly, we say goodbye to internationally acclaimed LGBT+ icons - Dame Edna and the Queen of Rock, Tina Turner. Both were trailblazers in their own unique ways and their support of our community helped change attitudes, bringing greater tolerance and acceptance of our community everywhere...

ISSN 2304-859X

Published by: PATTERSON PUBLICATIONS

P.O. Box 397, Sea Point 8060 Cell: 082 562 3358

E-mail: outmagafrica@telkomsa.net outlet@telkomsa.net

ADVERTISING SALES: Tommy Patterson 082 562 3358

MANAGING EDITOR: Tommy Patterson 082 562 3358 ape Town Pride this year was undoubtedly the best and biggest Pride in the city in the 14 years Pride has been held.

Copyright: All articles, stories, interviews and other materials in OUT Africa Magazine are the copyright of the publication or are reproduced with permission from other copyright owners. All rights are reserved. No materials may be copied, modified, published or otherwise distributed without the prior written permission of OUT Africa Magazine.