Zimbabwe: Mugabe calls British PM “satanic” over gay rights

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has called British Prime Minister David Cameron "satanic" for warning that foreign aid could be cut to countries that do not respect gay rights.

"It becomes worse and satanic when you get a prime minister like Cameron saying countries that want British aid should accept homosexuality," Mugabe said during a speech Wednesday, according to the state-run Herald newspaper.

"To come with that diabolical suggestion to our people is a stupid offer," he said.

Mugabe's rants about homosexuality have for years been a staple of his public speeches. Gays and lesbians have faced political repression under his rule. 

"It is condemned by nature. It is condemned by insects and that is why I have said they are worse than pigs and dogs," Mugabe said in his speech to a mining community in Zimbabwe's Midlands.

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Cameron, at the end of last month's summit of Commonwealth nations, said that those receiving British aid should respect human rights, including gay rights.

Homosexual acts are illegal in most African countries. An exception is South Africa, where gay marriage is legal and sexual orientation is protected in the country's progressive post-apartheid constitution.

Ugandan officials have also lashed out at Cameron's comments, saying that the UK is showing a "bullying mentality."

"Uganda is, if you remember, a sovereign state and we are tired of being given these lectures by people," presidential adviser John Nagenda told the BBC.

According to the BBC, 41 of the 54 Commonwealth nations have laws banning homosexual acts. Many of these anti-gay laws date back to the days of British rule.

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