Windhoek - Namibia's president, Sam Nujoma, has called on police to arrest, deport and imprison gays and lesbians as homosexual behaviour was not permitted despite the country's liberal constitution.
"The Republic of Namibia does not allow homosexuality, lesbianism here. Police are ordered to arrest you and deport you and imprison you," Nujoma told students during a speech at the University of Namibia on Monday, as reported by state television.
He slated "foreign influences" among the country's youth and railed against alcohol abuse which, he said, caused promiscuity and fuelled the country's Aids pandemic.
He said alcohol abuse led to domestic violence and "even men cooking their wives", a reference to a case a few years ago when a German national living in Namibia killed his wife and cut up and cooked her remains.
People who drank too much often went home with "any man, any woman", Nujoma said. This, he said, was contributing to the country's HIV infection rate.
Last week, Namibia's health ministry estimated there would be 118 000 Aids orphans in Namibia by 2006.
"Are we not a sick nation?" Nujoma asked.
Like his Zimbabwean counterpart Robert Mugabe, the Namibian president has acquired a reputation as a gay-basher in the past few years.
Prominent members of his cabinet, including home affairs minister Jerry Ekandjo, has called for gays and homosexuals "to be eliminated" from Namibian society. - Sapa-AFP