Renowned lawyer, scholar and Pan-Africanist, Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba faced a hostile crowd after he arrived at the University of Cape Town for the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) event.
Lumumba, also known as PLO, had been invited to give a keynote address to a group of delegates at the gathering on Monday, July 24.
His arrival, however, irked LGBTQ activists, who faulted the institution for inviting him despite his strong views against the community.
Videos seen by Kenyans.co.ke showed the students and activities chanting slogans while holding placards in solidarity against Lumumba.
"It’s important to protest for what is literally our lives at stake. We heard about our brothers and sisters being murdered for existing as queer in a country with the ‘most advanced’ Constitution.
"It is terrifying having to look in the face of people who believe I don’t deserve to live," one of the protesters told Daily Maverick, a South African publication.
South African Students Congress (Sasco) UCT chairperson, Mabhavana Moyane, also expressed disappointment in the University's decision to follow through with Lumumba's invite despite a month-long objection from the student body.
“Lumumba’s utterances have been unfortunate, and he has blood on his hands,” Moyane told the media.
Lumumba, a lawyer and former director of the Kenya School of Law, was invited to participate in the EFF event, marking its 10th anniversary, held at the Sarah Baartman Hall at the University of Cape Town.
The lawyer, who also served as the director of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission, currently known as the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, was received by Julius Malema, South African opposition leader and president of the Economic Freedom Fighters party.
Opposition to Lumumba's address simmered since June 2023 when he was invited for the address shortly after he penned a statement backing the Anti-Homosexuality Act signed by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.
The lawyer congratulated Uganda for "defying Western countries and doing the right thing," a statement which did not augur well with activists.
Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act prohibits any form of sexual relations between persons of the same sex and the promotion or recognition of the same. It stipulates imprisonment for life or for a period not exceeding ten years, depending on charges levelled against a suspect.
