South Africa's Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba took the decision on the grounds that the controversial US pastor Steven Anderson and his team members promote hatred and violence and are therefore not welcome in the country. Shortly before the announcement, Gigaba had received a petition against the pastor from members of the gay and lesbian community with more than 60,000 signatures. They argued that the clergyman represented a danger to South Africa's social order.

Prominent South Africans, including the retired Anglican Bishop of Southern Africa, Njongonkulu Ndungane, also called on the minister to keep Anderson out of the country. Ndungane accused him of hate speech.

Undesirable hatemongers

Explaining the reasons for denying a visa to the pastor and his acolytes, Minister Gigaba said: "Undesirable persons are barred from travelling to South Africa for a period determined by the department." He said he had also "withdrawn the visa exemption status enjoyed by all Americans. This is on the basis that I am certain that they promote hate speech as well as advocate social violence."

Pastor Anderson, who runs the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona, is known for his extremist views and homophobic rants. "I said that homosexuals deserve to die and I will stand by that until I go to the grave," he recently stated. He also attacked Ministger Gigaba. "I mean, this guy is such a joke. He's just stringing the sodomists along and it's funny they don't pick up on it," he said.

Henrik Bird, a spokesperson for the South African gay and lesbian community, cited these statements in the petition sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs. He pointed out that the initiative received the support of people from the US, Great Britain and South Africa, and he did not hide his satisfaction at the way things turned out: "We are so happy that the minister banned him, and not only him but his whole group, because he is part of a whole group of people." Bird added that "the minister wasn't aware of who this man is exactly, what he stands for and so on. We did a lot of digging and we had a lot of people working to help us gain all the information to find out who were the people in his group."

Approval from South Africans

Ordinary South Africans also welcomed the minister's decision, saying South Africa is a democratic country and should not let in anyone who promotes hatred. One of the people DW spoke to is Fred Robertson who said: "We don't need a person like that because we have gone beyond that. We are better off without him." Robert Mochini agreed: "Well, I think if he is trying to kill anybody, that's not right. I think that this is hate speech, which should be discouraged. Therefore they should not let him in." And Thumba Pillay wants to see a different kind of person travelling to South Africa: "We need people here like the Dalai Lama. He should be encouraged to visit this country. Not people who preach hatred and violence towards the gay and lesbian community."

Nevertheless, there was also some disagreement with the government's decision not to allow Anderson to come to South Africa. A prominent Cape Town pastor, Oscar Bougardt, said "only" 60,000 people had signed a petition in a country of nearly 60 million. "As pastors we have the right to preach the gospel of Christ and the gospel is that homosexuality is an abomination. I don't call on any person to die, but homosexuals should know that they are living a life of sin," he said.

But, on the whole, the ban against the American pastor is seen by South Africans as a clear indication that the government will not allow anyone to incite hatred against any community or group. South Africa's constitution protects minorities and freedom of speech. But there is no tolerance for the promotion of hatred of any kind.