By Melanie Nathan, May 30, 2012.
In an earlier article I accused Lance Weyer of partisan politics and a conflict of interest. While purporting to represent the South African LGBT community in his capacity as Mr. Gay South Africa, Weyer took a partisan turn and launched a divisive tirade against the South African LGBT activist community, setting his taunt against the “corrective rape” NGO’s and the Task team which they had accomplished over years of advocacy:-
In an e-mail which Weyer made public he stated:-
“When it comes to a negative public perception we as LGBTI have ourselves to blame. I’m having great difficulty in getting the Gay and Lesbian Task Force resurrected as MP’s are not willing to put their name on something that failed so dismally last time – and this time not at the hands of government either. Hostile relationships between LGBTI NGOs have caused friction, rather than a conciliatory approach. The LGBTI NGO’s involved could not stop bickering and infighting. In fact, it was so bad that the Minister had on two occasions threatened to disband it and go with Luleki Sizwe alone, which is not unlikely to happen as Luleki Sizwe had allied with the official opposition. Currently the standpoint of officials in the Dept of J&CD is that the task team no longer exists – and in fact it was not properly constituted the first time. It could take years to get something similar going again. In my opinion, the NGO’s clearly illustrate their inexperience and lack of motivation in dealing with these matters by bickering in front of the Minister instead of sorting out differences of opinion before and after meetings. The Minister is a busy man and our issues are not the only ones he’s got to deal with. It’s also a matter of showing respect. His department was the first to really hold out the hand of friendship, which is quite something – I can vouch for this as I have endless problems in dealing with the Home Affairs Department (which I now call the Department of Homophobic Affairs). Luckily for us, Manny {editor note: Manny DeFreitas is the Democratic Alliance Party MP in SA PArliament} is not the shadow minister of Home Affairs which has made ironing out LGBTI issues much easier. Who is suffering at the end of the day? Not the NGO’s that took part in the task team exercise, but the lesbian women being raped and intersex men being violently assaulted in out townships and rural areas.”
The offending comments not only present out and out lies by Weyer, but also displays Weyer’s conflicting allegiance to the Democratic Alliance Party (DA) given the context of his communications about LGBTI matters.
The NGO’s at the fore of the “corrective rape” issue where highly offended by these remarks, stating the Weyer had never made contact with them and that he was personally unknown to them.
Now the Department of Justice got wind of Weyer’s lies, and they they sent him an e-mail with the following reprimand:
Dear Mr Weyer
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has perused the contents of this electronic mail. The details stated in it are not only untrue, but some of the statements cannot be left unchallenged.
It is prudent to state that the National Task Team does exists, was never disbanded at any stage and was created with consensus and due diligence.
It is submitted that The Honourable Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development has not threatened on any occasion to disband the National Task Team.
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development would like to enquire as to whom Mr Weyer is referring to when he states that he is in consultation with members of the DOJCD and with whom they are creating a new and improved Task Team. We also inquire as to the EU Funding that has been referred to.
Mr Weyer should be reminded that to speak on behalf of the Honourable Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development is irresponsible and illegal. This is especially given the sensitive nature of LGBTI occurrences in the country currently. Even within the Department of Justice itself only a select few are given the mandate by the Minister to speak on his behalf.
We call upon Mr Weyer to give a written explanation to his statements to the relevant parties and especially the National Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. This will be assessed and action taken where necessary.
Thank you
Kind Regards
Senior Legal Ad Officer / Deputy Director
On behalf of the Chief Directorate of the Promotion of the Rights of Vulnerable Groups
National Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
Branch of – Court Services
Weyer is touted by Mr. GAY SA as “the Ambassador for all LGBT rights in South Africa.
In his website describes himself as follows:-
” Lance is a Democratic Alliance Proportional Representative Councillor at Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality. He serves on the Municipal Public Accounts Committee and also serves on the Board of Directors of the Frere Hospital Complex. He has previously served on the Health & Public Safety Standing Committee and the Special Programmes Strategic Committee. He is also a human rights activist and was chosen to represent the South African LGBTI community as Mr Gay South Africa 2011.
A controversy loomed out of Weyer’s clear conflict of interest in this regard which can be seen from my earlier article at
http://oblogdeeoblogda.wordpress.com/2012/05/29/controversy-looms-as-mr-gay-south-africa-claims-to-be-the-ambassador-for-lgbti-rights-in-south-africa/
Weyer is a career politician, who has placed his political career ahead of his so called duties as South Africa’s Gay Ambassador, a title and designation which I have challenged on its own merits in the earlier article at
http://oblogdeeoblogda.wordpress.com/2012/05/29/controversy-looms-as-mr-gay-south-africa-claims-to-be-the-ambassador-for-lgbti-rights-in-south-africa/
Given this current debacle of proven lies and an obvious attempt to divide the South African LGBT community to enhance Weyer’s political standing with his own party, I believe Lance Weyer should resign his title as Mr. Gay South Africa 2011. The owners of the Mr. Gay S.A. Pageant to refrain from further misrepresenting the competition through the marketing ploy of touting their exclusive beauty contest as the mechanism for appointing an Ambassador to represent the vast and diverse South African LGBTI community.
Melanie Nathan, is known for her international human rights advocacy for LGBTQI asylum seekers, Uganda Kill the Gays Bill, Corrective Rape issue in South Africa, and equality activism in the USA; especially on the issue of bi-national same-sex couples struggle for green cards in the USA. Please feel free to Contact her if you have Tips, a story to tell - at 
PoochParkWear customizes hoodies and t-shirts, the good, the naughty, the in between, whether proud or quirky let them be seen. We also offer biker jackets, croc or pleather collars, a variety of collar charms, and our special Zinja beaded collars made by a co-op of HIV-positive South African women, the Sisonke women who weave the beads onto the collars.
I’ll be very interested to hear the response from Team Weyer on this newest twist? Let’s see how creative they are in their back-peddling, shall we? Good job Melanie.
even more http://oblogdeeoblogda.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/lance-weyer-mr-gay-south-africa-uses-crown-to-solicit-gay-votes-for-deomocratic-alliance-party/
Now the Plot thickens. He is yet still he child, He needs to get his facts straight and stop sitting on the fence with my LGBTI rights.
I call for Lance Weyer to step down as the current Mr GSA
Why did you not post the reply from Lance to the DOJ?
I posted the article before Lance Weyer replied to DOJ. If you want to make matters worse for Weyer then please go ahead and post his response here. on his behalf – be my guest!!!
His response was extremely damaging for him.
1. He sets out the reason why he said those things about the NGO’s – he blamed it on an outside journalist who contacted him – yet when he said those things he said them in the first person – as if it was coming directly from him – he said it with conviction in its truth – he did not say he was quoting a third part.
2.making the accusations without asking anyone for the facts – he admits that by saying he tried but could not reach the DOJ – and then he goes and says that stuff anyway without verifying the facts = pure irresponsibility -makes him look more stupid than I already thought he was or bad legal advice???
3. His letter makes the admission that he actually did say those things – very bad legal move on his part or again bad legal advice.
4. Uses the excuse that he wrote that damaging letter based on HEARSAY? From a third party? How bad for him does that look – negligent on his part or he presumed what he was told was true. All negligent – hardly the actions of a true and worthy ambassador – to hurl insilts assuming that the information you have been given is correct? AND then to admit that in writing to the DOJ?
If I worked for the DOJ – I would reprimand him further and take whatever legal action is available to them.
THEN
# 5. To add insult to injury in a response letter to a government reprimand he has the audacity to try his DA partisan politics to get answers from them? That is not the correct context to ask those questions nor the correct protocol however valid they may seem
The DOJ would be fools to answer.
He starts the letter in capacity as MR GAY SA and ends signing as a councillor for the opposing party – this guy does not know his arse from his elbow! Talk about conflict of interests – he keeps proving it again and again.
It would be best if he shut up pretending to be a gay activist and realized his calling as a career politician because he would probably be damn good at that. Just make up your mind Lance Weyer – which is it to be?
Lance Weyer is USING the SA LGBTI community to further his OWN political career in the DA – you only have to read his BLOG article to see it where he says “Begging to Differ” and then scores points with DA by trying to tell all the South African LGBTI community why the DA is best for gays – he gives a list of why the DA is the best political party in SA for gays -how dare he use his podium for that – even if he believes its true – give me a break- he writes that article the same week after the protests? He should not be partisan at all nor trying to to sell gays on the DA. he should focus entirely on LGBTI rights – free of political alliances.
I will not post Lance’s letter here as I do not speak on his behalf nor do I have any affiliation with him or the Mr. GaySA brand.
However Lance did say that he had tried on numerous occasions to make contact with the DOJ with no success. Yes he used the words of a third party as his own, the third party being a journalist. This so called “task team” has to be one of the best kept secrets by the DOJ. It received a lot of media coverage last year when it launched, however nothing since. I have personally tried to find information about it on the DOJ website – without success (unless I need new glasses, there is nothing).
In Lance’s response he asked the questions from the DOJ that I would certainly like to know, and I am sure everyone else as well.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again, attacking Lance personally because he is in the unfortunate position to wear two hats is wrong. Yes he starts his response to them by stating that he is Mr. GaySA, a fact which means that he wants the answers in order to give feedback to the GLBTI community.
I have never met Lance, or Coenie Kukkuk for that matter, but both have done good for the community, much the same as you Melanie. I didn’t know about your blog before this whole debacle started, I have since read some of your other articles and I commend you on your outspoken views and bringing to light information that would otherwise probably never see the light of day.
In the facebook group where all this fighting started, I actually answered your original question (in the first thread that was deleted I think) by saying: (paraphrasing here) “Lance may not be the representation for the entire GLBTI community as a whole, but he is all we’ve got”. The problem we face is that in our very diverse country there will never be one single person that can represent the entire community. In fact there will never be a single person that can represent the entire country as our country consists of traditional and national values from all over the world.
I left that facebook group, just as most of my gay and lesbian friends and I decided to turn our backs on this community 13 years ago because the only constant thing we ever seem to achieve is to fight amongst ourselves.
As for Lance using his Mr. GaySA platform to promote the DA, I actually think that he did good there. He stated facts, I have yet to see any other political party in S.A doing anything to get the “pink” vote. I doubt very much Lance has the ability to brainwash people into voting for the DA, and I hope to heaven that our GLBTI community still has the mental capacity to make up their own minds when it comes to deciding who to vote for in elections. We’re not idiots Melanie, and I find it a bit contradicting that you say that he is not a true representation of the community, yet he uses the community to further his own political career.
Please dont think that I am attacking you, or that I am one of Lance’s fans or followers. In fact when the photos surfaced last year of him posing with a deer that he hunted I was outraged. However after giving it much thought, I realised that just because I find hunting for sport despicable, there are many people who do enjoy it. In Lance’s own words, “Being gay is only one facet of me, it does not define who I am”. I have personally used that same line many times in my life. Lance is ultimately only human, he is bound to make mistakes, the same each and every one of us. He is just in the position that he is a public figure and his mistakes are being sensationalised and used to promote blogs, articles, news content etc.
Now for something completely off topic, I read this following article published on News24: http://voices.news24.com/mohamed-saeed/2012/05/same-sex-marriages/
Shouldn’t we rather than attack and belittle our own fight against statements and views such as this one?
Lance signed his letter to the DOJ perhaps saying “Lance Weyer” – Maybe just maybe they had no idea who he was at the time? They get so many letters – did he sign his inquiries in any official capacity? In what capacity – as MR GAY SA- As Lance Weyer? As a DA councillor from East London? Didi he communicate under an official designation – or a member of the Public? – So perhaps they did not know who he was or if they did perhaps they were confused as to under what protocol his letter should receive a response. Who does he think he is thinking they would respond to such inquiry to someone they may not even know? Was he a blogger? The Press?. How naive and stupid of him not to understand gvt protocol? And if he did say he was Mr GAY SA – to them that must surely be just another commercial enterprise. Why should they have answered him? In what capacity – official capacity was he purporting to make contact. THAT is the very point. He is so screwed with his response to them it hangs him further. I hope they take action because he has breached the law and he is doing it in the name of representing ALL SA Gays which is false marketing.
I believe strongly that ‘Gay initiatives’ is only money making games and promotes everything the average gay South African does not stand for. It is all about looks, socializing, money and personal motivations. We, the gay people of south africa are doing more for our rights then those appointed to do so. And when you approach these delegates then you will be told there will be legal action taken against you. And it is true, that if thses delegates are appointed to adhere to and promote gay rights and everything we stand to protect, the why do they need help from the DA..does that make then incompetent? oh I forgot..they’ve got six packs and pretty faces…
I have received so many letters from people saying Coenie Kukkuk Mr GAY SA director and who happens to be an attorney at law had sent them cease and desist letters. To all of you who have received such letters fear not – here is your chance to comment and I shall respect your anonymity.
http://oblogdeeoblogda.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/lance-weyer-mr-gay-south-africa-uses-crown-to-solicit-gay-votes-for-deomocratic-alliance-party/ My latest article -
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