Controversial pastor Oscar Bougardt says he is ready to go to the mang for spreading the gospel, as an online petition calls for his imprisonment.
The Strandfontein preacher says he and his family were also victims of hate speech, but claims the Equality Court has failed to take action against his attackers.
The petition, which was started five years ago by OUT LGBT Well-being, calls for Bougardt to be jailed for his homophobic statements.
In August 2023, Bougardt was once again hauled before court for being in contempt of an order by the Equality Court, which prohibited him from making homophobic slurs on social media and other platforms.
He again received a suspended nine-month jail sentence, providing he did not breach the order.
OUT said while it applauds the Western Cape Division of the Equality Court for upholding Bougardt’s hate speech order, they are disappointed that he was not jailed for contempt of court.
OUT laid a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) after Bougardt made homophobic comments on TV last year.
In a statement the organisation says: “The South African Human Rights Commission last week informed the complainants involved in the case that Bougardt appeared before the Equality Court on a contempt of court charge in August.
“In 2018, Bougardt was handed a 30-day jail sentence, which was suspended for five years, after the Western Cape High Court found him guilty of violating a 2014 order that prohibited his anti-LGBTIQ+ hate speech.
“In blatant disregard of this sanction, he persisted in expressing his views.
“For instance, in November 2022, he asserted on the Kyknet talk show Sê jou Sê, that LGBTIQ+ people pose a predatory danger to children.”
But Bougardt remains adamant that he is not in the wrong.
He says: “The Court can throw me in jail, execute me but that doesn’t change the fact that there are only two genders – male and female.
“I didn’t commit a crime, they let me stand (in front of) a judge for preaching the Bible, (but) all LGBQTI + communities will feel God’s wrath.
“I’ve been persecuted, insulted, verbally abused, my family persecuted by LGBQTI + people.
“I went to lodge complaints at the SAHRC, they don’t even investigate. When my tyres were slashed, my walls at home spraypainted, I lodged complaints and nothing happened.”
Regarding Bougardt’s claims, the SAHRC said in their preliminary response: “The WCPO (Western Cape Provincial Office) is searching its records in this regard, further communication will accordingly be furnished in due course.”
Meanwhile, OUT’s petition that started in October 2018 with a goal of garnering 5000 signatures, have so far gotten 4671 signatures against the Rev.
dailyvoice@inl.co.za