We’re Namibia’s first gay married couple: any questions for us?
Ricardo Amunjera and Marc Themba are a happily married gay couple living in Namibia, where homosexuality is against the law. Relive the best bits of our live Q&A
Ricardo Amunjera, 31 and Marc Themba, 30, the first known gay couple to be married in Namibia. Photograph: International HIV/Aids Alliance
Ricardo Amunjera and Marc Themba are credited with being Namibia’s first gay married couple. Though homosexuality is criminalised in Namibia, the pair tied the knot in South Africa and returned to Namibia to become prominent LGBT rights campaigners.
Amunjera, 31, says he believes “the best way you can help somebody is by telling them your story”. His activism has earned him the title of Mr Gay Namibia 2013 and is he is the process of setting local support group in his home town, joining a countrywide support network for LGBT. His work is not without its risks; another winner of the Mr Gay Namibia title,Wendelinus Hamutenya, was attacked as he walked home days after winning the competition. According to the rights group OutRight Namibia, LGBT people in Namibia encounter homophobia and transphobia on a daily basis.
In a film about their lives, made by the International HIV/Aids Alliance andPositive Vibes, the couple discuss their activism, their religious beliefs and their experience of conducting a loving relationship in a country where being gay is against the law. It also shows Amunjera fielding calls and texts, and using social media, to answer questions and comments from people seeking support around the country.
Amunjera and Themba will join the Guardian Africa Network for a live Q&A from 1pm - 2pm BST on Tuesday 20 May, to answer your questions about living as an openly gay activist in Namibia. What would you like to ask? Post your questions in the comments below.
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