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JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) -- South Africa's former deputy president Jacob Zuma drew fresh controversy on Wednesday after he called homosexuality un-African and criticized plans to legalize same-sex marriages.
"Same-sex marriage is a disgrace to the nation and to God," Zuma was quoted as saying in the Sowetan newspaper at a Sunday gathering in his native KwaZulu-Natal to mark the country's Heritage Day.
"When I was growing up unqingili (homosexuals) could not stand in front of me," said Zuma, who is embroiled in a corruption scandal that resulted in his firing last year.
His views resonate with many in South Africa, where conservative Christians and traditionalist Africans have been united in their opposition to gay nuptials.
But they are in sharp contrast to the more liberal attitudes of post-apartheid South Africa, which has done everything to move away from the iron-fisted policies of the past and prides itself on its human rights record.
"Has Zuma forgotten South Africa's recent past; the state institutionalized discrimination, stigmatization and segregation?" the Joint Working Group, representing the country's biggest lesbian and gay groups, said late on Tuesday.
"It would seem Jacob Zuma still has a lot to learn about leadership. A true leader leads with intellect and wisdom -- not popularity or favor. How can a narrow-minded person like this be expected to lead our nation?" the JWG statement said.
President Thabo Mbeki fired Zuma after a court found he had had a "generally corrupt" relationship with a former aide, but Zuma still enjoys enthusiastic support from rank and file African National Congress members and the party's left-wing allies.
That backing has enabled him to keep his job as deputy president of the party and still within reach of the presidency after his corruption case was thrown out of court last week, reviving his hopes of succeeding Mbeki.
The ANC meets next year to elect its new leader, who is virtually assured of ascending to the top job when Mbeki steps down in 2009.
South Africa's highest court last year ordered parliament to enact laws to recognize gay marriages by December 1. If it fails to do so, the current definition of marriage will automatically change to include homosexual couples.
The country won wide praise in 1996 when its post-apartheid constitution became the first to recognize gay rights, but this has done little to stop homophobic attacks.
Like elsewhere in Africa, many South Africans regard homosexuality as a product of colonialism imported from the West and a threat to indigenous culture.
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