After South Africa banned Steven Anderson from entering the country earlier this month, the American hate preacher trumpeted that he was still on course to ‘win souls’ in nearby Botswana.
He wrote on Facebook:
I feel sorry for people who live in South Africa, but thank God we still have a wide open door in Botswana. Stand by for reports of multitudes saved in Botswana, where religious freedom still exists.
Well, Botswana has just tossed him out.
According to this report, the Botswana government announced yesterday that Steven Anderson, a preacher from the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Phoenix, Arizona, had been declared “a prohibited immigrant” and as such was being deported from the southern African country.
Botswanan newspaper Mmegi reported that Anderson was being held at the country’s immigration department awaiting deportation.
Botswana immigration officers reportedly detained Anderson following an interview with national radio station Gabz FM in the capital Gaborone. During the interview, Anderson stated that he thinks the government should be killing homosexuals and that people who commit adultery should be stoned to death.
The Botswana Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, which deals with immigration, was not immediately available to respond to clarification as to why Anderson had been banned. The US Embassy in Botswana was also unavailable for a comment.
In his latest video update from Botswana Monday, Anderson claimed that 65 people had been “saved through soul-winning.”
Anderson has courted controversy before, particularly for his statements regarding the LGBT community. Following the Orlando massacre in June, when gunman Omar Mateen killed 50 people at a gay nightclub, Anderson said that the “good news” about the killings was that there were “50 less paedophiles in the world.”
The preacher has also reportedly denied the Holocaust and prayed for the death of US President Barack Obama over his stance on abortion.