Blantyre — Two men who married each other in a traditional engagement ceremony will have to undergo trial and face years of imprisonment if found guilty of having a homosexual relationship.
The state, through police prosecutors, brought the two men to court soon after their Boxing Day engagement and asked the magistrate to determine that they are criminals for indulging in a homosexual relationship. A magistrate's court in Malawi's main commercial centre, Blantyre, on Mar. 22 ruled against two men, Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza.
Blantyre chief resident magistrate, Nyakwawa Usiwa Usiwa, declared that Chimbalanga and Monjeza have a case to answer to. The couple is facing official charges of "gross indecency" and "buggery" for "having carnal knowledge against the order of nature", offences under Malawi's colonial-era penal code.
"In the balance of probability the state has established a prima-facie case against the two as charged," Usiwa Usiwa told the couple. The state has already administered several medical tests on the couple to establish that they were having sexual intercourse as well as a mental examination to test if each is mentally stable.
The couple will undergo a full trial and the onus now lies on the two men to prove their innocence.
Chimbalanga and Monjeza did not seem to be moved by the magistrate's decision. They were not allowed to comment on the ruling. The lawyer representing the couple, Osward Ntuwakale, asked the court to give him two weeks for him to prepare for their defence. "I will call upon defence witnesses," he said.
Chimbalanga and Monjeza have been arrested based on Sections 153 and 156 of the Penal Code which criminalise homosexuality and recommend that anyone convicted under these sections may be jailed for a minimum of five years and maximum of 14 years and hard labour.
Monjeza and Chimbalanga, who are being held at Chichiri Prison, one of Malawi's maximum security jails, have been refused bail on two different occasions by the same magistrates' court. They are taunted and jeered by crowds of people every time they make a court appearance. The situation was not different on the day of the ruling.
The case has attracted a lot of interest both locally and internationally. The court was jam-packed during the ruling, with on-lookers, rights groups and diplomats from the British High Commission. The diplomats did not comment.
"The court ruling today is a very sad development. The full trial will only perpetuate misery for the couple as they will continue to be kept in prison and continue to face the wrath of homophobic people," said Gift Trapense, director of human rights organisation the Centre for the Development of People.
"It is very unfair to continue holding the couple in jail just because they are expressing their love for each other. The conditions in Malawi's prisons are very bad; there is overcrowding in the cells and inmates go hungry most times. It is sad that they should continue suffering just for choosing their own way of life," Trapense told IPS.
The magistrate has since set trial for Apr. 3.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International has adopted Chimbalanga and Monjeza as prisoners of conscience. The rights organisation defines prisoners of conscience as people who have been jailed because of the lawful expression of their beliefs.
In a recent statement, Amnesty International United Kingdom director Kate Allen said Monjeza and Chimbalanga have committed no criminal offence.
"It is vital that as many people as possible join us in writing to the Malawi authorities calling on them to release the two men and for them to investigate their treatment in custody," she said.
Support for the gay couple has been mounting. On Mar. 16, Malawi's main donors, including the UK government, Germany, African Development Bank (AfDB), Norway, the European Union and the World Bank, who operate under the Common Approach to Budget Support (CABS), warned Malawi against the prosecution of homosexuals. CABS provides up to 80 percent of Malawi's development budget of 438 million dollars.
"When we talk about human rights, we do not only talk about the majority but also minority groups like the on-going issue of homosexuals which needs to be looked into thoroughly," Frank Kufwakwandi, head of AfDB in Malawi and also chairman of CABS said in astatement .
Kufwakwandi urged Malawi to respect human rights issues. "Respect for human rights is one of the fundamental principles of Malawi's budget support cooperation from the CABS group," he stated. The donor group also warned that that the country risks international isolation if it continues prosecuting homosexuals.
The government of Norway issued a warning saying the government of Malawi must respect gay rights or risk tainting its human rights record.
But the Malawi Council of Churches (MCC), a grouping of up to 22 protestant churches, has since urged government not to give in to donor pressure to accept gay rights in exchange for aid.
In a statement released on Mar. 19, the MCC called on the international community to "respect Malawi's cultural and religious values and refrain from using aid as a means of forcing the country to legalise sinful acts like homosexuality in the name of human rights."
The MCC also asked government to maintain the laws that criminalise homosexual acts and practices.
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Several things:
First, the constitution of Malawi, though surely imbued with the successes and failings, the ideologies and commentary of both the native and non-native pasts (i.e. "traditional Malawian society" and "colonial law"), was framed quite similarly to the constitution of the United States. Many nations are dealing with this controversial issue, and to justly discern the best course to take, we have to know our past and we have to be willing to accept that we can't foretell the future. But blindly incriminating those innocent yet courageous people we are afraid of has never worked out well.
Secondly, regardless of the first point I make, basic human rights (i.e. freedom to choose a way of life for ourselves, to feed and clothe and shelter our families, etc.) should NEVER be used as a bartering chip to trade in for international support, financial or otherwise. Whatever happend to upholding human rights for the sake of UPHOLDING HUMAN RIGHTS??
Lastly, try to put on the shoes of either of these two young men. Give it an honest shot. Put away your preconceived notions and stereotypes, and think about it for several minutes, if you can possibly spare that much time. Maybe you will come out at a slightly different viewpoint than where you began.
please people...this crap about human right is nothing but an attack on nature!!! i ve been living in ny for the past 17 years..i considered myself to be pretty open minded,until i saw this movement spreading like wildfire to a point where it got alarming.NATURE itself evolve harmoniously, when something threaten that harmony,it wont go unnoticed.i dont consider myself a saint and frankly i think that what a man does in his bedroom is his business,but i m getting the impression that this movement is trying to impose itself on the scene.being in my late 30s myself i ve been "around" and i know how young people mind can be corrupted into making it "cool" to accept anything.. even sexual orientation,wich,as we all know carries enourmous psychological implications. i also believe that true FREEDOM implies the love and respect of other people FREEDOM meaning that if u are gay and true u wouldnt want to turn anyone gay unless they truly are but what we are witnessing is all kind of baits and justifications to subtely promote that lifestyle...now lets be honest!! the gay community have a political agenda and we all know that "recruitment" is their moto to gain more political grounds thats where it get scary cos it seems that they wont stop at anything...the colonisation of AFRICA is a prime exemple of how to conquer people...they brought religion"opium of the people" first but they didnt stop there,they brought the guns latter and now they reign supreme...now they got the gold and diamonds what are they after? ...our souls!!!our identities wether cultural or spiritual are at stake... GOD PROTECT AFRICA...
@coba612:
I would submit that homosexuals have no political agenda, except to ensure that everyone has equal rights. I would know; I'm a homosexual myself. ("Where's my issue of 'Queers Monthly?' I hear they have list of the Top 10 ways to convert middle school boys!" Just a ridiculous thought. Completely preposterous.) And I don't want anyone else to be gay. I want everyone to be free to accept themselves for who they are.
The interesting thing about being put down and (forgive the connotation of this word) persecuted all your life is that the LAST thing you want to do to others is to make them feel the same way you have. I've lived my entire life being told that "No, you shouldn't feel this way." "Gay is bad." "It's a choice you've made. Unmake it." Self-acceptance is a luxury few homosexuals allow themselves. Pushing the same oppressive weight of denial and exclusion on others is the last thing I would want to to.
Your comments, while not unexpected or terribly original, were base and ignorant. The only "attack on nature" we should be concerned about in this case is the idea that the naturally-occurring equality of human life is being ignored. I'm sure you, as an "open-minded" individual, would agree that all humans are equal. So why the hell should you act like you know what's right for others? We're all free to decide our own lives.
Forgive the personal attack, but I see in you the same general ignorance that I've dealt with all my life.
@Momoka:
Spot on, man. Spot on.
Congratulations Malawi. What these two have done is challenge more than just the laws of Malawi but the laws of humanity. Such people are a disgrace to humanity and should be made examples of before their actions erode all that we are about as human beings. Whether we are Muslim or Christian, we all know that this is an abomination.
2tanclo:
YOUR views are a disgrace to the human race. You can preach till the end of time, but homosexuality has been around since time began. It is NOT a lifestyle choice as the unthinking, bigotted and ignorant members of the human race like you keep ranting on about. Who in their right mind would CHOOSE to be gay in a backward culture like yours? Did you CHOOSE to be heterosexual (you are not a closet gay are you?) - of course you didn't! Idiots like you keep banging on the religious drum which only confirms that the planet would be far better off if religion were banned. To promote the views expressed by you and others just highlights how the so-called compassion and love promoted by most religions is really non-existent and just total hypocrisy.
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