Cape Town — On May 18, Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, the two men arrested in December after their traditional engagement party, were convicted of "unnatural acts" and "gross indecency" under colonial-era laws that remain in Malawi's penal code.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 20; the pair face as much as 14 years in prison.
Monjeza and Chimbalanga celebrated their traditional engagement on on Dec. 26 - a ceremony that is recognised as a civil marriage in Malawi. They were arrested two days later.
The two men were refused bail on two different occasions by the magistrates' court. They have been taunted and jeered by crowds at every court appearance.
The state 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.
Amnesty International points out that forcible examinations would be in violation of the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment - and such evidence would not be admissible in a fair trial.
The case has attracted significant interest both within the country and abroad.
On Mar. 16, Malawi's main donors, including the UK government, Germany, the 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 chair of CABS said in a statement .
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.
But the Malawi Council of Churches (MCC), a grouping of up to 22 protestant churches, is just one of many organisations that has urged government not to give in to donor pressure and respect 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.
But human rights lawyer Chrispine Sibande says the arrest and prosecution of the gay couple is inconsistent with Article 20 of Malawi's own Constitution, which states that "discrimination of persons in any form is prohibited and all persons are, under any law, guaranteed equal and effective protection against discrimination on grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, nationality, ethnic or social origin, disability, property, birth or other status".
Sibande argues that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land and guarantees freedom of conscience, privacy and expression which includes sexual orientation.
The constitution's Article 5 states that where a law is inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution, it is invalid.
"The gay suspects did not do anything wrong as long as they lived the without violating other people's rights," says Sibande.
The Centre for Development of People (CEDEP), a local human rights organisation which works for the welfare of marginalised groups, confirms that most homosexuals in Malawi are forced to hide their sexual orientation for fear of prohibitive and outdated laws that remain in force.
"It is not criminal to express your sexual orientation," CEDEP director Gift Trapense told IPS in January. "And the laws being used are from the Penal Code which is against the human rights that are enshrined in the Constitution. This is a gross human rights abuse against a group of people."
Claire Ngozo in Lilongwe contributed to this report.
Comments Post a comment
When I was growing up in the 1980's it was a cultural taboo to be gay in the UK in the minds of a substantial majority of people. Societal attitudes have changed rapidly though and now one is dismissed as a bigot if one does not agree with the mainstream consensus that homosexuality is a legitimate lifestyle choice.
For the 'West' to expect the ... See morerest of the world to conform to the same views in such a short period of time is unrealistic. The Colonialists brought the 'Bible' and 'Christian values' to Southern Africa and now condemn those who refuse to refute these values and embrace the 'new' culture of secularism.
What sickens me is the way that the western media has demonised Malawi for human rights abuses whilst largely ignoring the real human rights abuses that take place across the so called 'developing world.' The real abuse of human rights is in the fact that 1000's of people are denied access to food security, clean water, basic sanitation, decent shelter, adequate medicine and often even basic education!
The threat to withdraw humanitarian aid from the poorest and most vulnerable people in Malawi because of this judicial decision is to my mind the greatest of all the injustices that have taken place in Malawi in recent months.
Its true that there are many human rights abuses right across the globe, and I condemn them all. However, with regard to humanitarian aid to Africa - the "west" (in actual face the entire developed world) has been pumping humanitarian aid into Africa for decades, and yet most of the African countries have not progressed or improved their ability to support themselves at all in all this time. How much longer should we funnel our hard-earned dollars into economies that are largely run by dictators and corrupt leaders? Billions have been donated over the years, but all that has happened is that there are many leaders and ex-leaders living in luxuriant lifestyles in huge mansions whilst their populations are still in total abject poverty. Do not preach to us about human rights abuses! In any event, this is now slightly off-topic. The treatment of homosexuals in most african countries is an absolute disgrace to the human race. Homosexuality is NOT, I repeat NOT a lifestyle CHOICE any more than choosing to be left or right handed is... who the heck would CHOOSE to be homosexual in such a narrow-minded and bigotted continent!
Is it because of the Mediocre Aid should Africans allow thousand if not, millions of their brothers and sisters to die through devastating desease such as AIDS?? Just because of Mediocre Aid?? To hell with the mediocre aid; Africans are feed up by seeing their belove ones dying in millions while our enemies and the combine evil international forces continue to enjoy our minerial resources by destroying us (Africans). Africans should be stupid to allow homosexual in their continent while the west as continue to refuse our own common cultures such as monogammy marriage. To be frank, please tell me between Monogammy Marriage and Homosexual life style which one is dangerous and dirty???? Please tell me ???
I have nothing but contempt for this verdict. The question of homosexuality is not "African Culture" as many of the supporters in Malawi have claimed. It is a gross abuse of human rights and to claim that is based on religion is a total negation of all that religion is supposed to promote. The kind of thinking that leads to these types of cases, particularly in African countries just demonstrates how backward and bigotted is the African mindset. Despite my comments here, I am actually speechless that such a decision can be made....
Mikeywm; You are a classic example of American stupidity and reckless behavior! When you are not allowed to have your way, you resort to temper tantrums hoping that your audience will be pursuaded by your verbal calisthenics that you are right and they are wrong!
American Mainstream Media and greedy politicans have convinced the American public that homosexuality is not a lifestyle choice; that alcoholism and drug addiction are diseases; and that America's best days are ahead! I can see by your idiotic responses that you are a proponent of such utter nonsense!
The reality is that homosexuality is a perverted choice of individuals who believe they know more than the God who made them!
An absolute fact is that Alcoholism and drug addiction are also deliberate choices whose dire consequences are evident in a society over burdened by the huge costs of providing healthcare for continued reckless behaviors! But fools continue to travel down this idiotic path!
The truth is America's best days are not ahead, especially if the politicians continue to refuse to take their heads out of their behinds, so that they can fix their financial system, and economy which are spiralling out of control. Vladimir Putin, who is not at all one of my favorite persons, and one I quote rarely, referring to the fact that Russia holds a large amount of America's debt, said recently, "Americans are financial parasites living on the rest of the world". The recent display of utter stupidity by elected politicians in the US Congress even spurred Chines officials to call for some level of realistic behavior in resolving demagogic behavior, and fix the debt problem! You want to castigate African politicans as being corrupt and reckless! What would you call the recent behavior of Members of the US Congress? Patriotic? In my opinion, their behavior was, and continue to be, downright unpatriotic and self-serving, to say the least!
Who borrows 45% of their budget to sustain their household? Answer: NoONE! America needs to do what it must to regain its national pride! Increase taxes, cut spending, etc.! Whatever! Just do it and stop trying to promote and impose idiotic behaviors and practices on other nations which have the right to determine its own national existence!
There is an old American saying which said, "Insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly, and expecting a different result"!
Well, if this saying is true, how come America continues to replicate reckless behaviors, like the one you are espousing, but expects positive consequences? And you want to lecture Africans? "Take the beam out of your own eye, then you may be able to see the speck in your brother's!"