Malawian Gay Couple Under Arrest for Practicing Homosexuality

                              


Two Malawian men Chimbalanga and Monjeza, 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. They have been arrested based on Sections 153 and 156 of the Penal Code which criminalize 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. They 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.
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.

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