[Updated at 7:43 a.m.] A court in Malawi has found a gay couple guilty of gross indecency and unnatural acts, according to witnesses who heard the verdict Tuesday.
Sentencing will take place May 20. The two young men face up to 14 years of hard labor.
Steven Mojenza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, were arrested in December at their home in Blantyre, Malawi, for professing their love in a traditional engagement ceremony. They were rounded up after news reports surfaced, charged under colonial-era sodomy laws and detained at Chichiru Prison without bail.
Their arrests received some popular support in the conservative southern African nation, but sparked outrage among gay rights activists and human rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, which have called for the release of the couple.
"We have a reached a point in Malawi where we need to decide whether we regard minority groups as equal to others in terms of their human rights," said Gift Trapence, executive director of the human rights group Centre for the Development of People (CEDEP), who was in the courtroom Tuesday.
"Malawi is using laws brought in by the British," he said. "They need to be updated."
Lawyers hope to take the matter to the High Court.
Homosexuality is illegal in Malawi - as it is in most African nations - and government officials have said they are simply upholding the law.
"Most people are repugnant towards homosexuality," said Canaan Phiri, secretary general of the Malawi Council of Churches. "People do not declare their homosexuality because people are against this."
But activists in Malawi say the country's constitution - which outlaws discrimination - is being violated. The Malawi Law Society said the prosecution of the two men has been driven by prejudice - not jurisprudence.
[Posted at 6:41 a.m.] A Malawian couple has been found guilty of gross indecency and unnatural acts, according to a non-governmental association that witnessed the verdict Tuesday.
Sentencing will take place May 20.
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Why is it always the rights of the perverts? What about the social norm of the community?
What is social norm? Who falls under that? How far do you take that? What do YOU do that is not a social norm? Do you really want to fall scrutiny to others judgemnets and face imprisionment because you are doing something that is not in the "social norm"
So what you are saying is that what ever the social norm is is what is right. So I guess in the South when when African Americans where fighting for equal rights they should have been thrown in jail, it was the social norm to dicriminate against that group. I supose you would have been right in there following the social norm!
Suggesting that two men who have professed their love in a commitmet ceremony are perverts is ignorant
Re: "Norms" Please do not confuse what is common in a society with what is normal. And normal or not, Human Rights are Human Rights. There should never ever have to be a debate over Human Rights. Unfortunately some countries haven't realized this yet. But it starts clearly with people individually making that clear to their governments. We as a world still have a ways to go!
I am sure the tea baggers will have Arizona passing similar laws very soon.
THE MALAWI GOVERNMENT SOUNDS REPUBLICAN....PROBABLY BUSH AND CHENEY WOULD LOVE TO MOVE THERE..!!
Brilliant Jessica! Yea...I'm sure Cheney, who openly supports his lesbian daughter, would be in favor of something like this. Another brilliant personal attack from the left.
Just deport these guys to California. They will fit right into the California lifestyle.
so will the right wingnuts in this country try to adopt the same punishment? the world has become such a place of fools. one could murder someone outright and receive a lesser sentence than this situation.
I think the best wedding gift the two men could have given each other, would be to be grateful and SHUT UP about what is illegal. Be as gay as you all want to. Why do you need to be so public and (loud, flamboyant) about your lifestyle. I AM gay and keep my personal business to myself thank you very much. Grow up Africa
Hi Chuck. Very good advice and we do the same thing here. Have fun!!!!
Wow – Chuck – a little bit of self-loathing there?
The issue is not that they should hide who they really are – the issue is that it should not be illegal to BE who they really are. Like it or not, dude, there are loud, activist, "sissies" out there – and they have every right to be just as loud and flamboyant as they want to!
I am thankful every day that I live in a country that recognizes human rights as such; a country that recognizes that every single one of their citizens are considered equal under the eyes of the law. A country that that is not tainted by religion or what someone else "thinks" is wrong. We have made great strides in protecting gays and lesbians as well as other minority groups. When one segment of society is protected then all are protected and the society evolves. It is unfortunate that Canada is one of the only nations in the world to recognize this.
James Dllalo......What kind of a creep are you. Put to death for being in love. Try it you might like it!!!!!
wrong or not, they don't deserve to be in jail for 14 years, that is just absurd. i wonder what the sentence for murder is in that country.
That depends on who is murdered. If someone had put these two fellows out of their misery, the govt would've looked the other way.
I like the jab in there 14 years of HARD labor. I think thats what got them there. Anyway sad for them not being able to confess there love without someone throwing the book at them. 14 years for admitting you love a man come on. Get real.
Malawi is not the US, so why do you feel you have the right to govern or have any say at all in their laws? It is illegal there, these men broke the law. To NJVet, what prejudice and hatred? It was their choice to break the law or to pursue things that were illegal. Regardless of the argument whether people are born gay or choose to be gay, there is no argument whether it is their choice to take action. Their actions in this case were lawfully wrong. A murderer or rapist may be more inclined, or be born with more of a lust for these things than others, but it is their actions that condemn them. It is the same here. It was their actions that broke the law and condemned them.
When you say nothing against that which is wrong, in this case a social injustice, then what you do by allowing it to continue is as evil as the perpetrators of that wrong. Social injustice is social injustice everywhere. If it were legal to be put in jail for being Jewish, Muslim, black, yellow, old, a woman, a child, a man, crippled, or disabled, that would be be wrong, and in being wrong laws based on this wrong, should be brought into the public eye and corrected. This is no different... putting someone in jail for being gay is as wrong as was putting Mandela in jail in South Africa. IT IS WRONG. It's that simple. If the law is an enabler of injustice, then it needs to be changed.
Micky, VERY WELL SAID!!!!
We live in a world where 2 adults can be arrested for loving each other....
This story isn't about politics, love, or equal rights.
It's not about Bush, Madonna, or Obama.
This is about two people who BROKE THE LAW-on purpose!!!
Stop all the whining and complaining-they did it to themselves.
I love the simplistic views of so many ignorant americans. Emily, George Washington broke the law on purpose. So did MLK jr. One country's freedom fighter is another countries terrorist.
To those "Putting forth" the religious view....do you really think Jesus would sentence these two to 14 years of hard labor?......or would he wash their feet and offer up forgiveness. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Joe is already done 'cuase he wants them dead.
America has become such a sad place, filled with such ignorance and hatred.
And just forget the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, should we?
Damn there is a lot of ignorance on this board!!!
Maybe they did it on purpose to challenge the law.
God created 2 different species of humans to see that the world flourishes. If he were to make sure men live and enjoy with men, or women live and enjoy with women, then there was no reason to create 2 different species. If we were to forgive the act of deviating from "normalcy" then any crime committed should also be forgiven considering it as just a deviation from "normalcy".
That cannot be a serious remark.
That's said from the perspective of a Christian. That's ok, but remember - God is something you believe in. Some call it a myth. So it's hard to force your rules on people who don't choose to believe, or expect people who think it's a myth to follow its rules. So if we're going to define "normalcy", it needs to be done by a standard that incorporates all people, not just Christians.
If "God" did, in fact create everyone and everything, then remember, he also created Gays and Lesbians.
I don't believe in your god anyway, and who are you to speak for him.
Get a life, loser – live and let live.
Two consenting adults who are doing no harm should never have to face the judgements of others!
I agree with Troy. But also I question why you would want to believe in a god that would denigrate one of his/her creations? But in this case, it's not god who is persecuting these two. It is their government, and apparently, certain other ignorants in the world...
Steve...... women and men are not two different species...... i understand what you're trying to say not that I agree with it.
who cares? there are so many pressing issues right here.
Are you serious?? Who cares?? There may be other pressing issues that is true but I would say this is quite pressing, you certainly would think so if you were facing 14 years of hard labour for something so inocent as this. I am sorry, the law is WRONG! These two have done nothing illegal, that is clear. It does not matter if a government makes crazy laws that say otherwise. And this makes it a concern for all. For the whole world! Evil Triumphs When Good People Do Nothing