World News

Christian Churches Pressure Malawi Government To Reverse Decision Suspending Anti-Gay Laws

Malawian Justice Minister Ralph Kasambara

By Mark Singer |  LILILONGWE, MALAWI -- Malawian Justice Minister Ralph Kasambara denied making any statements regarding possible suspension of arrests of LGBT persons in this small landlocked country in southeastern Africa Thursday.

Kasambara, who was widely quoted earlier this week in press reports as saying the government would suspend arrests pending a decision on whether to repeal laws banning homosexuality, told reporters that the laws carrying penalties of up to 14 years in prison for committing homosexual acts were still being enforced.

"There was no such announcement and there was no discussion on same-sex marriage," he said.

Homosexuality is illegal in 36 African nations, and Malawi's anti-gay laws have caused friction with Western donors, whose assistance is crucial to propping up the economy of the impoverished nation.

A Malawian Justice ministry source told LGBTQNation that pressure from a group of 24 influential Protestant churches was responsible for forcing the government to reverse its position and deny examining making possible changes.

"Our stance has always been that this practice should be criminalized because it runs contrary to our Christian values,"  Malawi Council of Churches' Secretary General, Reverend Osborne Joda-Mbewe  told LGBTQNation by phone.

A gay couple in Malawi who had held a public wedding ceremony were arrested and charged with "gross indecency" in 2009.

The prosecution drew international condemnation and after a judge convicted and sentenced the two men on charges of unnatural acts and gross indecency, both colonial-era laws.

Then President Bingu wa Mutharika announced a pardon of Steven Monjeza, 26 and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20 after meeting with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as there was a withdrawal of financial aid from the UK and other western countries.

A recent report presented to Mutharika's successor Joyce Banda recommended decriminalization of same sex marriages as a way of helping fight the spread of HIV/AIDS.