Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika Pardons Gay Couple
Malawi's president Bingu wa Mutharika today pardoned and ordered the release of a gay couple, Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza, who had earlier been sentenced to 14 years in prison.
The president, however, stressed that homosexuality remains illegal in his country.
Activists were looking to arrange for a safe house for Chimbalanga and Monjeza, fearing the conservatives could attack them upon release. Malawi has faced criticism from the global community for the conviction and harsh sentencing of the gay couple. Announcing the pardon, the Malawi president said it was on "humanitarian grounds only." Mutharika made the announcement during a press conference with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Lilongwe, the capital.
Earlier in the week, the top U.N. AIDS official and the head of an international donor organization met Mutharika in Malawi and expressed concern that criminalizing homosexuality would keep a vulnerable group from seeking HIV/AIDS counseling and treatment.
Malawi is among 37 African countries with anti-gay laws. Earlier this month, two employees of a gay organization spent six days in jail in Zimbabwe on allegations of possessing indecent material and displaying a placard which insulted President Robert Mugabe.
The Zimbabwean president is an open critic of homosexuality. In Uganda, gays could get death penalty. Only South Africa recognizes gay rights but the gays are also not safe here.
