A Malawi gay couple was sentenced to 14 years in jail today after being found guilty of sodomy and indecency earlier this week in a trial viewed as a test case for gay rights in the country.
The couple, Steven Monjeza (26) and Tiwonge Chimbalanga (20), were arrested after they got engaged in a traditional ceremony in late December.
"I sentence these two ... to a maximum sentence because I want us to stop Malawian sons and daughters from copying the same sex marriages which are un-Malawian and not in our culture and religious beliefs," chief resident magistrate Nyakwawa Uisiwausiwa said.
"This is the first case of its kind in Malawi ... this is the worst case of its kind," he added.
Dozens of people packed the court to hear the sentencing. Police closed roads around the building and a nearby bank was closed as more than a thousand people descended on the court.
Mr Tiwonge was calm as the judge pronounced the sentence, which includes hard labour, but Mr Monjeza was visibly shaking at the prospect of going to jail. Police whisked the two away in armed vehicles shortly after the sentencing.
Minister of State for Overseas Development Peter Power said he had been following this case very closely through Ireland's embassy in Malawi and, along with EU partners, had "regularly emphasised to the authorities our serious concern about this case".
“Now that the two men have been sentenced, we are working with our partners for a strong EU response. On Ireland’s part, as friends and partners of Malawi, which is one of the priority countries for our bilateral assistance, I want to emphasise our very serious concern and disappointment at the severe sentence imposed on the two men on the basis of their sexual orientation."
Mr Power said the sentence was "entirely disproportionate and against international human rights principles".
"With our EU partners, we are calling on the Government of Malawi to fulfil its commitments to the protection of the human rights of all individuals, irrespective of their sexual orientation."
Rights group Amnesty International on Tuesday called for the immediate and unconditional release of the couple, saying their human rights have been flagrantly violated.
Homosexuality in Africa has become a contentious issue in recent months after a Ugandan lawmaker proposed a bill including the death penalty for some acts, the arrest of the Malawian couple, and a police raid on a gay wedding in Kenya earlier this year.
Reuters