Steven Monjeza (L) and Tiwonge Chimbalanga sit in a pick-up
truck before appearing at a magistrate court in Blantyre Jan 4, 2010.
"I love Steven so much. If people or the world cannot give me
the chance and freedom to continue living with him as my lover,
then I am better off to die here in prison. Freedom without him is
useless and meaningless." – Chimbalanga, 20, wrote in a statement
released through human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell.
A judge in Malawi has sentenced Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga to 14 years in prison with hard labour after they were convicted of gross indecency and unnatural acts on May 18 under British colonial-era laws that remain in Malawi's penal code.
"I will give you a scaring sentence so that the public be protected from people like you, so that we are not tempted to emulate this horrendous example," said Judge Nyakwawa Usiwa-Usiwa in the commercial capital, Blantyre, reported the BBC.
Monjeza, 26, and Chimbalanga, 20, have been in jail since their arrest in December 2009 after holding a symbolic ceremony which attracted onlookers. They were arrested two days later and detained in harsh conditions. Homosexuality in the conservative southern African country is outlawed and remains deeply taboo.
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) reported that following their arrest Chimbalanga was forced to undergo an involuntary anal examination and both were forced to undergo an involuntary psychiatric evaluation.
Their arrest has sparked a debate about homosexuality in the country and condemnation from activists in Malawi and around the world.
Prominent British human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell wrote wrote on his website: "The conviction by a Malawian court of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga on charges of homosexuality is the latest example of how, more than four decades after most African nations won their independence, the evils of colonialism continue to wreck lives.
"The two men face up to 14 years jail under laws that were imposed on the people of Malawi by the British colonisers in the nineteenth century. Before the British came and conquered Malawi, there were no laws against homosexuality. These laws are a foreign imposition. They are not African at all. Despite independence, these alien criminalisations were never repealed.
"Today, the minds of many Malawians – and other Africans – remain colonised by the homophobic beliefs that were drummed into their forebears by the western missionaries who invaded their lands alongside the conquering imperial armies. The missionaries preached a harsh, intolerant Christianity, which has been so successfully internalised by many Africans that they now claim homophobia as their own culture and tradition."
Sixty-seven members of the British Parliament have signed a motion condemning the prosecution and the international human rights group Amnesty International adopted the couple as prisoners of conscience.
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Reader's Comments
who would go there!
i always boycott countries like that and only visit gay friendly places!
thank goodness i live in Canada where reason and rationality prevail for gay people to live peacefully integrated in society.!
Wherever there are thugs and religious bigots ,and no rule of law, this kind of terrorism and injustice can happen. I ' pray' they will survive to live in a better world...How can we all help ?
These guys were not only burnt alive but they were also ridiculed, humiliated, laughed at.
This is the kind of world we live in, and if you're not sure, just look at the faces of the onlookers on the pic that goes with article, see how they laugh and enjoy the sight of these two guys in their handcuffs.
Comment #1 you call Malawi an uncivilised country ? don't you realize that they're using a law which was forced down their throat, implemented throughout the British Empire by the Victorians who undoubtedly considered themselves the highest civilisation of all times ?
In case you didn't know, the word "fag" or "faggot" refers to the faggots of wood that were used to burn gays on the stakes IN ENGLAND.
The Victorian "civilisation" also left a deep mark in your own Canadian constitution, laws, habbits and most of all in your mental/emotional conditioning. One of them is the tendency to think that whites are a superior race who can judge others and decide what is good or bad for them, what is civilized or uncivilized.
Please read again this remarkable paragraph in the article :
"Today, the minds of many Malawians – and other Africans – remain colonised by the homophobic beliefs that were drummed into their forebears by the western missionaries who invaded their lands alongside the conquering imperial armies. The missionaries preached a harsh, intolerant Christianity, which has been so successfully internalised by many Africans that they now claim homophobia as their own culture and tradition."
I can't think of a better or clearer way to phrase the problem. Can you, Mr Ronmac-the-oh-so-civilized-Canadian ?
xoxoxoxo
Is it, by any chance, the religion that inspired the missionaries who inspired the homophobia which inspired the law which is now sending those 2 men to jail for loving eachother and daring to say it publicly ?
its necessary politicians pressurize Africa to modernize, the cause is extremist religion and all the problems they cause by surpressing people in the name holy causes, therefore always feel legitimate to cover up there own phobia
Every time I read you I'm amazed at how far self loathing can go and just when I think you've reached the bottom you always manage to sink a bit further below.
Your comment on this particular topic stinks -as usual - of integrated homophobia of the exact kind described in the article and added to it this time is a particularly revolting brand of disguised post-colonialism.
What do I mean ? I mean that obviously it doesn't occur to you that those two African guys may have a brain and opinions of their own. No, whatever they do can only be the result of their being "encouraged" by "those tawdry advocates in the western 'queering lobby'". The condescendance, the implied superiority in your comment is simply revolting. Who the fcuk do you think you are and where are you talking from ?
You're talking from comfortable AUSTRALIA, that's where you're talking from therefore in case you haven't noticed you ARE one of the "idiot western homosexuals" you mention, and all the more idiotic for hating youself to such a pathetic extent.
You are obviously a member of the very popular "save your ass" club and you don't think any cause is worth fighting for, right ? You don't believe that some principles are universal, right ? apparently, by your standards, some principles are ok for westerners but too high for non-westerners to espouse. Those gollywogs in South Africa should just keep a low profile and not try to imitate their white masters in their fight for human rights or whatever rights... right ?
My father died fighting the militia of Ceaucescu, he was tortured and killed because of his conviction that human rights are universal. He was not a member of the western aristocracy to which you obviously think you belong but he fought and he died, and because of people like him, Romania changed for ever. Now it's a pathetic democracy just like the one you live in, a pathetic democracy of the kind which allows you to have the revolting opinions you keep coming up with again and again. A democracy ie "the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time" (Sir Winston Churchill)...
If you hate gays and westerners that much, why don't you join the Taliban and Al Quaeda ? They hate gays, they hate westerners too and they practise language hyperbole just like you do. Give us a break, and I'm begging my friends here on Fridae to join me here in telling you that we've had ENOUGH of your anti gay RACISM, your CONDESCENDANCE and your pathetic rantings. Get lost !
Some people live in places like Malawi. Some gay people live in those places. Ignoring the fact by keeping our (tourist) business away does not resolve terrible problems those people experience.
The solution would be to demand of out MPs and our govts to do something to make Malawi judicial system to free these people right away and to stop behaving like a state-sponsored terrorist group.
has a contact box for messages to the tourist people.
They are funded in part by Canadian presbyterians. There s a web site for comments.
"aztlan" sounds like the name of some distant galaxy.... personnally that's how close I feel to that particular member and it sure wouldn't bother me if this ET left fridae for good and went home with his belongings, fears, hates, judgments, and went venting them in outer space rather than here.
Oh, and "dominantserb" i soooo agree with you and i'm sooooooo tired of reading the usual "let's boycott that country" every time there's an article relating a homophobic event somewhere in the world. Maybe most of those eager boycotters are just would-be sex tourists anyway, and in that case, please guys, stay home and boycott away !
First, on the legal front, we need to groom more lawyers in the LGBT community. This is so because legal training put people in a better position than most to influence their respective countries as politicians, lawyers, judges, and human rights activists. Although many ex-British colonies have not repealed sodomy laws, they have retained the British parliamentary system in which members of parliaments have the right to make or change laws. As long as we can groom more LGBT lawyers and human rights activists, the community's rights would be better protected through these representatives.
Secondly, the LGBT community must be empowered with education on a massive scale. We can economically utilise the internet to deliver education to those who have access to it. Many gays, from what I have observed, have turned to the internet to stay informed and network with other LGBT because their cultural environment is conservative. This turns out to be a strength shared among the LGBT.
Thirdly, we need more events that are non-political and family- and -love oriented such as the Pinkdot. If we hold too many political, vocal events like gay prides in conservative societies, we may backfire and anatagonise the still-conservative majority. The success of Pinkdot is proven. While demanding openly for the repeal of 377a and holding Nation parties in Sentosa backfired and invited harsh criticism from both the conservative camp and the government, Pinkdot is still well-received. As we move on, we learn from experience what works and what doesn't. The empirical experience we have had so far clearly points to the fact that Pinkdot does work. But of course for very conservative societies, events like Pinkdot may not be possible. What they could start with is a small self-help group of family members of LGBT who accept their LGBT family members.
Lastly, we have to fight the cyber war with the anti-gay camp who have been spreading untruths to cultivate fear in the society at large for the LGBT community. We may borrow powerful tools from the scientific community. The mainstream psychologists', psychiatrists', physicians' and counsellors' views are that:
1- Homosexuality is not a mental disorder;
2- Teaching Comprehensive Sex Education in schools to teenagers do NOT turn them gay, encourage them to have sex more often and younger, and increase HIV incidents;
3- Reparative therapies (claiming to turn gays straight) do NOT work;
4- Forcing gays to 'turn straight' and condemning them only make them worse off;
5- Stigma and discrimination against Men who have sex with Men (MSM) are the biggest enemy in fight against HIV spread among MSM;
6- anti-gay laws like 377a worsen stigma and discrimination against gays;
7- Repeal of 377a does not cause straight people to 'turn gay' or birth rates to fall.
A multinational LGBT effort could be gradually developed to realise the above 4 broad strategies. An online education hub could be created to help the least educated acquire basic qualifications, proficiency in English and IT literacy. Scholarships or education loans to read laws or counselling/psychologists could also be awarded to the most gifted gays and gay activists. Since teachers and journalists are among the most influential persons in our society, talks about point #4 substantiated with facts and research papers would also be given to professional societies of these professionals. Teachers and journalists should be educated to be more sensitive whenever they are commenting/reporting on gay-related issues.
Part of the stain of human nature is its tendency to terrorize any minority or attack any perceived difference. This is just another example, and it's appalling.
I don't know what to say... should I be amazed at their bravery and determination to be willing to go through a ceremony to further cement their bond together, or their foolhardiness to fly dangerously in the face of an oppressive regiment.
14 years is too long even for a year. Can we do anything abt it so tyhat future gay couples would have go through this ordeal.
The gay community needs to get together to do some brainstorming on how to influence people and governments in this matter of homophobia; on how to undo deeply embedded prejudices and wrong beliefs. There's a deep emotional component to this evil, which may not be possible to overcome with mere logic and reasoning. What do you do when people don't even want to listen to what you say, let alone refuse to accept it? We need to arrive at new and more powerful thinking and reasoning tools appropriate for the job.
I wish I'd said what you just wrote, so true and in just enough words (i tend to more long-winded i'm afraid... sorry guys!) so mister, you're my hero of the day !
....and edsmale #25 thanks for your support.
Mr Mutharika, speaking as UN chief Ban Ki-moon visited Lilongwe, said he had ordered their immediate release.
Report on BBC
Even if we did not have any influence we can celebrate this victory of reason over prejudice.
I will try to get a thank you message to President Bingu wa Mutharika. I won't send my picture.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37414379/ns/world_news-africa/
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