Malawian Gay Couple Pardoned
http://news.yahoo.com/s/oneworld/20100601/wl_oneworld/world3693721275386931
Laure Pichegru, Inter Press Service Laure Pichegru, inter Press Service – Tue Jun 1, 5:57 am ET
JOHANNESBURG, May 31 (IPS) - Five months and a day after their arrest, the gay Malawian couple who dared to publicly declare their union with a traditional engagement party were pardoned by the president and released without conditions.
Stephen Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga were found guilty and sentenced to the maximum sentence of 14 years with hard labour.
Speaking at the consecration of a Catholic bishop in April, President Bingu wa Mutharika had condemned the couple. "A man getting married to a fellow man is evil and bad before the eyes of God. There are certain things we Malawians just don’t do."
But on May 29, Mutharika announced the pardon shortly after a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. The U.N. was one of many international organisations that had urged Malawi to reconsider the sentencing and Moon praised the "courage" of the decision of the President of Malawi.
According to local media, the men were released several hours after the announcement and conducted to their respective homes.
Local and international activists have welcomed the pardon.
Gift Trapence, director of the Centre for Development of People (CEDEP), a local human rights organisation which works for the welfare of marginalised groups, told IPS, "We are happy that the President of Malawi took this decision and that he, as the head of the African Union, sent the message to the other African countries that all the people are equal, no matter what their sexual orientation is."
Clemency not justice
However the pardon changes nothing with regards to Malawi's penal code: homosexual acts remain illegal.
"There are other gay people who deserve their rights to be recognised," says Trapence. "It is time to look at how we can remove these laws."
Immediately following sentencing on May 20, the gay couple had instructed their lawyer to file an appeal to the High Court on constitutional grounds. Malawi's constitution guarantees freedom of conscience, privacy and expression which includes sexual orientation, in the opinion of human rights lawyer Chrispine Sibande.
"The gay suspects did not do anything wrong as long as they lived the without violating other people's rights," Sibande told IPS in January.
Article 20 of Malawi's Constitution states that "discrimination of persons in any form is prohibited and all persons are, under any law, guaranteed equal and effective protection against discrimination on grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, nationality, ethnic or social origin, disability, property, birth or other status".
Anthony Kamanga, Malawi's solicitor general and secretary for justice and constitutional affairs denies that the pardon was intended to avoid an appeal that could have overturned sections of the Penal Code.
"The President exercised clemency. It has nothing to do with blocking an appeal to the High Court."
Kamanga also denied the release of the couple had anything to do with pressure from international donors. "Our partners did raise concerns, but none of them did threaten to reduce aid on account of this matter, as far as I know."
For the moment CEDEP's Trapence is worried about the safety of the two men: "They are free, but now the major concern is about their security," he said.
"Their identity is known, so they cannot walk free on the streets because they could be physically attacked. Their lives are still in danger."
Malawi gay couple keep low profile after pardon
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100530/ap_on_re_af/af_malawi_gays_released
By RAPHAEL TENTHANI, Associated Press Writer Raphael Tenthani, Associated Press Writer – Sun May 30, 2:15 pm ET
BLANTYRE, Malawi – A gay couple from Malawi have kept out of the public eye after being pardoned and freed from prison, in what a relative said Sunday was a deliberate decision prompted by the conservative view of homosexuality in the southern African country.
Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza were released late Saturday, hours after President Bingu wa Mutharika pardoned them without condition. But in giving his pardon, which he said was on "humanitarian grounds only," Mutharika warned that homosexuality remains illegal in the conservative southern African country.
Activists said late Saturday that they were searching for a safe house for the couple, fearing they could be attacked upon release.
The couple's lawyer, Mauya Msuku, said he had not seen either of the men since their release.
Maxwell Manda also said he had not seen Chimbalanga, his brother-in-law, on Sunday. He told The Associated Press days earlier that Chimbalanga wanted to leave Malawi upon his release.
"We heard that they were released but we don't know where they are," he told The AP on Sunday. "They are neither at their home in (a Blantyre suburb) or their villages. But I know they are keeping a low profile deliberately because of the sensitivity of their case."
The two were not at their Blantyre home when an Associated Press reporter visited Sunday morning.
Malawi had faced international condemnation for the conviction and harsh sentence given to the two men, who were arrested in December, a day after celebrating their engagement.
Malawi is among 37 African countries with anti-gay laws, and strong attitudes against homosexuality.
After giving his pardon on A judge convicted and sentenced Chimbalanga and Monjeza earlier this month on charges of unnatural acts and gross indecency under colonial-era laws. Crowds of Malawians had heckled the two during court hearings, with some saying that 14 years at hard labor — the harshest possible sentence — was not long enough.
Their release was welcomed by the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, international rights groups and the White House.
In Washington, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs praised the move, urging an end to "the persecution and criminalization" of sexual orientation and gender identity.
