Gay rights activists gain mileage in fight over review of homosexuality laws

The high court sitting in Blantyre on Monday began hearing a petition by a leading rights group in the fight for the rights of homosexuals, CEDEP, seeking to obtain the review of jail sentences of three gays and to overturn laws that criminalise homosexuality.

“We want the court to declare the laws that criminalise homosexuality in Malawi unconstitutional,” Gift Trapence, director of the rights group, the Centre for Development of People (Cedep), said.

“We are also seeking a review of sentences passed by the courts to three men who are serving long jail terms for homosexual acts,” said Trapence.

In 2011, a magistrate court sentenced Amon Champyuni, Mathew Bello and Mussa Chiwisi to between six years and 12 years in jail with hard labour for unnatural acts and buggery offences.

“As long as same-sex relationships are consensual and done in private, no one has business to get bothered,” said Trapence.

The independent Malawi Law Society, which represents over 300 lawyers in the country, are backing the group in its legal tussle, he said. Hearing was adjourned to March 21.

The move by the Cedep comes five years after two other men, Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, were sentenced to 14 years of hard labour for sodomy.

The couple was released amid an international outcry.

Under the current laws which were unceremoniously suspended, men face up to 14 years in jail and women a maximum of five years for homosexual offences.

The court threw out an application by the office of the Attorney General which was seeking to bar the rights group from presenting the case before the courts arguing that they had to leave it in the hands of the convicted men.

The court’s dismissal of the application by the office of the Attorney General has been looked at as a milestone by the human rights activist who are fighting against the homosexual laws in the land.