Malawi man arrested in midst of anti-homosexuality raid
by Nathan James
Published: February 16, 2010 in Blog
According to a story from MSNBC a man was arrested in Malawi on sodomy charges. Dave Chingwalu, a police spokesperson, said a 60 year-old-man was arrested after a complaint was received from a young man who alleged he was asked to undress and then sodomized by the man.
The spokesman says homosexuality investigations will continue to yield suspects and, “we will arrest them all.”
This is not the first time Malawi has drawn criticism according to MSNBC. The country came under fire when Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga were arrested when their engagement party drew a crowd of onlookers. Monjeza and Chimbalanga have been detained since Dec. 27. The couple told the Times Online, what their time behind bars has been like since their arrest. Monjeza states he was drunk when he met Chimbalanga and now wants to call their engagement off.
In an interview with The Times at the weekend, Mr Chimbalanga — visibly more at ease than Mr Monjeza, who appeared confused and disorientated — said: “I love my husband and laws should not prohibit love.”
Mr Monjeza said that he was drunk when they first met. But he admitted that he sobered up later. “I love the way he talked, the way he loved me.”
When it was suggested that he sounded apologetic and remorseful, however, he expressed his doubts about the wisdom of their historic confrontation with the conservative southern African state. “Well, I was drunk. I guess I wanted to be famous but I am now regretting. Prison life is no good. I realised we have broken the laws. I am calling this off. I am not crazy. I have another woman I intended to marry but I loved Tiwonge. I guess I should apologise to that other woman.”
Uganda will debate a law that can impose the death penalty on homosexuals who are labeled as, “repeat offenders.” Africa is in the middle of a terrifying game of human rights where the stakes are literally life or death.
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