Discrimination against homosexuals in Malawi: lessons from the recent developments

Abstract

On 18 May 2010 a Malawian resident chief magistrate, Nyakwawa Usiwa-Usiwa, convicted two males, Mr Steven Monjeza Soko and Mr Tionge Chimbalanga Kachera, of buggery and gross indecency after evidence was adduced that they had been living together before and after their ‘marriage/engagement’ as husband and wife. On 20 May 2010, the same magistrate sentenced both offenders to 14 years’ imprisonment, the maximum sentence provided for under the Penal Code Act for the above offences. The magistrate held that he imposed a severe sentence to protect the Malawian public from other people ‘who may be tempted to emulate’ the ‘horrendous’ example of the two men. This article paints the picture of the views of senior government officials and religious leaders in Malawi on the issue of homosexuality, highlights constitutional provision relating to marriage in Malawi, gives the facts of the case and argues that the manner in which the case was handled shows that magistrate, the prosecution and in some cases the defence were homophobic. It is also argued that the manner in which one of the offenders was treated by the Malawian society – when he was forced to undress several times for people to ‘verify’ whether he was a woman – was contrary to the Constitution of Malawi and its international human rights obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.