Tiwonge Chimbalanga, one half of the Malawian queer couple that was sentenced to 14 years in prison and then released, is seeking asylum in Canada, reports the Panafrican News Agency:

'Yes, Tiwonge will be going to Canada to settle,' Maxwell Manda, a cousin of Chimbalanga, told PANA in an exclusive interview Thursday, adding 'he is just finalizing travel documents.'

PANA reports that the news was also confirmed by an activist at Malawi's Centre for the Development of People.

Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza were arrested in December 2009 after they held a symbolic engagement ceremony. They were charged under the country's sodomy and indecency laws, and they were sentenced to 14 years in prison with hard labour. 

Following international pressure, Malawi's president reluctantly pardoned the couple. Chimbalanga and Monjeza split shortly after their release. 

The Dec 28, 2009 issue of Malawian newspaper The Nation. Pictured: Monjeza (left) and Chimbalanga (right).

 

(Note: Most media reports, including the PANA story linked above, continue to refer to the couple as "gay" and "two men." In an interview with the The Times, Chimbalanga, dressed in a blouse, told a reporter: "I am a woman." South Africa's Gender DynamiX has more.)

 

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After a meeting with the UN Secretary General on Saturday, Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika has ordered the release of a queer couple jailed under the country's sodomy and indecency laws.

The president said the couple committed "a crime against our culture, our religion and our laws." More from the UK Telegraph:

"However, as the head of state I hereby pardon them and therefore ask for their immediate release with no conditions."

He added: "I have done this on humanitarian grounds but this does not mean that I support this."

On May 20, a judge in Malawi sentenced Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga to 14 years in prison with hard labour. The two were arrested in December 2009 after they held a symbolic engagement ceremony. Monjeza and Chimbalanga were convicted of "unnatural acts" and "gross indecency." 

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• Harper's Malawi G20 meeting is a 'minimum', say opposition MPs
• Malawian couple sentenced to 14 years in prison 

Two Malawi gay men have been sentenced to 14 years in prison with hard labour, after being convicted of "gross indecency" and "unnatural acts."

The BBC has more on today's sentencing:

"Handing down sentence in the commercial capital, Blantyre, Judge Nyakwawa Usiwa-Usiwa told the pair: '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.'" (read more at the BBC)

Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga were arrested in December 2009 after they held a symbolic engagement ceremony. 

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission says the ruling "is part of a broader pattern of mounting pressure and persecution on LGBT people by authorities in Malawi." Read more:

"This persecution has come from the highest levels of government. On April 23rd, President Bingu wa Mutharika reportedly denounced homosexuality as 'un-Malawian,' 'evil' and 'disgusting' and linked it to corruption, violence, theft and prostitution. Days later, on April 26th and again on the 27th, police appeared at a conference on the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) populations in HIV/AIDS programming. Police demanded the names of conference organizers, seized copies of the conference program, and inquired about specific individuals believed to be in attendance. Police refused to present a warrant or justification for the intimidation."

Amnesty International has repeatedly called for the immediate and unconditional release of the two men, who have been held in custody since their arrest in December.

"Criminalization of individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity is banned under treaties ratified by Malawi, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights," says an Amnesty press release.

  

Read more on Xtra.ca:

• Judge delays verdict in Malawian gay couple's case
• 'We only have two gays in Malawi': authorities
• Malawi won't back down on charges against gay couple
• Lawyers for gay Malawian men challenge ban on homosexuality
• Xtra reports from inside Uganda 

 

Michaëlle Jean, Canada's Governor General, is currently on a series of state visits to the sub-Saharan African countries of Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Cape Verde.

“I wanted to visit central Africa to encourage the efforts to bring peace to the region, to rebuild and to restore the ties of trust and the rule of law,” Jean said in a press release.

Sub-Saharan Africa has recently been in the news for a proposed anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda, arrests of gay men in Kenya and Malawi and for a recent US State Department human rights report on Zimbabwe, which detailed the practice of “corrective rape” being perpetrated against gays and lesbians. Last year, nine gay men were given eight-year prison sentences in Senegal for "indecent acts."

Jean’s office would not confirm the content of any of her speeches during the tour, but according to the itinerary, Jean will be addressing the topic of sexual violence during a stop in Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tues, April 20th. There, Jean will visit the HEAL Africa hospital, which receives funds from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). The visit will be followed up by a roundtable discussion on sexual violence, something especially relevant to the country, which has been through a major civil war.

Jean’s stop in Kigali, Rwanda, the following day will also include a youth discussion on reconciliation and has the topic of human rights listed on the agenda.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has previously condemned the anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda and raised the issue with the country’s president.


 

Two Malawian gay men arrested in December expected to hear a verdict in their case today, but the judge delayed his ruling and agreed to allow the defence to call witnesses, according to reports. 

From News24.com:

"Riot police escorted Steven Monjeza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, in handcuffs into the small courtroom, which was packed with gay activists, journalists and diplomats. Police pushed back a crowd of about 50 other people outside the court clamouring to get inside." (read more)

The case is expected to proceed in April, reports the BBC.

Monjeza and Chimbalanga held a symbolic engagement ceremony on Dec 26, 2009 and were arrested soon after. The two men were charged with "unnatural practices between males and gross public indecency," and they face up to 14 years in prison. The men have been held in custody since their arrest. 

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) is calling for the release of the couple, and the repeal of Malawi's laws against homosexuality. The IGLHRC says the arrests, prolonged and arbitrary pre-trial detention, and the subsequent mistreatment of Monjeza and Chimbalanga while incarcerated — including being subjected to forced anal examinations to "confirm" sodomy charges — violate their rights under the Malawian Constitution.  

"This ruling is the most recent in a line of deeply troubling decisions and actions by the Malawian authorities in this case, including the decision to deny bail to Steven and Tiwonge, claiming that their continued incarceration is for their own safety," says the IGLHRC's Southern Africa Program staffer Chivuli Ukwimi.

 

Read more on Xtra.ca:

• Xtra reports from inside Uganda
• 'We only have two gays in Malawi': authorities
• Malawi won't back down on charges against gay couple
• Lawyers for gay Malawian men challenge ban on homosexuality