Two men jailed in Malawi after publicly declaring their love for one another have been sent to separate prisons, which are more than 60 kilometres apart. Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga Steven Monjeza, 26, and his partner, 20-year-old Tiwonge Chimbalanga, were last week convicted of 'gross indecency and unnatural acts' and sentenced to the maximum 14 years with hard labour. The Guardian reports Monjeza has been sent to the 1938-built maximum security prison in Zomba, while Chimbalanga remains at Chichiri prison in the commercial capital, Blantyre. Both jails are said to be notorious for overcrowding and inhumane conditions. Activist and friend of the couple George Thindwa says the pair's morale is down, because they can no longer encourage each other. He says his organisation will visit Monjeza and Chimbalanga soon to "give them morale and provisions". Work is underway on an appeal of the sentences. UNAIDS boss Michel Sidibe and the head of the Global Fund against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, Michel Kazatchkine have discussed the case during talks with Malawi's president Bingu wa Mutharika. During the course of the trial, Malawi's Mutharika called homosexuality "evil and very bad before the eyes of God". In a statement following the meeting with the president, Kazatchkine said criminalising sexual behaviour drives people who engage in same-sex relations underground and hampers HIV-related programmes aimed at addressing their needs. Siidibe said evidence from several countries in Africa shows a significant number of new HIV infections occurring among sex workers, people who use drugs and men who have sex with men. "Opening a societal dialogue on these sensitive and critical issues is the only way to guarantee access to health services and restore dignity to all.” They say the president said he is confident the cultural, religious and legal dimensions of the debate generated around the case will ‘lead to a positive outcome'.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 27th May 2010 - 8:54am