Jacob Zuma South African President Jacob Zuma has condemned Malawi's sentencing of a gay couple to 14 years in jail. The Globe and Mail reports the statement from Zuma, a Zulu traditionalist, is believed to be the strongest from an African head of state against the anti-gay clampdown in Malawi. However he says he will not press the country to change its laws. A Malawi court last week sentenced a gay couple to 14 years each in jail for sodomy and indecency charges, a decision that human rights groups worldwide have slammed. "We have condemned the action taken to arrest people in terms of our constitution," Zuma said in response to questions in Parliament. "We need to persuade, we need to make people understand, we need to move with them. We have never adopted a confrontational stance on matters." Zuma is a polygamist with five wives and 19 children, some with women other than his wives. While homosexuality is illegal in most African nations, South Africa passed laws recognizing same-sex marriage in 2006.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 28th May 2010 - 2:00pm