Gay couple sentenced to maximum 14 years in Malawi

[snowdude 44]

From an article I just read on the net!!

I do not think these two deserved what they got!

 

BLANTYRE, Malawi – A judge sentenced a couple to the maximum 14 years in prison with hard labor under Malawi's anti-gay legislation, and crowds jeered the two men as they were driven from the court house to jail Thursday.

 

The harsh sentence for unnatural acts and gross indecency had been expected after the same judge convicted Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza earlier this week under laws dating from the colonial era. The case has drawn international condemnation, and sparked a debate on human rights in this conservative southern African country.

 

Chimbalanga, a 20-year-old hotel janitor, and his unemployed partner were arrested Dec. 27, the day after they celebrated their engagement with a party at the hotel where Chimbalanga worked — an apparent first in Malawi.

 

"Maximum sentences are intended for use for worst cases," Magistrate Nyakwawa Usiwa Usiwa said as he delivered his sentence. "We are sitting here to represent the Malawi society which I do not believe is ready at this point in time to see its sons getting married to other sons or conducting engagement ceremonies."

 

The lawyer for the two, Mauya Msuku, said they would appeal.

 

Chimbalanga remained composed as armed police officers handcuffed him to Monjeza.

 

"I am not worried," he told reporters as they were taken to a police vehicle.

 

Monjeza broke down upon hearing the ruling and was still sobbing as he was helped into the van.

 

Hundreds of onlookers inside and outside the court house showed little sympathy. There were shouts of "You got what you deserve!" and "Fourteen years is not enough, they should get 50!"

 

Michelle Kagari, deputy Africa director of Amnesty International called the sentence "an outrage."

 

Her rights watchdog has adopted Chimbalanga and Monjeza as prisoners of conscience, and would "continue to campaign on this matter and to work tirelessly to see that they are released unconditionally as soon as possible," Kagari told The Associated Press by telephone from her office in Kampala, Uganda.

 

Mark Heywood, director of the South Africa-based AIDS Law Project called the sentence "outrageous and a violation of human rights." He said activists should hold protests around the world against Malawi.

 

Malawi's government has been defiant in the face of international criticism over the couple's prosecution.

 

Betsy Chirambo, an adviser to President Bingu wa Mutharika, expressed concern over calls by some activists for the West to withdraw aid to Malawi because of the case. Up to 40 percent of Malawi's development budget comes from foreign donors.

 

"It is not our culture for a man to marry a man," Chirambo said this week. "That is not even in our constitution. Some of these rights are not good for our culture."

 

The government has been backed by religious leaders in the country who have equated homosexuality with Satanism.

 

But the debate also has emboldened some rights activists in the southern African country. The independent Centre for the Development of People was recently formed by Malawians to fight for the rights of homosexuals and other minorities.

 

Gift Trapence, executive director of the Centre for the Development of People, was at the court house Thursday and told reporters: "How can they get 14 years simply for loving one another? Even if they are jailed for 20 years you can't change their sexuality."

 

Gay people forced underground in Africa are unlikely to seek counseling and treatment for AIDS, activists say. In Malawi, nearly 1 million people — an estimated 12 percent of the population — are living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

 

Homosexuality is illegal in at least 37 countries in Africa including Malawi. In Uganda, lawmakers are considering a bill under which homosexuals could be sentenced to life in prison and "repeat offenders" could be executed. Even in South Africa, the only African country that recognizes gay rights, gangs have raped lesbians.

[Mantas 3]

No surprises there.

 

We take our civil liberties for granted here in the west. That's for sure.

In Nigeria some children are denounced as witches, driven out of the family home and tortured. A practice widely supported by church organizations.

In West Africa, some parents sell their own children into slavery on banana plantations.

The war in the Congo has seen casualties second only to the last world war.

Tribal warfare is rife in many countries, women and children are slaughtered (usually with machetes) nearly as often as the soldiers. They discern little difference between the two.

Africa has the worlds highest AIDS population, largely spread by traveling truck drivers and prostitutes.

 

How can these countries ever improve their lot when this is the level of compassion that they hold for each other?

[Go Native 70]

Let's face it Africa is just well and truly **** up. I for one have little inclination to ever set foot on that continent.

[Mantas 3]

I really enjoyed my time in Africa and I'd definitely go back given the chance, though I only visited it's more 'civilized' parts. My brother however, traversed the entire continent north to south. He has a few stories.

[Go Native 70]

Bugger all snow there, can't see the attraction myself.

[mitchpee 10]

Originally Posted By: Go Native

Let's face it Africa is just well and truly **** up. I for one have little inclination to ever set foot on that continent.

GN as I see it, I have met a lot of great people from Africa. Some so interested in the power of learning that they would give anything to help their people. I truly can't believe Africa is hopeless. Let us not forget who helped foul up that region even worse than anything. It rhymes with preat pritton.

[Mantas 3]

Drawing a long bow there MP. They haven't had a say in African affairs for the best part of 40 years.

[mitchpee 10]

Originally Posted By: Mantas

Drawing a long bow there MP. They haven't had a say in African affairs for the best part of 40 years.

I understand, but colonialism has had one of the worst impacts on Africa that has ever been seen in geopolitics. 40 years maybe, but the effects are still being seen. Sudan? There would have never been a civil war had their been no British division of states.

I don't mean to say only Great Britain also. That would be absurd. The French in Algeria, Italians in Somalia, every major country has messed up somewhere in the lineup. The blame can't just go to them of course. Africans need to take responsibility at some point, like social norms indoctrinated with religious and cultural traps.

[RobBright 35]

Of course, with their being different racial tribes within one country, causing great rifts without the help of GB isn't an issue either is it?

 

Or in Zimbabwe with the massive amounts of corruption which GB didn't introduce?

 

Or the crazy Islamic laws in Somalia which GB didn't introduce either did it?

 

Oh and Sudan was also controlled by Egypt to wasn't it?

 

Colonialism did have a positive impact as well. Look at Zimbabwe before Mugabe came in, it was the main food producer in Africa, and now it's been crippled with debt, brought on by the current government and their crazy mad redistribution of land.

[RobBright 35]

It annoys me when people lay the problems in Africa down to colonialism.

 

Have never heard thank you from Americans for colonising that country have we?

 

Or Australia neither?

[panhead_pete 27]

If it had of been two girls arrested I would have been outraged, cant have enough of that.....

[Go Native 70]

If anything I think colonialism was good for Africa. We can see today what happens when they're left to look after themselves...

[Mantas 3]

I went to South Africa and Zimbabwe in 1995. It was the year after apartheid ended. Things were really stable and people were enjoying relative prosperity, compared to other African nations.

Now it's a total s@#t fight. No one is prospering now.

[snowdude 44]

Africa sure is messed up, at the end of the day these customs / rules or however we should put it were created by the so called leasders of the African countries, not from outside influences.

[mitchpee 10]

Originally Posted By: Go Native

If anything I think colonialism was good for Africa. We can see today what happens when they're left to look after themselves...

If we never had colonialism, our countries would not be nearly what they are today. Hell, look alone at the US economy. Slavery was the reigning economic force for hundreds of years. Without all that produced food from free, where would we be in terms of technological improvement? I can safely say the country would be much different.

Rob, like I said, I didn't want to put all the blame on GB. Tribal sects do play a role and in some areas like you mentioned South Africa, there is a reversed outcome.

However, Sudan like you mentioned was completely fouled up by the British and oil. Still to this day BP has some great say in where oil is found, who extracts, and who gets the profit.

Colonialism has its goods and bads definitely, but imperialism is what I am really talking about here. The extracting of resources from one area and little compensation to none for the other. Let us not forget where the great libraries and teachers to Romans and Greeks were. Also the fertile Nile which provided some of the most geometrical advances ever in history. Why did that all stop at the introduction of Europeans?

[RobBright 35]

Originally Posted By: MitchPee

However, Sudan like you mentioned was completely fouled up by the British and oil. Still to this day BP has some great say in where oil is found, who extracts, and who gets the profit.

Completely fouled up? You don't seem to be remembering history correctly. Sudan was controlled by a British/Egyptian rule, which was more Egyptian rule for hundreds of years.

Darfur was caused by a massive Arab conflict against non-Arabs, essentially ethnic cleansing. The governments have been overthrown repeatedly through their own armies. Even their recent PM, is essentially a dictator - banning other political parties, rigging elections amongst other things.

While there is plenty of oil to be resourced, some sources quote around 7 mil. barrels, the biggest exporters are ExxonMobil, Shell and China Petroleum. Where is BP in that?

Quote:

Also the fertile Nile which provided some of the most geometrical advances ever in history. Why did that all stop at the introduction of Europeans?

Such as?

[mitchpee 10]

Sorry I meant shell not BP.

 

I am not referring to Darfur. I am talking about how the British grouped the territory and divided it. IE the civil war that destroyed that country for 2 decades. This was strictly because of the way the British divided the country and the greed of external oil. The blame can be put on Africans too because of their underlying identity with religion. Southerners were Christian and Northerners were Muslim. So not all blame could have been placed, but had their been a north and south Sudan, we wouldn't have seen the conflict explode the way it did.

 

The problem is and what causes this perpetual state of chaos and poverty directly correlates with the way everything in Africa was handled.

 

Want a specific example again? Rwanda. The Belgians classed people into two forms of ethnicity. When they left, the oppressive power took over and BAM in 5 years the country became so divided probably because of idolization and like I said oppression.

[Tubby Beaver 209]

Originally Posted By: MitchPee

Originally Posted By: Go Native

Let's face it Africa is just well and truly **** up. I for one have little inclination to ever set foot on that continent.

GN as I see it, I have met a lot of great people from Africa. Some so interested in the power of learning that they would give anything to help their people. I truly can't believe Africa is hopeless. Let us not forget who helped foul up that region even worse than anything. It rhymes with preat pritton.

while the UK did play its part in the destruction of tribal Africa, we wern't the only ones. In fact you could look a little closer to home and find that people were still being Kidnapped, chained and shipped over to help out good ole' Uncle Sam in the 1800's. America continued to have black slaves for many years after the slave trade was outlawed by Britain and the European powers. Britain was not the only colonial power in Africa, France, Germany, Portugal, Italy and the Netherlands all had colonies there

[Mantas 3]

Originally Posted By: MitchPee

Want a specific example again? Rwanda. The Belgians classed people into two forms of ethnicity. When they left, the oppressive power took over and BAM in 5 years the country became so divided probably because of idolization and like I said oppression.

We have ethnic tension here too, always have, always will. The fundamental difference is in how we handle them. Like the individuals' decision to go over to their ethnic rivals village and hack the childrens' limbs off.

[mitchpee 10]

Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver

Originally Posted By: MitchPee

Originally Posted By: Go Native

Let's face it Africa is just well and truly **** up. I for one have little inclination to ever set foot on that continent.

GN as I see it, I have met a lot of great people from Africa. Some so interested in the power of learning that they would give anything to help their people. I truly can't believe Africa is hopeless. Let us not forget who helped foul up that region even worse than anything. It rhymes with preat pritton.

while the UK did play its part in the destruction of tribal Africa, we wern't the only ones. In fact you could look a little closer to home and find that people were still being Kidnapped, chained and shipped over to help out good ole' Uncle Sam in the 1800's. America continued to have black slaves for many years after the slave trade was outlawed by Britain and the European powers. Britain was not the only colonial power in Africa, France, Germany, Portugal, Italy and the Netherlands all had colonies there

In my other posts I make clear mention of the US and other European countries being equally as guilty TB, don't worry I have no bias in saying it was one particular country.

[thursday 1]

queers. 14 years is lenient.

[Tubby Beaver 209]

yeah I know Mitch...I didn't read all the thread before I replied....my thunder was stolen!

[RobBright 35]

Originally Posted By: MitchPee

Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver

Originally Posted By: MitchPee

Let's face it Africa is just well and truly **** up. I for one have little inclination to ever set foot on that continent.

GN as I see it, I have met a lot of great people from Africa. Some so interested in the power of learning that they would give anything to help their people. I truly can't believe Africa is hopeless. Let us not forget who helped foul up that region even worse than anything. It rhymes with preat pritton.

while the UK did play its part in the destruction of tribal Africa, we wern't the only ones. In fact you could look a little closer to home and find that people were still being Kidnapped, chained and shipped over to help out good ole' Uncle Sam in the 1800's. America continued to have black slaves for many years after the slave trade was outlawed by Britain and the European powers. Britain was not the only colonial power in Africa, France, Germany, Portugal, Italy and the Netherlands all had colonies there

In my other posts I make clear mention of the US and other European countries being equally as guilty TB, don't worry I have no bias in saying it was one particular country.

Clearly you do in regards to Sudan as you keep reiterating that Team GB fouled it up.

Yet you keep neglecting to mention how the Egyptians, Africans themselves played their part too. Also Shell is a Dutch/British company.

[bobby12 0]

Gay sex is a victimless crime, 14 years is crazy.

[mitchpee 10]

Originally Posted By: RobBright

Originally Posted By: MitchPee

Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver

Let's face it Africa is just well and truly **** up. I for one have little inclination to ever set foot on that continent.

GN as I see it, I have met a lot of great people from Africa. Some so interested in the power of learning that they would give anything to help their people. I truly can't believe Africa is hopeless. Let us not forget who helped foul up that region even worse than anything. It rhymes with preat pritton.

while the UK did play its part in the destruction of tribal Africa, we wern't the only ones. In fact you could look a little closer to home and find that people were still being Kidnapped, chained and shipped over to help out good ole' Uncle Sam in the 1800's. America continued to have black slaves for many years after the slave trade was outlawed by Britain and the European powers. Britain was not the only colonial power in Africa, France, Germany, Portugal, Italy and the Netherlands all had colonies there

In my other posts I make clear mention of the US and other European countries being equally as guilty TB, don't worry I have no bias in saying it was one particular country.

Clearly you do in regards to Sudan as you keep reiterating that Team GB fouled it up.

Yet you keep neglecting to mention how the Egyptians, Africans themselves played their part too. Also Shell is a Dutch/British company.

I am talking about the Civil War in Sudan. British boarder drawing was the result for that. A quick snyopsis:

The British mixed a strong Arabic north and Christian south. Horrible idea from the start and they aren't quite "culturally sensitive". So because oil was found in the North, the region of Khartoum and northward reaped all the benefits and allocated nothing to the south. When there were larger reserves found in the south, they did the same and didn't allocate to the north. The north then invaded the south and thus the civil war I am talking about happened.

I am not referring to Darfur and how other countries flood weapons into Sudan which has helped contribute to the downfall of the country. I am talking purely about the lines Britain drew and how they grouped the country completely mismatched. Much like with the Hutu and Tutsi. Again, other factors and countries have messed up Sudan but for the Civil War that was predominantly GB's fault.