Malawi gay couple jailed

A MALAWI gay couple was sentenced to 14 years each in jail after being found guilty of sodomy and indecency earlier this week in a trial viewed as a test case for gay rights in the country.

The couple, Steven Monjeza, 26, and 20-year-old Tiwonge Chimbalanga, were arrested after they got engaged in a traditional ceremony in late December.

“I sentence these two... to a maximum sentence because I want us to stop Malawian sons and daughters from copying the same sex marriages which are un-Malawian and not in our culture and religious beliefs,” chief resident magistrate Nyakwawa Uisiwausiwa said.