Jailed gay couple get pardon from Malawi president

A GAY couple from Malawi arrested and sentenced to 14 years in prison after they threw a lavish engagement party were freed from prison hours after receiving a presidential pardon, prison officials said.

Prison Service spokesman Evance Phiri said Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza were released late Saturday, hours after President Bingu wa Mutharika pardoned them without condition.

“We were asked to release them immediately,” Mr Phiri said, adding they were released around 9.20pm local time.

It was not clear where the men went after their release. They were not at their Blantyre home yesterday. After Saturday’s pardon, activists were searching for a safe house for the couple, fearing they could be attacked.

Malawi had faced international condemnation for the conviction and harsh sentence given to the two men, who were arrested in December, a day after celebrating their engagement.

Malawi is among 37 African countries with anti-gay laws, and strong attitudes against homosexuality.

After giving his pardon on “humanitarian grounds only,” Mutharika stressed that homosexuality remains illegal in the conservative southern African country.

A judge convicted and sentenced Chimbalanga and Monjeza earlier this month on charges of unnatural acts and gross indecency under colonial-era laws.

Crowds of Malawians had heckled the two during court hearings, with some saying that 14 years at hard labour was not long enough. Their release was welcomed by the UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, international rights groups and the White House.