Malawi church leaders meet on gay rights ahead of same sex trial verdict
By APWednesday, March 17, 2010
Malawi church leaders meet on gay rights
BLANTYRE, Malawi — Church leaders say they have met in this fiercely conservative southern African nation to “understand the phenomenon” of same sex partners days ahead of a court verdict that could send two gay men to jail for up to 14 years.
Bishop Joseph Bvumbwe, head of the Malawi Council of Churches, says the leaders gathered Wednesday in the southern town of Mangochi to discuss homosexuality as an issue “most Malawians do not understand.”
Blantyre magistrate Nyakwawa Usiwa-Usiwa is scheduled to deliver a verdict Monday on Steven Monjeza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, arrested and jailed since Dec. 26 after holding a public engagement ceremony.
Homosexuality is illegal in most sub-Saharan African countries. The arrests have outraged human rights groups and Western donors in Malawi, one of Africa’s poorest nations.
