Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Malawi Couple found Guilty


Oh no! After all their struggles and drama, the Malawi will face prison time.

A judge has found a gay couple guilty of unnatural acts and gross indecency after a trial that has sparked worldwide condemnation of Malawi's laws on homosexuality.

Blantyre chief resident magistrate Nyakwawa Usiwa issued the ruling yesterday. The couple are facing up to 14 years in prison with hard labour after becoming the first gay couple in Malawi to publicly commit themselves to each other.

Steven Monjeza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, had been jailed since they were arrested on 27 December, the day they celebrated their engagement with a party that drew crowds of curious onlookers.

Chimbalanga, 20, and Monjeza, 26, took a historic step when they committed to marriage at a symbolic ceremony in the southern African state, where homosexuality is outlawed.

This is heartbreaking, y'all. I mean, we are denied the right to marry, but to face 14 years in prison? I can't imagine how I would feel.

Man... I hope they can stay strong through this.


source

6 comments:

Bob said...

Just plain sad.

Prince Todd said...

Honestly, I don't know what to say to this.
And the picture sickens me. All of those fools cheering.
The Malawi has BIGGER problems than two men having sex...

Unknown said...

This is heartbreaking, on so many levels. In a country rife with problems, the fact they would think to arrest and jail to people because they dare love it awful. The fact they allow the mob mentality to cheer the arrest, to not resist this injustice, well, scary. And to have a government willing to use this to diffuse attention away from more pressing issues & allow the people to be distracted by it all, well, is just terrifying. It is just such an environment that gave us 8 years of Bush[league] Presidency, and Cheney [of fools] for a VP. With misdirection, you can get them to smile at the fake bouquet as you shove the knife in their side, you know?

Allan S. said...

Truly horrendous. And, I'm sickened by the smiling faces in the back.

Anonymous said...

I can't even begin to express my heart-ache and disappointment at this injustice for simply LOVING someone.

I am disgusted at the nature of this vision of so-called "Justice" as well as the clergy of Christians who instigated this Bullshit to begin with.

>_<

SteveA said...

This is sad - I hope a miracle happens. They are strong and really an example...I mean so many people struggle with coming out, and when they do well some face loss, stress and even riducule....but not prison for "being in love".

This is injustice!

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Viktor is a small town southern boy living in Los Angeles. You can find him on Twitter, writing about pop culture, politics, and comics. He’s the creator of the graphic novel StrangeLore and currently getting back into screenwriting.