INTERNATIONAL SECULAR NEWS

Malawi witnesses first gay wedding

Monday, 28 December 2009

Two gay men in Malawi held the first ever public wedding on Saturday 26 December . The two - Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza - made history when they publicly announced that there were a couple at a reception held at Makhoma lodge in the outskirts of the city of Blantyre.

The duo clad in traditional attire were the centre of attraction to hundreds of Malawians that wanted to witness the first couple to defy Malawian conservative laws that make homosexuality illegal. Tiwonge the bride who works at the lodge said she was very excited that she was getting into the matrimonial tie with Steven who she has been sharing a house with the past five months.

The wedding then went emotional when some patrons started to ridicule the two people that they regarded as ‘abnormal’ in the Malawian conservative way of thinking.

Tiwonge said in an interview that she had spent a lot of money for the engagement and was very worried that people were ridiculing them. Steven said he realized that he was gay when he had met Tiwonge at a church they congregate together some seven months ago. He said he previously never had interest in women.

Homosexuality is frowned upon in the southern African country and carries a maximum of 14 years imprisonment. However, Principal Secretary for Nutrition HIV and AIDS in Malawi Dr Mary Shawa recently said there was need to include homosexuals in the national HIV and AIDS response programs just as they include prostitutes that are also not illegal in Malawi.

The two men were arrested and charged with public indecency on Tuesday 29 December. Police said: "We arrested them last night at their home and charged them with gross public indecency because the practice is against the law," said police spokesman, Dave Chingwalu. He said the two men were likely to face further charges and would be held until further investigations have taken place.

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This page was last updated on Monday, 18 August 2008