Uganda President explains law on same sex, as Malawi courts are asked to scrap them

 “Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable. ²³Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion. ²⁴Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled.” –– Leviticus 18:22-24

In his 2023 State of the Nation address (SONA), Uganda President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, outlined the elements that are in the new Uganda anti-homosexual law. Down south, 1,633 miles away in Malawi, two claimants have asked the Malawi court to abolish laws that punish people who indulge in same sex activities. While the former has been derided by western media, asserting that ultra-right US-based Christians that pressured Uganda to pass the “inhumane law,” the Malawi case appears to be testing the Malawi legal system in view of the Uganda law. These are strange times indeed.

Outspoken Professor Lumumba has spoken widely on the Uganda law and chides the West for what appears to be hypocrisy of the highest order. While accusing the western countries and groups that are promoting homosexuality as being people that distribute the bible but are not readers of the bible. God understands Uganda now, Professor Lumumba said.

In his SONA, Museveni spent three lengthy paragraphs explaining the new law. He ends with the statement many “straight couples” often wonder: why are you talking about your sexual preferences?

President Museveni: “Before I talk about the planned legislative agenda for the coming session of Parliament, I cannot avoid commenting on the noise about the anti-homosexuality law, that you enacted, and I signed recently. My stand on homosexuality has been repeatedly laid out to all and sundry. It starts with a few questions: “Why does somebody become a homosexual? Is it on account of genetic, hormonal or psychological reasons?” Discussions with our doctors and the other African doctors who had a conference with African Members of Parliament from 22 countries, unequivocally, led us to conclude, that homosexuality, is as a result of psychological disorientation at some point in one’s life- not genetic and not hormonal, as some of us initially thought. 

This conclusion gives us a way forward. If somebody is a victim of psychological disorientation, do you criminalise him or her on account of that? Is it logical or fair to do so? The answer is: “No”. Instead, such a person needs assistance to, if possible, overcome his psychological disorientation. I am glad the MPs agreed with me and clarified this point in the law. Therefore, those who say that the homosexuals will be arrested if they go for medical care etc., are wrong. The law now says that a homosexual will not be criminalised for merely being so, if he/she keeps the being to oneself. What, then, does the law fight? It fights this homosexual when he/she goes from merely being and starts recruiting other people who are not psychologically disoriented like him or her to be like him by misinforming or bribing etc. There, he becomes a criminal and, if convicted, goes to prison for a period not exceeding 20 years. If he goes further and rapes a person (child, indigent, etc.), he commits a capital offence and he faces a maximum sentence of death. 

This is the law I signed. These are the three substantive points-being, is your personal problem; promoting is criminal and qualifies you for prison; raping qualifies you for a possible death sentence. Additionally, in Uganda, sex is confidential, even heterosexual sex. Therefore, if a homosexual keeps his being to himself or confidentially seeks assistance from the doctors or priests, it will not offend this law.”

Malawi 360 Times Malawi‘s Isaac Salima this week reported that the High Court Constitution Court continued hearing the same sex laws case in Blantyre. Two applicants, a Dutch national, Wim Akster and Malawian transgender Jana Gonani , presented their oral arguments. The two applicants want the court to abolish laws that punish people who indulge in same sex activities.

Akster is accused of abusing children at an orphanage, and the co-applicant is a transgender individual, is a second claimant. On the other side of the case, the matter has attracted the attention of the general public, with some church organisations holding protests against decriminalising the laws.

In the previous hearing, Justice Mandala Mambulasa recused himself following the State’s application that argued that he had previously expressed his stand on same sex issues, thus Chief Justice Rizine Mzikamanda replaced Mambulasa with High Court Judge Chimbizgani Kacheche.

I take you back to 1995 when I was chairperson of Malawi Media Women’s Association (MAMWA).

MAMWA had been awarded UNESCO funds to establish a radio station (Dzimwe Community Radio Station), and while on a field trip to Cape Maclear, my team heard from parents who were crying over the manner in which persons of German origin came to the lakeshore resort, marry a young Malawian boy, build him a house, and the German goes back to Germany, and from time to time, other male Germans would be sent to the young boy, for sex.

When I highlighted this in an article in my newspaper (The Independent – closed down in 2000 after the paper’s staff, including myself, were harassed and intimidated).

On the government side, the then minister of tourism (late Patrick Mbewe) accused me of ruining the increasing number of tourists in his sector. Sadly, the hordes of young boys married to older European men, were dropping out of school. The vile practice led to breaking the family structure where parents in various families were no longer in the parental position of determining or causing their young sons to go to school. The children in these marriage ties are against UN resolution on child marriage, that was negotiated and passed by consensus in 2011.

The current court case involving a European man engaged in sex with a minor is reminiscent of the huge sex-with-minors haven in Mangochi that was created by German nationals. The case before the court calling for scrapping of our laws, comes from a foreign national of Holland (The Netherlands). In Mr. Akster’s home country, sex with minors, not only in Malawi, is called pedophilia, and against the law.

While the UN, US, and EU diplomats in Malawi are likely keeping their keen eagle eyes on this case, it should be reminded to everybody that, globally, the rights of homosexuals, is not a human right. LGBT is NOT a human right by any stretch of imagination, so ruled by the European Court of Human Rights. A judgment of this prestigious court exists, LGBT is an illness, so it cannot be a human right.

According to former Government Director of Public Prosecution Kamdoni Nyasulu, the Malawi government conducted countrywide consultations with faith, traditional leaders, and public and private sectors before the practice of homosexuality (or same sex relations), was outlawed in the Laws of Malawi.