Two arrested & sent for anal tests over gay sex in Malawi

Despite government claims that it won’t enforce the country’s gay ban, Malawi police have arrested and tortured two men for having sex.

Shockingly, they were, according to local media, apprehended in the privacy of one of the men’s home by police in the capital Lilongwe on Monday.

Kanengo Police Station Spokesperson, Esther Mkwanda, confirmed the arrest of the 19-year-old student and 33-year-old man on charges of having “carnal knowledge of each other.” Neighbours apparently reported the couple to the police.

Mkwanda claimed that one of the men had confessed and revealed that they’d been taken to Kamuzu Central Hospital for “a medical assessment.”

“Currently, the two suspects are in our custody waiting for medical results and investigating the matter further. After that [we] will charge them with appropriate offences under the laws of Malawi once all investigations are done,” said Mkwanda.

Anal exams are used in a number of African and Middle-East countries in the criminalisation of homosexuality. They have been deemed to be medically inconclusive, a human rights violation and a form of torture.

While male and female homosexuality is illegal in Malawi, with penalties of up to 14-years imprisonment, the government told a UN human rights committee last year that the authorities would not enforce the law.

In March, Malawi’s then Health Minister Jean Kalilani insisted, however, that the country will not end its gay sex ban. “It is still a crime to anyone engaging in the practice,” she said.

In April, the nation effectively outlawed same-sex marriage through the adoption of the new Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Law which defines marriage as only being possible between people of the opposite sex.