LAWYERS SAY MALAWI LAW MUST CHANGE

The lawyers for the Malawian men arrested after they were engaged to marry have filed court papers calling for a review of the law banning homosexuality, reports Reuters.

According to the news agency, the legal team for Steven Monjeza (26) and Tiwonge Chimbalanga (20) told the court on Monday that the law is discriminatory and unconstitutional.

Magistrate Nyakwawa Usiwausiwa said that he would continue to hear the case until the chief justice decided on whether or not to transfer the case to the country’s constitutional court.

The men were arrested by police two days after their engagement ceremony in Blantyre’s Chirimba township and charged with ‘unnatural practices between males and gross public indecency’.

They could face up to 14 years in jail if found guilty. Human rights organisations around the world have called for the men’s immediate release.