MALAWI MAN ARRESTED OVER PRO-GAY POSTERS

A man has been arrested in Malawi for putting up posters advocating gay rights and the authorities are looking for other supporters of the campaign.

According to the Associated Press, police said that Peter Sawali, who was arrested on Saturday, will be charged with “conduct likely to cause a breach of peace” which could lead to a sentence of three months in jail.

Police spokesman Dave Chingwalu said that it was believed that Sawali was part of a group of people championing LGBT rights and that their efforts could be financed by foreigners.

“We cannot rule out international sponsors because of the quality and the quantity of the posters. They might even have been produced outside,” he told the news service.

The move adds to the growing crackdown on the LGBT community in the country following the arrest in December of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga for getting engaged in a public ceremony. They have been charged with ‘unnatural practices between males and gross public indecency’ and face 14 years in prison if found guilty.

In January, Malawi’s Minister of Women and Child Development expelled a ‘suspected’ lesbian from her constituency in order to ‘protect’ young girls in the area.