Malawi's president: pardon and release gay couple

Alex Ntonya / AP FILE - In this photo taken Thursday May, 20, 2010 file photo, Tiwonge Chimbalanga, foreground, and Steven Monjeza, left back, are led from court in Blantyre, Malawi, after a judge sentenced the couple to the maximum 14 years in prison for unnatural acts and gross indecency under Malawi's anti-gay legislation. Malawi's president says he has pardoned and ordered the release of the two Saturday May 29, 2010. (AP Photo/Alex Ntonya, File)

By RAPHAEL TENTHANI

Associated Press Writer

updated 3 minutes ago

BLANTYRE, Malawi - Malawi's president on Saturday pardoned and ordered the release of a gay couple sentenced to 14 years in prison, but warned that homosexuality remains illegal in the conservative southern African nation.

President Bingu wa Mutharika said he would release Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza on "humanitarian grounds only." He made the announcement during a press conference with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Lilongwe, the capital.

Earlier this month, a judge convicted and sentenced the two men on charges of unnatural acts and gross indecency, both colonial-era laws. They were arrested in December, a day after they celebrated their engagement.

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"These boys committed a crime against our culture, against our religion, and against our laws," Mutharika said. "However, as head of state, I hereby pardon them and therefore order their immediate release without any conditions."

But he added, "We don't condone marriages of this nature. It's unheard of in Malawi and it's illegal."

Ban praised Mutharika's decision but said, "It is unfortunate that laws criminalize people based on sexuality. Laws that criminalize sexuality should be repealed."

While the order was immediate, a prison spokesman told The Associated Press they had not received notification to release the two men by Saturday afternoon.

Friends and families of the two men could not be reached immediately for comment Saturday. But a cousin of Chimbalanga, Maxwell Manda, told The AP earlier in the week that Chimbalanga wanted to leave Malawi upon his release.

The case has drawn international condemnation and sparked a debate on human rights in this conservative southern African country.

Joseph Amon of Human Rights Watch said the president was no doubt responding to the international outcry that greeted the couple's conviction and harsh sentence.

"I hope that other leaders of African countries with anti-gay laws see that this is just not acceptable in the international community," he said.

Amon said the next step would be to campaign to overturn Malawi's anti-gay legislation.

Homosexuality is illegal in at least 37 countries in Africa, including Malawi.

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Associated Press writer Donna Bryson contributed to this report from Johannesburg.