Abstract

PRICE, Louise. The treatment of homosexuality in the Malawian justice system: R v Steven Monjeza Soko and Tiwonge Chimbalanga Kachepa. Afr. hum. rights law j. [online]. 2010, vol.10, n.2, pp.524-533. ISSN 1996-2096.

On 26 December 2009, two male Malawian nationals were arrested and charged with participating in a pre-nuptial engagement ceremony while of the same sex. This article is a trial observation by the author using the observational methodology of the United Nations Office of the High Commission for Human Rights. The article seeks to present an independent and impartial factual account of the trial of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga and to document the reaction to the trial by members of civil society. The aim is to examine the disjuncture between Malawian criminal law and the protection of human rights afforded by Malawi's Constitution, resulting in procedural and legal errors in the trial and the conviction of the two men.

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