Churches say watching moratorium on gay laws

The Malawi Council of Churches (MCC) has said it is watching with keen interest government’s move to suspend laws that criminalise same-sex relationships in Malawi through a moratorium.

In an interview on Tuesday, MCC Secretary General the Reverend Osborne Joda-Mbewe, whose council has been against decriminalising same-sex relationship, said the council’s stand on same-sex relationships remains the same.

MCC’s comments follow reports that government has suspended anti-homosexuality laws, an assertion that Minister of Justice and Attorney General  (AG) Ralph Kasambara has since dismissed. 

Said Joda-Mbewe:  “Since this announcement [on the moratorium] has just been made, we are watching the development with keen interest and we will issue a statement at an appropriate time.”

Mbewe hinted that the issue could be discussed during the council’s annual general meeting (AGM) next week.

Malawi Law Society (MLS) has also condemned the moratorium, describing it as unconstitutional, illegal and an insult to Parliament. MLS argues that no minister has the right to suspend any law unless the issue goes through Parliament.

Kasambara made the disclosure on the moratorium during a public debate in Lilongwe last Thursday.

However, he was quoted in The Daily Times on Wednesday as having denied issuing a statement announcing the suspension and that “nobody talked about suspension of any provision of the Penal Code.”