- Steven Monjeza, left, and Tiwonge “Aunt Tiwo” Chimbalanga, after their arrest
After a tremendous outcry from LGBT and human rights activists around the world, a gay Malawi couple arrested after their wedding have been pardoned by President Bingu wa Mutharika. But within hours of being released, one of the men has gone missing, according to news reports.
Tiwonge Chimbalanga, known as “Aunt Tiwo,” and his partner Steven Monjeza had been sentenced to 14 years of hard labor until the Malawi president stepped in and had them released on Saturday night, May 29. According to the website Zambian Watchdog, Malawi Prison Chief Macdonald Chaona said Chimbalanga was taken to his home village in Thyolo on Saturday night after being released but has not been heard from since.
His uncle, headman of the village, told reporters Chimbalanga had arrived at the village around 9 p.m., but had not been heard from since that time. His brother-in-law told reporters he had not seen Chimbalanga since his release, but that he knew the man had wanted to leave Malawi.
The lawyer who represented the couple said he had not seen either man since their release, and Monjeza also said he had not seen his partner.
Some sources said there had been concerns that the men could be in danger from those who opposed their relationships. Even in announcing the pardon, President Mutharika warned that homosexuality is illegal in Malawi, and the country’s Minister of Gender, Women and Children had warned that Chimbalanga and Monjeza could be re-arrested if they tried to continue their relationship after their release.
Please, please tell me he found a friend who smuggled him out of Malawi — that he was not seized by those who want to kill him and the rest of our worldwide communigy.
Not surprised as this is clearly a savage, primitive place on earth.
I pray that Tiwonge is safely out of the country and that Steven will soon leave safely also.
Malawians, Ugandans and any other African nation that does this type of barbarity does so because they are clearly an insecure nation. Their Presidents are chosen on whims. These persons are surely some backwards thinking people who will never have anything good for themselves or their citizens. All of those men taunting them are more than likely gay themselves, small penis men with complexes about their small size.
Thank you for continuing to cover this important story. I ask that you please recognize in future reporting that Tiwonge is a feminine name and that she is known to friends as “Aunt Tiwo” (as you pointed out in your article). Absent any other information Tiwonge should be referred to with feminine pronouns in your reporting in keeping with Associated Press Guidelines :
“Use the pronoun preferred by the individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth.
If that preference is not expressed, use the pronoun consistent with the way the individuals live publicly.”
Thank You.