Malawi Couple Split After Legal Trauma--One Takes Female Partner

The history of gays and lesbians is littered with individuals pressed into relationships they did not want; the question for observers in the case of gay Malawi couple Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga is whether this is one more such episode.

Monjeza has left Chimbalanga for a woman, indicating to the press that he had not willingly entered into his relationship with Chimbalanga to begin with. But Monjeza has also indicated that his new heterosexual relationship is the result of the trauma the men endured at the hands of the Malawi penal system, which outlaws gays.

Monjeza and Chimbalanga were arrested late last year after publicly declaring themselves engaged. They were imprisoned for months until, in May, they were convicted under Malawi's' decency laws and sentenced to fourteen months' hard labor. But their case had become an international sensation, and the men were pardoned after a visit to Malawi's president, Bingu wa Mutharika by the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, who urged Mutharika to work to set aside the colonial-era laws that criminalize homosexuality in Malawi.

While still in prison, the men spoke out about their feelings for one another. "I love Steven so much," Chimbalanga said in a statement. "If people or the world cannot give me the chance and freedom to continue living with him as my lover, then I am better off to die here in prison. Freedom without him is useless and meaningless."

"We have come a long way and even if our family relatives are not happy, I will not and never stop loving Tiwonge," Monjeza said.

"We are thankful for the people who have rallied behind us during this difficult time. We are grateful to the people who visit and support us, which really makes us feel to be members of a human family; otherwise we would feel condemned," added Chimbalanga.

Although Mutharika pardoned the men on "humanitarian grounds," he made it explicitly clear that the nation's anti-gay laws would remain on Malawi's books. Observers feared that the men would be assaulted or even murdered once they were set free. There was also the threat of re-arrest hanging over the men's head, should they continue as a couple.

Faced with those threats to his safety and his liberty, Monjeza--reportedly under pressure from family members--took up with a woman and left Chimbalanga a week after the men were pardoned, reported U.K. newspaper The Guardian on June 8.

"I have had enough," Monjeza declared. "I was forced into the whole drama and I regret the whole episode. I want to live a normal life," continued Monjeza, "not a life where I would be watched by everyone, booed and teased." Monjeza said he had "learnt a lesson from my prison experience and I don't want to do anything with homosexuality." The 26-year-old Monjeza took up with Dorothy Gulo, 24, after being pressured by his family, the press said.

"I'd heard about men getting involved in a sexual relationship. I was curious so I accepted him.," said Gulo, the BBC News reported on June 9.

A human rights advocate, George Thinda, told the media that, "Monjeza was always a reluctant person in this partnership, but they managed to get the waters tested and they have seen the waters are rough."

Monjeza had a particularly hard time in prison, becoming ill during his incarceration. The couple were held in separate facilities after their conviction. Despite the trauma of those events and the ongoing threat to his safety, Chimbalanga declared that he had no intention of "converting" to heterosexuality.

"You cannot force love, and nobody forced him when we did our symbolic wedding in December," said Chimbalanga, adding, "I will also marry because there are lots of good men around. I will remain a gay."

Khuliwa Dennis Monjeza, Steven's uncle, was quoted by The Sydney Morning Herald as pronouncing a vow not to allow his nephew to reunite with his former lover. "I will make sure that Chimbalanga does not seek a reunion with Monjeza," Steven's uncle told the press.

The Guardian reported that Monjeza's male relatives had already threatened Chimbalanga with violence if he came to the village of Blantyre, where Monjeza and Gulo live.

"It is a tragedy that homophobic threats and abuse have forced this couple apart," said U.K. gay equality advocate Peter Tatchell, who communicated with the men during their four months in prison and issued news releases to the global media to keep the couple in the public eye. "They were deeply in love." Added Tatchell, "The pressure has got to Steven. Very understandably, he wants a quiet, safe life. This would not be possible if he remained with Tiwonge. They would both be at risk of violent attack."

Even so, Tatchell praised the men for their courage and fortitude in having endured a long ordeal. "Tiwonge and Steven never set out to be political, but they have done more for gay and transgender rights in Malawi than anyone else," Tatchell said. "I salute them. They are lions of Africa. They have helped continue the unfinished African liberation struggle by seeking freedom for gay, bisexual and transgender Africans."