A three-member judge panel of the High Court’s Constitutional Court in Blantyre has dismissed a case seeking to legalize same-sex relationships in Malawi. The Court declined to strike down provisions of the Penal Code that criminalize same-sex relationships, delivering a significant blow to local and international human rights activists who supported the applicants’ efforts to have these provisions declared unconstitutional.
The judgment, delivered by Justices Joseph Chigona, Chimbigzani Kacheche, and Vikochi Chima, began at 9:05 AM and brought mixed reactions from the parties involved. State lawyers celebrated the outcome, while those advocating for the decriminalization of same-sex relationships expressed their disappointment.
Senior State Advocate Lali Ali Bonomali, representing the Hon. the Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda, praised the ruling. “This is the judgment we were waiting for. The Court has done a commendable job,” Bonomali said.
The two applicants, Jan Willem Akster from the Netherlands and Jana Gonani, faced criminal charges in magistrate courts for engaging in same-sex relationships. They brought the matter to the Constitutional Court, seeking an interpretation of the Penal Code provisions and urging the Court to declare them unconstitutional.
One of the key legal provisions in question was section 153 of the Penal Code, which states: “Any person who— (a) has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature; or (c) permits a male person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature; shall be guilty of a felony and shall be liable to imprisonment for 14 years.”
With the Court’s dismissal, the criminal proceedings against Akster and Gonani in the lower courts will continue as scheduled.
