By Chisomo Phiri

The High Court in Blantyre sitting as a constitution court on Friday June 28,2024 dismissed the case in which Jan Willem Akster, from the Netherlands, and Jana Gonani wanted the legalization of  same-sex marriages in Malawi.

After hearing the matter, the three-judge panel comprising Joseph Chigona, Vikochi Chima and Chimbizgani Kacheche throw out the case based on a number of reasons.

Among the reasons given, the applicants failed to bring evidence on how the provisions in the country’s laws were discriminatory against homosexuals.

The judges further recommended that if the applicants are still not satisfied, they will have to move Parliament to do the necessary amendments to the laws but according to them, the laws of the country are not in infringement of rights of people who identify themselves as homosexuals as the applicants had submitted before the court.

State lawyers celebrated the outcome while those who wanted the provisions declared unconstitutional did not hide their disappointment.

Akster and Gonani  were answering criminal charges in magistrate courts of sleeping with fellow men, brought the matter to the Constitutional Court for interpretation of the provisions in the Penal Code, urging the Court to declare them unconstitutional.

One of the legal provisions the applicants wanted the Court to declare unconstitutional was section153 of the Penal Code which reads: “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 year.”

The court further ordered their criminal matter in the lower court to continue.

Gonani was serving an eight-year prison term for offending the Penal Code by engaging in indecency acts, meaning the jail term would continue.

Akster is also accused of sleeping with men and boys forcebly.