Malawi gay arrest worries donors
2010-03-17 17:09
Blantyre - Recent arrests of gays in Malawi have caused concern among donors, an African Development Bank (AfDB) official said on Wednesday, saying the country should handle the issue with "extra care".
A verdict is expected on Monday in the trial of a gay couple arrested in December after holding the country's first same-sex wedding ceremony. Another man was later arrested for hanging gay rights posters in the commercial capital Blantyre.
"The current issue of homosexuals in Malawi has raised a lot of international concern, including among donors. Malawi needs to handle the issue with extra care," AfDB's resident representative Frank Kufakwandi said.
He heads a group of donors known as Common Approach to Budget Support (Cabs), which comprises the AfDB, Norway, Britain, Germany, the World Bank and the European Commission.
He told a donor meeting in the capital Lilongwe that the couple's arrest was a "concern" to donors, who bankroll over 80% of the development budget of the southern African nation, according to private radio stations.
Homosexuality is outlawed in this conservative southern African nation.
Kufakwandi said that rights of gays, as a minority group, have a "universal appeal" and that donors were ready to work with Malawi in "addressing some of these concerns".
If convicted on Monday, the couple face up to 14 years imprisonment.
Malawi's deputy minister of finance Frazer Nihorya told the meeting that the issue of gays was a "tricky matter".
He said the government's final position will be known later after "exhausting all avenues as a debate is still going on".
- SAPA