UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on Malawi to amend what he called its ‘outdated’ laws on homosexuality.
Mr Ban was speaking after the Malawi’s President, Bingu wa Mutharika, pardoned a gay couple sentenced to 14 years in jail.
Addressing Malawi's National Assembly, Mr Ban said: 'I appeal to you to reform outdated laws that discriminate against homosexuality. They should be repealed and reformed.
'I urge all countries to show moral and political courage in combating discrimination in all its forms.
'Malawi should be known throughout the world for its successes in combating poverty and hunger, not for outdated laws on homosexuality.'
However, Mr wa Mutharika said he still condemned the men’s actions.
Last week, a Blantyre court sentenced Steven Monjeza, 26, and his 20-year-old partner Tiwonge Chimbalanga to 14 years hard labour for sodomy, after they were arrested late December following a symbolic wedding.
The couple's lawyer, Mauya Msuku, said the pardon was a ‘step forward towards recognising the rights of minorities.’
‘We still maintain that the two were charged and jailed based on the penal code which is archaic and unconstitutional,’ he told AFP.
Thirty-eight out of 53 African countries criminalise consensual gay sex, which is punishable by death in some nations, according to Human Rights Watch.
Nearby South Africa is the only country in the continent to recognise same-sex marriages.
