From the BBC:

Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga were sentenced to 14 years’ hard labour in May, then freed following international condemnation.

But Monjeza told Malawi’s Nation newspaper that he had been coerced into the gay relationship, and was now with a woman named Dorothy Gulo.

When freed last month, they were taken separately to their home villages.

The pair were warned they faced re-arrest if they continued their relationship.

Ms Gulo was also interviewed by the newspaper and said: “I’d heard about men getting involved in a sexual relationship. I was curious so I accepted him.”

Asked about Monjeza’s former partner, she told the Nation: “I’m scared he is going to beat me up.”

Human rights advocate Peter Tatchell, who campaigned for Chimbalanga and Monjeza’s release, said anti-gay pressure had split the “star-crossed lovers”.

“It is a tragedy that homophobic threats and abuse have forced this couple apart,” he said. “They were deeply in love. The pressure has got to Steven.”

The Associated Press reports that Malawi’s president has pardoned a same-sex couple who had been sentenced to 14 years in prison. However, President Bingu wa Mutharika’s announcement was far from encouraging for the broader picture of LGBT equality in a region that has fallen woefully behind the rest of the world.

“These boys committed a crime against our culture, against our religion, and against our laws,” President Mutharika said. “However, as head of state, I hereby pardon them and therefore order their immediate release without any conditions….We don’t condone marriages of this nature. It’s unheard of in Malawi and it’s illegal.”

Malawi had faced international condemnation for the conviction and harsh sentencing of Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza, who were arrested in December, a day after celebrating their engagement. After the pardon, activists were searching for a safe house for the couple, fearing they could be attacked upon release.

This horrific treatment of LGBT people in much of Africa must end. While anti-gay hatred is constantly portrayed as an African value, many African leaders are really upholding homophobic colonial traditions. Worse, the tense atmosphere is exacerbated by American “Colonial Christians” who poison Africa with noxious forms of religious views.

While there is much to be done worldwide for LGBT equality, at lease one couple caught a break and can hopefully resume their lives — although they seem to be potentially in harms way. As for Malawi, it was a very wise move by Mutharika. Had this couple remained in prison, it would have put a searing spotlight on this otherwise invisible nation. This would have harmed Malawi’s reputation, undermined its economy and retarded growth.

The South Africa Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (SA GLAAD) has drafted a protest e-mail regarding Malawi’s arrest, remand, conviction, sentencing and incarceration of Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza, Amnesty International’s prisoners of conscience.

Please consider writing your own messages to the following officials, using the following bullet points to craft a brief message in your own words.

To: justice@malawi.gov.mw, sg-justice@sdnp.org.mw, lawcom@lawcom.mw, lawcom@sdnp.org.mw, highcommalai@telkomsa.net, distms@malawi.gov.mw, infopol@africa-online.net, chadzapg@malawi.gov.mw,

cc: InfoDesk@ohchr.org, nationalinstitutions@ohchr.org, gmagazzeni@ohchr.org, civilsocietyunit@ohchr.org, dexrel@ohchr.org

Subject: Free Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza now

• Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza were disingenuously convicted of a supposed indecent act: Daring to hold a symbolic marriage ceremony.
• The law under which they were convicted is a remnant from the Western colonial era.
• The pair has been adopted as “prisoners of conscience” by Amnesty International. The governments of Great Britain and the United States of America, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, have vocally opposed the conviction. The UNHCR said that protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a fundamental human right that cannot be overruled on cultural grounds.
• The sentence is inhumane. The refusal of bail and the remand of Steven and Tiwonge are abhorrent.
• It is time for Malawi to rid itself from the defunct colonial codified discriminations and human rights oppressions.

On these bases, Malawi has no ethical or cultural justification for continuing to incarcerate these men and others like them.

Most people in the United States had not heard of Malawi until last week when a judge sentenced a couple to the maximum 14 years in prison with hard labor under Malawi’ anti-gay legislation, and crowds jeered the two men as they were driven from the court house to jail Thursday.

Nice.

The harsh sentence for “unnatural acts” and “gross indecency” had been expected after the same judge convicted Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza earlier this week under laws dating from the colonial era.

Chimbalanga, a 20-year-old hotel janitor, and his unemployed partner were arrested Dec. 27, the day after they celebrated their engagement with a party at the hotel where Chimbalanga worked—an apparent first in Malawi.

Now, we have all heard of Malawi. Congratulations to this nation for getting put on the mental map.

Unfortunately, it is viewed as a backwards and brutal land that is stuck in a time warp. The locals mistakenly believe they are protecting morals. However, they aren’t protecting anything but archaic beliefs, mindless mysticism and superstition disguised as spirituality.

One feels horrible for the poor couple who was caught up in such barbarism. They appear to be good people born in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But, one also must feel bad for a nation trapped in the past that clearly has no future. The saddest part, is to witness the appalling and astounding ignorance. The leaders of this nation think they are acting on behalf of African values. In reality, they are carrying the water for America’s fundamentalists. It is amazing that they have not noticed that the law speaks of “buggery”, clearly not an African word.

It’s all quite tragic, really. Whatever pain this couple suffers in prison will pale in comparison to the suffering of the population of a country governed by such anachronistic laws.