Govt ambiguity on gays and HIV/ Aids suspicious

It must not and never should it be the duty of the State to intrude on how two consenting adults decide to explore their sexuality. That is my opinion.

If there should be restrictions on sexuality, they should be left to individual consciousness—inspired either by one’s cultural or religious orientations.

That is why arresting consenting adults like we do in Malawi, for exploring their sexuality is, to me, an assault on individual consciousness.

But somehow I do understand our government’s continued ambiguity on how to deal with homosexuality.

Malawi is still a traditional society. Cultural and religious dogmas continue to define how we see and interpret whatever we see and hear. Telling such a people to accept homosexuality as part of humanity is akin to striping their cultural values and leading them to the depth of hell.

But it is not just Malawians—or just Africa. Even in the US, decriminalising homosexuality is still a thorn in the flesh of many States. They, too, like in Africa are still debating if homosexuality is a natural or unnatural act.

Yet, there is one thing, if you have read the newspapers in the last two weeks, which has baffled me to the bone.

Well, we all know that—courtesy of Sections 153, 156 and 137 of the Penal Code—homosexuality is illegal in Malawi and, if found, you will be thrown into jail for a whopping 14 years in prison.

Surprisingly, last week government wrote the Global Fund asking for K180 million to fund HIV and Aids interventions for homosexuals.  Some of us quickly interpreted the gesture as a glimpse of a new chapter symbolising a government opening up to homosexuals.

We were wrong.

Health Minister Jean Kalilani came out blunt, saying their gesture does not mean there will be a change in homosexuality laws. In fact, she underlined that those engaging in the practice will be committing a crime, as such, the law will face them.

Surely, making sense out of such executive ambiguity is mind boggling.

If, for instance, the Global Fund approves the requested K180 million, how, then, will government specifically capture and reach out to these homosexuals?

What is even surprising and disheartening is that the minister, who was supposed to clear the mist, does not have details on how her ministry will use the money they are asking for.  The person she said has the details, Victor Chayamba of Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM), is playing hard to get. What happened to transparency?

It is an invitation to speculations whenever those who are supposed to guide the public with an informed debate are not forthcoming. And I will, indeed, speculate.

In the first place, I need to underline that HIV and Aids has not left our homosexual friends and relatives. The toll is rising on them, as such; government’s Global Fund gesture is a welcome response.

However, in the spirit of transparency and accountability and, again, at a period when it is visibly and audibly clear that all is not well between the Malawi Government and Global Fund, we need to question how the money government is asking for will reach those being targeted.

We have a biggest legal wall separating homosexuals and government.  Unless this wall is torn down, I shudder to imagine how government will negotiate through this wall to reach out to hiding homosexuals with the services. I just do not know.

In absence of information, the entire gesture is suspicions, an invitation to speculations that government being broke, wants to use the plight of homosexuals to fundraise for its shrinking resource envelope.

It is either government decriminalises homosexuality and then ask for funding or if not, leave the punitive laws as they are and stop pestering Global Fund on behalf of people we know it does not need. Zikomo.