Steven Monjeza, one of the men of the first same sex couple to seek marriage in Malawi has been freed from jail where he has spent the last three years for theft.
He stole a mobile phone valued at K2,000 ($5) and a bag of maize.
Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga became household names after the couple were arrested in 2010 when they wanted to formalise same sex marriage in Malawi where laws outlaw such a union.
The couple was later given a presidential pardon by late Bingu wa Mutharika for their 14-year jail terms.
Monjeza said on Friday that he was happy to be out of prison and wanted to start his life a fresh.
“I would like people to know that I am still alive contrary to media reports last year that I had died in prison,” Monjeza said.
He appealed to well-wishers to help him financially so that he can start life a new.
Monjeza, 28, who faced family hostility towards his previous relationship with Chimbalanga, told the media in 2010 that he no longer wanted to be associated with homosexuality. Then he announced his relationship with Dorothy Gulo, a 24-year-old from Blantyre.
