Malawi churches urge government to uphold gay ban

The deeply conservative southern African nation has made a series of arrests aimed at clamping down on gays.

BLANTYRE, March 19, 2010 (AFP) - Protestant churches in Malawi on Friday urged the government to uphold laws which outlaw homosexuality, days before the verdict in the trial of a couple who held the country's first same-sex wedding.

"We uphold the current penal code that criminalises homosexuality and urge the government not to bow down to donor pressure to accept gays," the churches said in a statement at the end of a three-day debate on homosexuality.

"We hold homosexual acts and practices as un-Christian. We do not condone homosexuality," the statement added. "The government should not be forced to legalise alien ideas and recognise gays, even if it means not receiving aid from donor countries."

The deeply conservative southern African nation has made a series of arrests aimed at clamping down on gays, in a country where same-sex relations are banned.

A verdict is expected Monday in trial of a gay couple jailed since December for conducting a symbolic wedding ceremony. They are charged with gross indecency and face up to 14 years in prison.