Malawi’s apex court, the Constitutional Court, has dismissed a case filed by two applicants who wanted it to legalize same-sex marriages in the country.

The applicants, Jan Willem Akster from the Netherlands and a Malawian transgender man, Jana Gonani, had brought their case to the Constitutional Court for interpretation of Malawi’s anti-homosexuality laws following their arrest in 2021.

While Akster is currently facing nine charges of sexual abuse and sodomy, Gonani is charged with unnatural offenses.

In filing the application, the duo opined that Malawi’s laws violate their fundamental rights, including a right to privacy and dignity.

However in delivering judgement on the application on Friday, Judges Joseph Chigona, Vikochi Chima and Chimbizgani Kacheche rejected their arguments.

The lead judge, Chigona said the applicants failed to bring evidence of how the provisions in the country’s laws discriminated against homosexuals.

Chigona also said Akster failed to prove that Malawi’s laws violated his right to health.

“The first applicant was asked in a cross examination if he had ever accessed a public hospital and replied that he had gone to Zomba Central Hospital after he had been involved in a car accident,” Chigona said.

“When he was asked about his experience there, especially if he was asked about his sexual orientation before he was assisted, he said he was not.

“He actually said that he was medically assisted so well. The only complaint he had about the facility were spiders in the ward.”

Chigona said the court had also dismissed claims that Malawi police violated Gonani’s right to privacy when they ordered him to undress, to confirm his claims that he was transgender.

“We know that by Section 24 of Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code that police are empowered to search a suspect who is reasonably suspected of having committed a particular offense and who has been arrested,” the judge said.

“The caveat is that the search only extends as it is reasonably required for discovering a thing upon this person in connection to the offenses he was suspected of.”

After delivering the judgement, Chigona said the applicants were free to ask parliament to amend the country’s homosexuality laws if they were not satisfied with its judgment.

The judgment means homosexuality remains an offense in Malawi, punishable by a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.

Defense attorney Bob Chimkango who expressed his disappointment the the ruling, said:

“To be honest, we are satisfied with the process, but the only thing that we may not be agreeing with is the judgment itself.

“But it’s too early to comment as you will notice it’s a 135-page document. We were just listening — we were not working on it. So we will be waiting for it to be given to us, analyze it and then advise the client accordingly.”

The Moroccan Tourism Ministry has launched a “Cap Hospitality” platform that will provide support and financing mechanism aimed at accelerating the upgrading of the county’s classified tourist accommodation establishments.

The “Cap Hospitality” hub which was launched on Wednesday is part of an agreement between the ministry, the Ministry delegated to the Budget, the Mohammed VI Fund for Investment, and the Moroccan Society of Tourist engineering.

Minister of Tourism Fatim-Zahra Ammor, who led the launch of the initiative, said the mechanism will target the upgrading of 25,000 accommodation rooms with an expected investment impact of up to MAD 4 billion ($402.8 million).

“The initiative reflects Morocco’s commitment to boosting its tourism facilities and accommodation capacity amid the significant increase in tourist arrivals as well as in preparing for upcoming sporting events like AFCON 2025 and the 2030 World Cup,” Ammor said.

“Covering the period between 2024 and 2025, the program provides a loan where the government covers all interest costs for the upgrading of the accommodation facilities.

“Loan amounts range from MAD 3 million ($302,145) to MAD 100 ($10 million), with a maturity of up to 12 years,” he added.

Ammor stressed the need to accelerate investments in tourist accommodation, adding that this mechanism presents a unique opportunity to modernize facilities and improve services in the tourism industry.

Morocco has frequently emphasized the importance of the tourism industry, one of the key sectors contributing to the country’s economy, with travel revenues reaching MAD 31.87 billion ($3 billion) in the past four months, with nearly six million foreign tourists visiting Morocco by the end of May this year.

Last year alone, Morocco welcomed 14.5 million tourists, with the country hoping to increase this figure increased to over 15 million in 2024.