Culture

Malawi court dismisses suit seeking to legalise same-sex marriage

Published

4 days ago

June 29, 2024

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.”

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Culture

Cook-a-thon: Ghana’s Chef Smith ‘in soup’ for falsifying Guinness World Record

Published

8 hours ago

July 3, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A Ghanaian chef, Ebenezer Smith, a.k.a. Millennium Chef Smith, is in trouble after being caught and held at the La Police Station following his being caught for falsifying a Guinness World Record for marathon cooking.

This occurred when Chef Smith declared, along with a certificate serving as proof, that he was the new cook-a-thon record holder during a press conference on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, at the La Palm Hotel.

He stated that from February 1 to March 6, 2024, he completed 802 hours and 25 minutes, setting a new record.

“I am deeply humbled and honoured to announce that I am now the new world record holder for the cook-a-thon,” he said.

The text on his certificate reads: “The longest cooking marathon (individual) is 802 hours 25 minutes and was achieved by Ebenezer Smith (Ghanaian) in Spintex, Accra, Ghana. From 1 February to 6 March, 2024.”

A high-profile celebration including performers like Praye Tietia, Yaw Tog, Amerado, Kofi Jamar, and the Asakaa Boys marked the end of his cooking marathon.

In an interview with the BBC, Alina Polianskaya, the PR executive for Guinness World Records, refuted Smith’s statements, saying, “No, this is not true at all.” That is not our certificate, and he does not own the GWR title.

“The current and true record for the longest cooking marathon (individual) is 119hr 57 min 16 sec and was achieved by Alan Fisher (Ireland) in Matsue, Shimane, Japan, from 28 September to 3 October 2023,” he added.

He was arrested by the authorities not long after declaring his fake accomplishment and showing his diploma.

With 119 hours and 57 minutes, Irish chef Alan Fisher presently holds the record for the longest continuous cooking session. His accomplishment exceeded that of Chef Hilda Baci of Nigeria who in May 2023 cooked for 100 hours non-stop, breaking India’s Lata Tondon’s 87 hours 45 minutes record of uninterrupted cooking in the process.

Culture

Moroccan court reduces sentence for rappers convicted over controversial song

Published

10 hours ago

July 3, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Two Moroccan rappers known by their stage names “Amine Grave” and “Youss 45”, who were sentenced to two years imprisonment each with a fine of MAD 500 (approximately $50), have had their sentences reduced by the Indictable Misdemeanors Chamber of the Fez Court of Appeal.

The two entertainers were on April 29 found guilty and sentenced by the Indictable Misdemeanors Chamber of the Court of First Instance in Fez following the release of a controversial song titled “Sher Zidi Kobi Atay” which prosecutors say incited minors to engage in prostitution.

Following an appeal by their lawyers on Wednesday, the sentence was reduced from two years to four months, though the court insisted that the song should be removed from YouTube.

The Public Prosecution had charged the two with “inciting minors under 18 to prostitution or debauchery, inciting the commission of a felony or misdemeanor by means of an electronic medium that fulfills the condition of publicity, and participating in such acts”.

The arrest of the rappers had followed complaints filed by a number of civil society activists to the Public Prosecution, demanding the removal of the song from YouTube and social media platforms due to its lyrics that were seen as contributing to “the spread of corruption and prostitution and constituting a violation of moral values”.

At the time, the controversial song had gone viral on YouTube and other social media platforms, making international headlines and prompting human rights activists to call for its removal, accusing the rappers of glorifying the rape of minors.

Many netizens in the North African country described the court’s initial ruling in April as a firm response to the group’s explicit incitement of underage girls to debauchery, however, the new decision by the Fez Court of Appeal to reduce the rappers’ sentences comes after a reconsideration of the charges against them.