Two Men Face 14 Years in a Zimbabwe Prison for Being a Couple
The gay couple accidentally revealed their relationship to authorities following a domestic dispute over charges of infidelity and robbery.
A young gay couple in Zimbabwe could face up to 14 years in prison after inadvertently revealing their relationship status to authorities.
The two men — aged 28 and 25 — were charged under the country’s anti-sodomy law, which prohibits same-sex relations.
According to prosecutors, the couple began a romantic relationship in August 2023, when they moved in together. They allegedly began engaging in consensual sex, with investigators discovering video of the men engaging in sex with one another on their mobile phones, reports LGBTQ Nation.
On August 27, the 28-year-old accused the younger partner of infidelity. The argument escalated to the point where the 25-year-old decided to move out of their shared home. As he prepared to leave, his boyfriend noticed that some of his money was missing.
Both men decided to call the police to settle the dispute. But as they shared their sides of the story, they inadvertently shared details that revealed the nature of their relationship, reports The Chronicle, a Zimbabwe-based newspaper.
“The accused persons inadvertently furnished the Police with details of the crime of sodomy as they narrated the issue of the missing money and their living arrangements, resulting in their subsequent arrest,” Zimbabwe’s National Prosecuting Authority wrote in a document charging them with sodomy.
The men, released on $50 (U.S.) bail, appeared before the Harare Magistrates’ Court on September 6. Details of that hearing have not yet been widely reported.
Penalties for same-sex relations are a holdover from colonial-era laws imposed during British rule, which lasted for much of the 20th century.
Despite evidence of same-sex relations on the African continent before European colonial rule, a false yet oft-repeated claim — not only in Zimbabwe but also in other countries where homosexuality is criminalized — is a result of Western influence and “immorality,” as defined by Christianity, which is practiced by 84% of the country’s population.
As a result, African nations have sought to impose harsher sentences for those who engage in same-sex relations, in violation of cultural and religious mores.
Zimbabwe not only outlaws same-sex relations but prohibits same-sex marriage and lacks laws that protect LGBTQ individuals from discrimination. LGBTQ people are also prohibited from serving in the military, are banned from donating blood, and cannot adopt children or pursue alternate means of reproduction to form families, as their parental rights would not be recognized.
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