Court to review Ken Msonda’s homosexual case

The Chief Justice, Andrew Nyirenda, has set July 26 for determination of whether the Director of Public Prosecutions’ (DPP) decision to discontinue anti-homosexual remarks case against Ken Msonda was right or wrong.

The Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) and the Centre for the Development of People (Cedep), who faulted the DPP Mary Kachale, for the discontinuation, asked the High Court to review the decision.

But in April this year, Judge Redson Kapindu referred the matter to the Chief Justice, for certification, following an application for leave to apply for judicial review that Cedep Executive Director Gift Trapence and his CHRR counterpart, Timothy Mtambo filed.

In January this year, Cedep and CHHR dragged Msonda to court over a Facebook post in which he is said to have advocated for the killing of gays and lesbians describing them as worse than dogs.

However, when Kachale took over the case, she discontinued it but the reasons behind the decision are yet to be made public.

Mtambo and Trapence argued that Kachale’s decision to discontinue criminal proceedings against Msonda in the case was procedurally improper.

“She failed to take into consideration other relevant matters such as the fundamental constitutional principle set out in Section 12 (1) (d) of the Constitution, the fundamental rights and dignity of persons of homosexual orientation as is guaranteed to them under Chapter IV of the Constitution of Malawi and Malawi’s human rights obligations under international law.”

The two are asking the DPP to prosecute Msonda.

“An order akin to mandamus directing the respondent to expeditiously and without delay take all reasonable steps to continue and conclude the prosecution against Mr. Msonda in criminal case No. 16 of 2016 or alternatively an order directing the respondent to desist from interfering with the applicant’s prosecution of the criminal case No. 16 of 2016 against Mr. Msonda,” reads the application.

Cedep and CHRR’s leaders want Msonda to answer a charge of incitement to break the law under Section 124 (1) (b) of the Penal Code.