Two men in Zimbabwe face 14 years in prison after accidentally telling cops they’re a gay couple

A young gay couple in Zimbabwe inadvertently got themselves arrested when one called the police on the other over a money dispute.

The two men – one aged 28 and the other 25 – appeared before the Harare Magistrates’ Court on charges of sodomy after the dispute led to an unexpected disclosure of their relationship.

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Homosexual activity is illegal in Zimbabwe. The young men face up to 14 years in prison plus associated fines if they’re found guilty.

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According to prosecutors, the couple began a romantic relationship in August 2023, when they moved in together and are alleged to have engaged in consensual same-sex relations. Investigators discovered video of the men engaged in sexual activity with one another taken with their mobile phones.

On August 27, one of the men accused the other of infidelity. The argument escalated, authorities said, and the 25-year-old decided to move out of their shared home. As he prepared to leave, his boyfriend noticed some of his money was missing.

Both men made a decision to call the police to settle the dispute, investigators say.

But as the young men’s story unfolded in their interview with cops, the nature of their relationship revealed itself.

Zimbabwe’s National Prosecuting Authority said in a charging document: “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.”

At their court appearance, the men were released on $50 (U.S.) bail and ordered to return to court on September 6 for further hearing.

Penalties for same-sex relations are a holdover from colonial-era laws imposed on Zimbabwe, formerly known as Rhodesia, by the British. A popular sentiment in the country and many other African nations is that homosexuality is a result of Western influence and “immorality.”

As a result, the penalties for same-sex acts have grown only more draconian across the continent, with the most notorious example Uganda’s Kill the Gays law imposing the death penalty for certain same-sex acts.

In Zimbabwe, in addition to same-sex relations being illegal, same-sex marriage is banned by the country’s constitution, there are no legal protections for LGBTQ+ people in housing and employment, and gay people are barred from adoption, military service, gender or related name changes, access to IVF, surrogacy, and giving blood. 

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