The Zambian government has asked that the United States withdraws its ambassador to the country after he criticized the jailing of two men for being in a gay relationship.
The US diplomat Daniel Foote had said he was “horrified” by the jailing of Japhet Chataba and Steven Samba last month.
A Zambian court rejected an appeal against the conviction of the two and jailed them both to 15 years.
The US ambassador then asked the Zambian government to review the sentencing and its homosexuality laws.
Foote’s criticism sparked outrage in Zambia with the President Edgar Lungu rebuking him.
Mr. Foote this month said he was “shocked at the venom and hate directed at me and my country, largely in the name of ‘Christian’ values, by a small minority of Zambians.”
“It is up to Zambian citizens and the courts to decide if your laws correspond to your constitution, but your constitution itself provides every person the right to freedom and expression of conscience and belief,” he said.
He adds that “I expressed my belief about a law and a harsh sentencing I don’t agree with. I didn’t interfere in internal affairs.”
Lungu early this month said his government will complain to the Trump administration about Foote’s action.
The Zambian Foreign Minister Joseph Malanji also said Mr Foote’s remarks were “tantamount to questioning the Zambian constitution”.
President Lungu has now said that he did not want people like Mr Foote in his country.
He defended Zambian anti-homosexuality laws by telling Sky News recently that “Even animals don’t do it, so why should we be forced to do it?… because we want to be seen to be smart, civilised and advanced and so on,”
Just like many other African countries, same-sex relationships are outlawed in Zambia.
Source: Africafeeds.com
