Malawi religious leaders condemn UK anti-gay aid cut
LILONGWE (Malawi Democrat) -The Malawi Council of Churches (MCC) has condemned the threat by UK Prime Minister David Cameron for saying that countries like Malawi that do not enforce legislation on gay rights will not be given assistance in the form of aid.
MCC chairperson Bishop Dr. Joseph Bvumbwe told reporters in Lilongwe in the company of  Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM) chairperson the Reverend Dr Lazarus Chakwera and  the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) secretary Father George Buleya that such threat equally violates the rights of poorer countries and are provocative.
He said Malawi Churches will not endorse gayism and all forms of immorality and asked government not to heed to such threat.
“We find the reported British Prime Minister’s statements unfortunate, unacceptable and provocative,†said Bishop Bvumbwe.
“ We find them provocative because they are forcing African nations to agree with their [Western] positions on these matters without allowing the African nations to decide for themselves as to what is good to their nations and what is acceptable to their people.
“While the UK may feel they have monopoly over material things, they do not necessarily have the monopoly over all wisdom regarding moral and spiritual matters. Wisdom is always collective and respects other people’s views that may be contrary to one’s own.â€
BISHOP BVUMBWE: Fury
On his part, Chakwela stated that the Malawi government  must not adhere to the threat by the UK Prime Minister and must use this opportunity to wean itself from donor countries like Britain.
Tags: Bishop Joseph Bvumbwe, homosexuality, Malawi Council of Churches, UK
Comments (7)
The Undeniable
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“while the uk may feel they have monopoly over material things, they do not necessarily have the monopoly over all wisdom regarding moral and spiritual matters.”
really? then if africa is such a spiritually intellectual place, let your god take care of you… like he has in the past… you know, pestilence, famine, war… you don’t need finances from ‘provocative’ countries. pray to your god for money, fool.
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Arrogance
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Undeniable,
You can’t call Malawians “fools” because they are stating facts. It is a fact that UK does NOT have the monopoly of wisdom. Human rights should not equal western rights!
You talk of pestilence, famine, war. How much of that was a result of the “wise” British Empire and their comrades? And you think the west helped Africa to end the troubles? It is the west that destroyed Africa’s economy and aligned it to theirs. There were industries in Africa at the time of “Civilisation of Africa”. The west destroyed those industries. There were thriving Universities in Africa even before Oxford or Cambridge were built! You destroyed all that and claimed you had brought civilisation to Africa; that you found Africans in darkness! But time is up for the west as you can see. The west doesn’t have money. They are taking the begging bowl to China and other “backward” countries.
It has taken UK 300 years to accept that women can be heirs to the throne of your kingdom. And how much did it take UK to accept gays? And you want Africans to accept gays overnight because they (Africans) are poor? Was being gay not categorised as a disease as recent as the early 1990s by WHO? And it was not removed from a list of diseases because science had proved otherwise. It was removed because gays threatened western politicians with violence.
Why are gay rights the most important to UK? And why are poor countries being targetted? So that the poor countries can be paraded as trophies by gay campaigners who are giving a lot of pressure on western politicians. And of course, many western politicians are increasingly “realising” that they are gay. But such western arrogance will not last!
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George
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I like your point undeniable. I am a Malawian but we are leaving in denial. So let’s not complain about Britain. Instead let’s ask God to help us because we think Britain’s money is immoral.
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Ndugu Ackim
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One thing most politicians and religious leaders in Malawi fail to understand is that the western world is not advocating that all Malawians be gay. Cameroon never said all Malawians should forthwith be gay if they want British financial assistance.
A simple INDIVIDUAL human right fact is that we are all born equal but differ in our social preferences as we grow old and get our own individual identity…..its the aspect of individual social preference and identity that the west says governments should respect, should they want assistance!
Take it or leave it, its none of their business!
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Kasitu
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Arrogance! I agree with you on the point that some of the things that the West are imposing on us, in fact it took them more than 400 years to do likewise. Even as early as 1980 gaysim was still regarded as a taboo in Britain and America. The change in people’s perception did not happen by threats or sanctions nor did it occur overnight. Lot of time, money and efforts was invested in trying to make people to accept gay people as normal.It is therefore unrealistic to expect Malawians to change their perception over night or by simply imposing economic sanctions.
Sanctions will hit local people and government infrastructures making people starve from basic needs of life like food and education. Surely you wouldn’t preach a message of human rights to a nation full of hungry and uneducated population. David Cameroon knows quite well that sanctions achieves only policy change but not hearts and mind of the people. It is good when the West give us aid and also when they use that money to hold our leaders in account but I am sure they must be a limit as to how much they can meddle into our day to day life.Our country is very you and so is our democracy we need educations not sanctions.
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Chinawa
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I hope David Cameron and the West read the above article by Kasitu. It just provides the facts they need to know. These are ETHOS of the Malawi society now and we do not need to be dragged into submission. Evolution of the ethos, as quotted above might take time, if ever that happens, but as of now the West must respect our stance.
The aid, if it is tied to acceptance of gayism, must not be accepted by Malawians. Do note that when aid or co-operation is denied due to issues as these, a society tend find and strengthen independence, as it happened to aparthied South Africa. As for those that are saying, and I quote “pray to your god”, I believe they are actually making supplications To our God, in addition to our prayers for Him to come to our aid, and He will. Pse note that begging is noy in order, you are teaching us the hard way to be independent
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Halissone Nefitala
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ndi zovetsa chisoni kuti munthu nkufika pamenepa ngakhale zinyama zimasiyanitsana yamphongo imayang’ana yaikazi. fuso nali: makolo anu adakachita chibwana chimenechi si bwezi ntundu wa anthu utatha? bwezi mutabadwa? abale, umphawi usatibe nkwabwino kuganiza kawili.
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