July 3, 2014 – Reported by Erasing 76 Crimes – Zambia detainees Philip Mubiana and James Mwape were acquitted today of charges of violating the Zambian law against homosexual activity, human rights activists report.
They had been in custody since May 5, 2013. They were arrested after family members reported them to police in response to a nationwide appeal to Zambian citizens to inform on alleged homosexuals. The men’s repeated applications for bail had been rejected.
The trial’s presiding judge, Kabwe Principle Resident Magistrate John Mbuzi, ruled that the prosecution had not proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt. He cited deficiencies in the forensic examinations of the defendants. He also noted that police did not find the two men in the act, but only arrested them in response to others’ allegations.
via Zambia frees 2 allegedly gay men after year in prison | 76 CRIMES.
Homophobia in Zambia has been used by politicians and religious leaders for their own gain — it set the pattern long ago for what has happened more recently in Uganda. There is more about this pattern, going back to 1998, in this article http://paper-bird.net/2014/07/06/sodomy-in-zambia/