Zambian police stormed a man’s house because he was having gay sex, local reports claim

Aug 26 2019
Written by Ella Braidwood

Zambian riot policeman gets ready to fire a tear gas canister to disperser Zambian traders and vendors during a march to protest over a ban on street commerce aimed at curbing a deadly cholera outbreak, in Lusaka, on January 15, 2018. Police in Zambia's capital Lusaka fired tear gas at angry traders marching to the president's office. The 500-strong crowd was trying to deliver a petition to President Edgar Lungu who has become the public face of the campaign against the outbreak that has claimed at least 70 lives since September. Authorities have banned several street markets in Lusaka in an effort to reduce the volume of food and drink sold in unsanitary open-air locations, which are particularly vulnerable to the spread of cholera. / AFP PHOTO / DAWOOD SALIM (Photo credit should read DAWOOD SALIM/AFP/Getty Images)

Zambia police. (Getty)

Police have reportedly arrested two men for having gay sex in Lusaka, Zambia.

According to local media reports, police in the capital raided a property on August 22 after being tipped off by members of the public.

A 52-year-old man was arrested alongside a 21-year-old man after they were caught having sex.

A police spokesperson told Lusaka Times that the 52-year-old man had been charged with ‘having carnal knowledge against the order of nature’.

He said that Zulu is currently in police custody and that the 21-year-old man has been taken away for a medical examination.

One man is taken away for medical examination.

In Zambia, same-sex sexual activity is punishable with up to 14 years in prison under a section of a penal code originally imposed by the British Empire.

It states that “any person who has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature or has carnal knowledge of an animal” is guilty of a felony.

Zambian president Edgar Lungu , who has previously said that all those advocating for gay rights should “go to hell.” (DAWOOD SALIM/AFP/Getty Images)

Law enforcers in the country have periodically cracked down on same-sex sexual activity.

Police in Zambia crack down on same-sex sexual activity.

In August last year, two men were convicted for having a consenting same-sex relationship in the country.

Any person who has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature.

And, in February 2018, Zambia police called on the public to help them track down two women who they believed to be in a lesbian relationship.

Officers from the national cybercrime unit started an investigation after seeing photos of the pair on social media which implied they were together, according to Zambian news site Mwebantu.

In 2014, the Zambian government reaffirmed its opposition to homosexuality, labelling gay rights an affront to Christianity and the constitution.

President Edgar Lungu said in 2013 that “those advocating gay rights should go to hell”, adding that as far as he was concerned, “that issue is foreign to this country”.