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Zambia's President Pardons Couple Imprisoned for Gay Sex

Edgar Lungu
Zambian President Edgar Lungu

The 15-year prison sentence imposed on Japhet Chataba and Steven Sambo was condemned by the U.S. ambassador.

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Zambian President Edgar Lungu has pardoned a gay couple, Japhet Chataba, 39, and Steven Sambo, 31, who had been sentenced to 15 years in prison under a colonial-era antisodomy law.

Lungu pardoned the men May 22 in recognition of All Africa Freedom Day, Reuters reports. Nearly 3,000 people, imprisoned for a variety of charges, received pardons that day.

The case of Chataba and Sambo led to a quarrel between Zambia and the U.S. that resulted in the U.S. recalling its ambassador to the nation, Daniel Foote. Foote had strongly criticized the sentence, which Zambians defended on the basis that theirs is a Christian country.

"I thought, perhaps incorrectly, that Christianity meant trying to live like our Lord, Jesus Christ," Foote said early in December, shortly after the men were sentenced. "I am not qualified to sermonize, but I cannot imagine Jesus would have used bestiality comparisons or referred to his fellow human beings as 'dogs,' or 'worse than animals;' allusions made repeatedly by your countrymen and women about homosexuals. Targeting and marginalizing minorities, especially homosexuals, has been a warning signal of future atrocities by governments in many countries. In my heart, I know that real Zambian values don't merit your country's inclusion on that list, ever."

Foote was relieved of his position as ambassador later that month. Embassy sources said that because Lungu wouldn't work with him, there was no point in him remaining in the country. He had been a diplomat since 1998. He has not been replaced, although a deputy ambassador, David Young, has been appointed.

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Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.