The High Court of Gitega Province in Burundi has convicted seven (7) people of the crime of having sex with people of the same gender (LGBTQ+), punishable by imprisonment between one and two years.
The seven convicted were among 24 people arrested in February, 17 of whom were acquitted, and lawyers for those convicted said they would appeal.
The seven (7), all convicted of this crime are members and leaders of the organization called “Muco”, this organization based in the city of Gitega is accused of promoting, supporting and promoting LGBTQ+ activities.
Five of those convicted will be jailed for two years while the other two will be jailed for one year pending an appeal.
The verdict of the case was announced on August 22 but was kept secret. The court sentenced them to the crime of having sex with same-sex couples, promoting it and encouraging others to do this.
Another news report by the Voice of America is that one of the 24 detainees died in prison last weekend, just two days after the court announced its decision.
One of those who were imprisoned also said that the gendarme was not sent from the prison where he was imprisoned for treatment of liver disease B (Hepatitis B).
This case shocked people in the country of Burundi because apart from the fact that its decision was first kept secret, since it started in March no human rights organization in this country has had anything to say about it. Talking about homosexuality in Burundi seems to be still taboo.
There are some human rights activists in East Africa who say that they are avoiding talking about this case so as not to make the justice system that operates on it punish the accused.
The President of Burundi, Evariste Ndayishimiye, is not afraid to show that he does not support same-sex couples because in the middle of this month, he told members of the Catholic Church who were attending prayers that the whites committed atrocities by sending missionaries to Africa who brought different cultures including homosexuality that could put the lives of ‘a human being in danger.
