Zambian Jesuit On Criminals And The Criminal Law In Zambia

A Zambian AIDS activist and Jesuit priest, Michael Kelly, has called for the decriminalisation of same-sex relations, and said that the existence of laws banning such relations was fanning the spread of HIV.

"The continued prevalence of such laws is driving people in same-sex relations underground, and making authorities stubborn to the fact that even prisoners are having sex in prison,"

Kelly told a workshop on the role of the media and parliamentary involvement on HIV and AIDS, held in the Zambian capital on 17 March.

The priest said that instead of "criminalising" sexual orientation, southern African countries should follow the South African example and legalize gay partnerships,

"to ensure access to prevention and treatment, as well as the involvement of these people and prisoners in the battle against the epidemic".

Still, Kelly later told Ecumenical News International,

"I am not saying I support men-to-men sex."

The Lusaka workshop was organized by the parliamentary forum of the Southern African Development Community, and Panos, a media and communication network.

Originally from Tullamore in Ireland, Kelly has lived and worked in Zambia for more than 50 years. He has been professor emeritus of education at the University of Zambia since 2001, and also acted in an advisory capacity on AIDS to U.N. bodies as well as the World Bank, and to governments throughout Africa and around the world.

In his workshop address, Kelly said priority should be given to access to prevention and treatment, instead of legislation against same-sex relations, and he described himself as an advocate of distributing condoms to prisoners.

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