The president of Zambia said he would not impose ‘gay rights’ on his citizens in exchange for international aid.

Edgar Lungu made the comments during a visit to the State House by the outgoing Swedish ambassador to Zambia, Henrik Cederin.

During the visit, Lungu said he could not budge on gay rights because many Zambians would not accept it, according to a report in the Lusaka Times.

The president said too many cultural differences existed between Zambia and other countries which had more progressive LGBTI policies.

It is not the first time Lungu declared his firm stance on LGBTI rights.

During his election campaign in 2014, he said no amount of money would force him to change his mind on the issue.

‘We will not support homosexuality. I will not compromise human nature because of money,’ he said at the time.

During his as Home Affairs Minister, Lungu slammed a Human Rights Watch report which found authorities treated gay suspects badly.

‘There will be no discussion on gay rights. That issue is foreign to this country,’ he said in 2013.

Same-sex relations are illegal for both men and women in the landlocked east African nation.

A person convicted of same-sex relations faces up to 14 years in prison. But Zambia is also one of many countries that carries out anal examinations on suspected gay men.

Forced anal examinations are outlawed around the world, but some countries still use them to prove homosexuality. The exams involve doctors or other medical personnel forcibly inserting their fingers, and sometimes other objects, into a person’s anus. It is an attempt to determine whether that person has engaged in anal intercourse.

See also

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Two men convicted of gay sex forced to have anal exams in Zambia