Zambian police have arrested two male university students on suspicion of sexual intercourse.
The couple then underwent an invasive medical examination on the orders of the police.
Zambia is a deeply conservative society, where homosexual acts are illegal and described in the country’s constitution as against the order of nature.
Police spokesperson Ray Hamunga claimed that the two men were locked together in a toilet stall.
They were immediately taken to the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) for examination, where the attending physician confirmed that the two had acted unnaturally.
“Both suspects are third-year medical students,” he said.
Homosexual acts in Zambia are punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
In 2019, two men were each sentenced to 15 years in prison for sex acts but were later pardoned by then-President Edgar Lungu.
The ruling sparked a diplomatic row at the time, leading to the recall of then-U.S. Ambassador Daniel Foot, who said he was “appalled” by the sentence handed down to the couple.