Police in Zambia have arrested two male university students on suspicion of having sex with each other. The pair were subjected to invasive medical checks afterwards on police orders.

Zambia is a deeply conservative society where homosexual acts are illegal – and referred to as “against the order of nature” in the country’s constitution.

Police spokesman Rae Hamoonga alleged the two men were caught in a toilet cubicle together.

“The individuals were promptly taken to the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) for medical examination, where it was confirmed by the attending doctor that the duo had engaged in unnatural acts. Both suspects are third-year medical students,” he said.

A maximum penalty of 15 years in jail can be handed down for homosexual acts in Zambia.

In 2019, two men were sentenced to 15 years for having sex with each other. They were later pardoned by then-President Edgar Lungu.

The sentence led to a diplomatic row at the time – resulting in the recalling of the then-US Ambassador Daniel Foote who said he was “horrified” by the punishment meted out on the pair.