How can anyone be President of a country and not know that there are laws against an entire segment of the country's population?
Are Malawians that closed off from the rest of the world that they have no idea what being gays is?
President Bingu is aware of the laws, but like most people in Malawi, he's not aware that there is an LGBT segment of his population. The few senior officials/lawmakers with whom I spoke on this topic said, "it's not an issue here–perhaps in prisons or in military barracks--but not in the general population." That is, of course, incorrect, confusing behaviour with orientation. Change will only come when sexual minorities become more visible, and the courageous gay couple announcing their engagement is part of that movement. It is not unlike the way things were in Europe or the Americas 100 years ago.
Please don't misunderstand me--I want to see full equality for LGBT people in Malawi (and everywhere else), but it's unfortunately going to be a while before that happens.
As for the Malawi people being cut off from the rest of the world, I would suggest that it might be the other way 'round: The rest of the world is cut off from Malawi. It would be interesting to query people in major cities in the Americas and Europe, showing them an otherwise blank outline map of Africa, and ask them "which of these countries is Malawi?" I think less than 1% could answer correctly.
As an aside, I really appreciate the respectful, illuminating online forum discussions that we have at gt.ru. They are, in general, so much more civilised than what one finds on most blogs or other electronic graffiti walls.