Gaborone – Botswana's high court, in a highly-anticipated verdict, on Tuesday ruled to decriminalise homosexuality, which is outlawed under the country's 1965 penal code.

Judge Michael Elburu "set aside" the "provisions of a Victorian era" and ordered the laws be amended. </s> Botswana's High Court has ruled in favour of decriminalising homosexuality in a landmark decision for campaigners.

The High Court rejected laws that impose up to seven years in prison for same-sex relationships, stating they were unconstitutional.

The move contrasts with Kenya's recent ruling against campaigners seeking to overturn laws on gay sex.

Angola, Mozambique and the Seychelles have all scrapped anti-homosexuality laws in recent years.

The Botswana law has been in place since 1965 when it was brought in by the colonial British government.

The case was brought to court by a student who argued society had changed and homosexuality was more widely accepted.
• Why are some places gay-friendly and not others? </s> Botswana decriminalised homosexuality on Tuesday, with the High Court overturning a colonial-era law that punished gay sex by up to seven years in prison.

Same-sex relationships are illegal in more than 70 countries worldwide; almost half of them in Africa, where homosexuality is broadly taboo and persecution is rife.

“Discrimination has no place in this world. All human beings are born equal. Homosexuality is another form of sexuality that has been suppressed for years,” Justice Michael Leburu said.

The case, which local media reported had been brought by a university student, argued the government should do away with the law in light of a changed society where homosexuality was more widely accepted.

Rights group Amnesty International welcomed the decision as “marking an exciting new era of acceptance, which should inspire other African countries to follow suit”.

“With this ruling, Botswana has said ‘no’ to intolerance and hate and ‘yes’ to hope and equality for all people,” Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty International’s deputy director for Southern Africa, said in a statement.

Botswana’s ruling comes after Kenya’s high court upheld its law banning gay sex, keeping same sex relations punishable by 14 years in jail, drawing strong criticism from the United Nations and rights activists.

Botswana’s penal code, drawn up under British rule, had previously outlawed “carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature”, with those convicted facing up to seven years in prison, as well as “indecent practices between persons” in public or private, punishable with up to two years in prison.

Previous rulings have partially acknowledged the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the southern African country, including their right to equal protection before the law.

President Mokgweetsi Masisi also signalled his support for same-sex relations in a speech in December 2018, where he said LGBT citizens deserve to have their rights protected.

But when the case came to court in March, when the ruling was postponed until Tuesday, the lawyer for the state challenged those bringing the case to provide concrete evidence attitudes in conservative Botswana, where Christianity is the main religion, had changed.

“We still have a long away to go to engage all opposing factions, be it our religions community, our cultural community — we need to engage them and educate them about the need to be tolerant,” Cindy Kelemi, executive director of the Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS, told local newspaper MMEGI after the judgment.

Botswana is the latest country in Africa to decriminalise same sex relations, with Amnesty saying it follows Angola in January, Seychelles in June 2016, Mozambique in June 2015 and Sao Tome and Principe, and Lesotho in 2012.

South Africa is the only African nation to have legalised gay marriage. </s> Gaborone [Botswana], Jun 11 (ANI): In a major victory for gay rights campaigners in Africa, Botswana's High Court on Tuesday overruled a colonial-era law that criminalised homosexuality in the country.

Under Section 164 of Botswana's Penal Code, homosexuality was an offence that carried a sentence of up to seven years imprisonment, until today, when a three-judge bench unanimously voted to revoke the laws, which, they said, conflicted with Botswana's Constitution, reported The New York Times.

"Human dignity is harmed when minority groups are marginalised," said Judge Michael Leburu before delivering the judgement. "Sexual orientation is not a fashion statement. It is an important attribute of one's personality."

Hailing the judgement, Matlhogonolo Samsam, a spokesperson for gay rights group 'Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana', said, "It is a historical moment for us. We are proud of our justice system for seeing the need to safeguard the rights of the LGBT community."

The case was brought to the court by an anonymous gay applicant, identified in court papers as L.M. His written statement to the court had read, "We are not looking for people to agree with homosexuality but to be tolerant."

Homosexuality had been illegal in Botswana since the late 1800s when the territory was under British rule.

It is pertinent to mention that the decision has come a month after Kenya's High Court upheld its laws criminalising homosexuality. Homophobia is widely entrenched on the African continent, with homosexuality being outlawed in more than 30 countries.

In India, homosexuality was decriminalised last year following a historic judgement by the Supreme Court, where it overturned a 157-year-old colonial-era law, known as Section 377. (ANI) </s> Botswana's High Court has ruled in favour of decriminalising homosexuality in a landmark decision for campaigners.

The High Court rejected laws that impose up to seven years in prison for same-sex relationships, stating they were unconstitutional.

The move contrasts with Kenya's recent ruling against campaigners seeking to overturn laws on gay sex.

Angola, Mozambique and the Seychelles have all scrapped anti-homosexuality laws in recent years.

After three judges came to the decision unanimously, Judge Michael Elburu delivered the verdict.

"Human dignity is harmed when minority groups are marginalized," he said.

He labelled laws banning gay sex as "discriminatory" and said: "Sexual orientation is not a fashion statement. It is an important attribute of one's personality."

The law has been in place since 1965 when it was brought in by the colonial British government.

The case was brought to court by a student who argued society had changed and homosexuality was more widely accepted.

Activists welcomed the decision and described it as a significant step for gay rights on the African continent.
• Why are some places gay-friendly and not others? </s> In a landmark decision, a panel of three High Court judges on Tuesday decriminalised sex between consenting adults in Botswana.The judges – Abednego Tafa, Michael Leburu and Jenifer Dube – ruled that Section 164 of the Constitution is unconstitutional and declared that homosexuality is legal in Botswana.

Striking down Section 164, the three judges found that the section was discriminatory to the gay community.

“Denying the applicant the right to sexual intercourse in the only way natural to him even though it is done to all is in our view discriminatory…any dissemination to the minority in a society is a discrimination to all,” the three judges said in their landmark judgement.

The case was brought before the High Court by an organisation whose identity the Court requested that it should not be made public.

The judgement was handed down a few weeks after a High Court in Kenya declined to decriminalise homosexuality in that country. </s> "Any criminalisation of love, of finding fulfilment in love, dilutes compassion and tolerance."

With these powerful words, a Botswana's High Court on Tuesday emphatically struck down section 164 of the country's penal code that had considered same-sex relations a punishable offence.

The court ruled that the erstwhile law violated constitutional rights by denying liberty, dignity, privacy and equality to Botswanian citizens.

Botswana's penal code, drawn up during the British rule, painted homosexuality as "carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature". Those convicted of the "offence" could face up to seven years in prison. In addition, "indecent practices between persons" in public or private, were punishable with up to two years in prison.

"Discrimination has no place in this world. All human beings are born equal. Homosexuality is another form of sexuality that has been suppressed for years," said Justice Michael Leburu.

The high court was hearing a petition made by a young Botswanian activist and university student who had challenged the archaic law, saying that society had changed since parts of the penal code had been written. He said that homosexuality was now widely accepted.

The LGBT community in Botswana were hopeful after recent rulings that partially acknowledged the rights of gay people, including their right to equal protection before the law.

President Mokgweetsi Masisi had also signalled his support for same-sex relations in a speech in December 2018, where he said LGBT citizens deserve to have their rights protected.

Amnesty International welcomed the decision as "marking an exciting new era of acceptance, which should inspire other African countries to follow suit".

Botswana's ruling comes a month after Kenya's high court upheld its anti-homosexuality laws, keeping gay sex punishable by 14 years in jail.

Even though the atmosphere in Botswana was celebratory on the day of the ruling, activists were aware that the judgement was just a beginning.

"We still have a long way to go to engage all opposing factions, be it our religious community, our cultural community — we need to engage them and educate them about the need to be tolerant," Cindy Kelemi, executive director of the Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS, told local newspaper MMEGI after the judgement.

By legalising homosexuality, Botswana has joined other African countries like Angola, Seychelles, Mozambique and South Africa. </s> High court judges in Botswana have ruled that laws criminalising same-sex relations are unconstitutional and should be struck down.

The ruling is a major victory for gay rights campaigners in Africa and comes after a setback in Kenya last month when a court rejected a bid to repeal similar colonial-era laws criminalising gay sex.

Homosexuality is illegal in most countries on the African continent. In several countries, gay people face life imprisonment or the death penalty.

Botswana is regarded as one of Africa’s most stable and democratic nations but homosexuality is outlawed under the country’s penal code of 1965.

In March, the court postponed a ruling on the issue after an unnamed applicant challenged two sections of the penal code under which offenders face a jail sentence of up to seven years.

Activists are hoping the government will do away with the oppressive laws that brand homosexuality as “unAfrican”.

“If this law is decriminalised it will be a positive thing for the community because it will protect their right to privacy and their right to express themselves the way they feel,” Matlhogonolo Samsam, from Botswana’s lesbian, gay and bisexual organisation (LEGABIBO), said before the ruling.

Activists launched the legal battle after the home affairs ministry rejected an application to register the LEGABIBO.

Outreach worker Thato Game Tsie said scrapping the anti-gay laws would help the community access healthcare and treatment more easily.

“There are many services we require as gay men that some nurses are not aware of, and if we go to a government hospital there will be those negative comments said to you,” Ms Game Tsie said. “So we just want to be free to access these services. I think it will be a great disappointment if we lose this.”

Kenyan judges rejected last year’s precedent in India, which legalised gay sex between consenting adults, as well as a series of other judgments across the Commonwealth and elsewhere, and said Kenya should make its own laws to reflect its own culture.

At the Botswana high court hearing in Gaborone in March, lawyers for the applicant said public opinion on same-sex relationships had evolved and employment laws now outlaw discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.

In 2016 the country’s appeals court ruled that the government was wrong to refuse to register an organisation representing homosexuals and other minority sexual groups.

President Mokgweetsi Masisi had addressed a meeting on gender-based violence, saying there are “many people of same sex relationships in this country who have been violated and have also suffered in silence”.

“Just like other citizens, they deserve to have their rights protected,” he told the December gathering.

Angola, Mozambique and Seychelles have scrapped anti-gay laws in recent years.

In Tanzania, authorities in Dar es Salaam, the biggest city, have launched a series of crackdowns on gay people in recent years. In the most recent the city’s governor called on citizens to identify gay people so they could be arrested, forcing hundreds of people into hiding. – Guardian </s> Botswana's High Court has ruled in favour of decriminalising homosexuality in a landmark decision for campaigners.

The court rejected laws that impose up to seven years in prison for same-sex relationships, stating they were unconstitutional.

The move contrasts with Kenya's recent ruling against campaigners seeking to overturn laws on gay sex.

"Human dignity is harmed when minority groups are marginalized," Judge Michael Elburu said.

Three judges came to the decision unanimously.

Judge Elburu labelled laws banning gay sex as "discriminatory" and added: "Sexual orientation is not a fashion statement. It is an important attribute of one's personality."

The law has been in place since 1965 when it was brought in by the colonial British government.

The case was brought to court by a student who argued society had changed and homosexuality was more widely accepted.

Activists welcomed the decision and described it as a significant step for gay rights on the African continent.

Laws outlawing same sex relations exist in 31 out of 54 African countries, according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA).

Gay sex can be punishable by death in northern Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia and Mauritania. Tanzanian laws mean homosexuality can result in a life sentence.

Angola, Mozambique and the Seychelles have all scrapped anti-homosexuality laws in recent years.

On 24 May, Kenya's High Court ruled against overturning a law banning gay sex.
Botswana decriminalizes homosexuality.