Read more at LGBTQ Nation.
Botswana’s anti-sodomy law has been officially repealed.
Section 164 of the Southern African nation’s Penal Code used to ban sodomy and carried a possible seven-year sentence with it. But in 2019, the country’s High Court ruled unanimously that the law was unconstitutional.
“Human dignity is harmed when minority groups are marginalized,” wrote Judge Michael Leburu for the court at the time. “Sexual orientation is not a fashion statement. It is an important attribute of one’s personality.”
“Personal autonomy on matters of sexual preference and choice must, therefore, be respected. Any criminalization of love or finding fulfillment in love dilutes compassion and tolerance.”
The government appealed, but the appeal was refused in 2021, leaving Section 164 unenforceable.
But the South African LGBTQ+ outlet Mamba Online now reports that Botswana’s government amended its Penal Code to remove paragraphs a and c of Section 164. The only part of the section that remains bans bestiality. The change was carried out by Botswana Attorney General Dick Bayford.
The Botswanan LGBTQ+ organization LeGaBiBo hailed the change, saying it sends “a clear message that LGBTIQ+ persons are not criminals, and that their lives and relationships deserve protection, not punishment.”
“For many, these provisions were not just words on paper – they were lived realities,” the group said. “They affected access to healthcare, safety, employment, and the freedom to love and exist openly.”
LGBTQ+ people in Botswana have some rights and protections that they aren’t granted in other countries in the region. LGBTQ+ people are able to serve in the military, and the country has banned job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation since 2010. Trans people have been able to correct gender markers on government paperwork since a High Court ruling in 2017.
There is currently a gay couple suing the government for marriage rights, according to Mamba Online.
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