Botswana's High Court has overturned a colonial-era law criminalizing consensual same-sex relations in a landmark victory for Africa's LGBTQ movements.
The judgement comes just a month after Kenya's high court upheld its laws making homosexuality a crime
Under section 164 of Botswana's Penal Code, "carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature," was an offense that carried a maximum sentence of seven years imprisonment. Section 167 made "acts of gross indecency" whether in public or private, a punishable offense, with up to two years in prison.
The case was brought to court in March by Letsweletse Motshidiemang, a 21-year-old student at the University of Botswana, who argued that society had changed and that homosexuality was more widely accepted.
While homophobic attitudes continue to prevail in parts of the country, Botswana's LGBTQ activists and supporters have marked some victories for the movement in recent years. The 2010 Employment Act made it illegal for employers to terminate contracts on the basis of sexual orientation, two land mark in October and December 2007 laid the foundation for trans people to more easily change their official gender on identity documents.
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