Gaborone - Botswana's High Court will
hear on Thursday a case challenging the criminalisation of gay
sex, offering campaigners a rare chance to argue for lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender rights (LGBT) on a continent where
homosexuality remains highly contentious.
Botswana's Penal Code outlaws "carnal knowledge of any
person against the order of nature" and those convicted face
jail sentences of up to seven years.
The case - filed in May 2018 by a gay man whose name has not
been disclosed - will argue that the criminalisation of same-sex
sexual activity limits the ability of LGBT people to access
basic social services, increases risks of discrimination and
infringes on their basic human dignity.
"Botswana is a diverse society and the constitution protects
the freedoms and dignity of all persons in Botswana, regardless
of whether you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or
intersex," said Anna Mmolai-Chalmers, chief executive officer of
Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana (LEGABIBO).
The LGBT community in Botswana is hopeful that gay sex will
be decriminalised as the case comes after rulings in recent
years which partially acknowledged the rights of LGBT people,
including their right to equal protection before the law.
Botswana's President Mokgweetsi Masisi 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
has not followed up his words with any new measures.
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.
In 2017, a transgender woman won a legal battle against
Botswana's government to be recognised as female in a landmark
victory for the rights of LGBT people.
Last month the Kenyan High Court postponed until May 24 a
ruling on whether to strike down or uphold a colonial-era law
banning gay sex.