GABORONE - Botswana's government will
appeal a high court ruling that decriminalised homosexuality,
potentially resuscitating a law that punished gay sex by up to
seven years in prison.
Last month's landmark court ruling, which was praised by
international organisations and activists, meant Botswana joined
a handful of African countries that have legalised same-sex
relationships.
But Attorney General Abraham Keetshabe said in a statement
late on Friday that the high court was mistaken in its
conclusion in overturning the colonial-era law.
"I am of the view that the High Court erred in arriving at
this conclusion and thus, I have decided to note an appeal with
the Court of Appeal," Keetshabe said, without giving further
details of the grounds for the appeal.
In June, a panel of three judges ruled that sections of the
penal code banning gay sex were unconstitutional as they violate
privacy, liberty, and dignity. It also found the ban to be
discriminatory and not to serve the public interest.
The case, which was brought by university student
Letsweletse Motshidiemang, argued that the government should
scrap the law to reflect a changed society where homosexuality
was more widely accepted.
Same-sex relationships are illegal in more than 70 countries
worldwide, almost half of them in Africa, where homosexuality
remains largely taboo and persecution is rife.
Gay rights group Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana
(LEGABIBO), said the appeal was disappointing and affirmed
persistent homophobia and transphobia.
"It says to LGBTI the state through its lawyers (attorney
general) affirms the homophobic and transphobic laws. It
suggests that the LGBTI's lives should be determined by the
majority which is wrong," the group's policy and legal advocacy
manager Caine Youngman said in a statement.
Botswana's ruling came after Kenya's high court upheld a law
banning gay sex, keeping same-sex relations punishable by 14
years in jail, drawing strong criticism from the United Nations
and rights activists.
Previous rulings in Botswana had 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 couples in a speech in December, where he said LGBT
citizens deserved to have their rights protected.
Botswana became the latest in a series of African countries
to decriminalise gay sex, with rights group Amnesty
International saying it followed 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.