“Botswana judges rule laws criminalising gay sex are unconstitutional”: “High court judges in Botswana have ruled that laws criminalising same-sex relations are unconstitutional and should be struck down, in a major victory for gay rights campaigners in Africa. Jubilant activists in the packed courtroom cheered the unanimous decision, which came a month after a setback in Kenya when a court rejected an attempt to repeal similar colonial-era laws. “Human dignity is harmed when minority groups are marginalised,” Justice Michael Leburu said as he delivered the judgment. “Sexual orientation is not a fashion statement. It is an important attribute of one’s personality.” the Guardian
In Sudan, southern Somalia, Somaliland, Mauritania and northern Nigeria, homosexuality is still punishable by death. In Uganda, Tanzania, and Sierra Leone, offenders can receive life imprisonment for homosexual acts.
A few countries like in Benin, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Congo, Ivory Coast, the DRC, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, and Rwanda have not had specific laws against homosexuality which has been now decriminalised in Angola, Botswana, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, the Seychelles and South Africa which is the only African country that legally recognizes same-sex marriage.
