A Botswana court has dismissed an appeal by the country’s government to overturn a ruling which was an important victory for gay rights in that country.
In 2019 a ruling had decriminalised gay sex in the country. The case had been brought by a student, Letsweletse Motshidiemang, who argued that the country’s criminalisation of gay sex and same-sex relationships, which carried a penalty of seven years in prison, should be changed. He said that gay people were now widely accepted in the country.
Sidney Pilane, acting for the government in the appeal, argued that the courts should not make the ruling but this should be left to Parliament. He was also quoted as saying: ‘People don’t hate or dislike gays, they simply just don’t approve of what they do.’
The appeal court said that gay people had a right to privacy, dignity, and all other civil rights that other citizens enjoyed.