African nation’s high court rules law banning gay sex is ‘unconstitutional’

LGBTQ+ activists in Namibia are celebrating a major win as two laws which criminalised sex between men have been deemed unconstitutional.

Namibian activist Fiedel Dausab brought the landmark case because while convictions under the ‘sodomy’ and ‘unnatural sexual offences’ laws are relatively rare, they have led to gay men living in fear of arrest and discrimination.

The judges deemed the crimes as ‘unconstitutional and invalid’, saying: ‘We are not persuaded that in a democratic society such as ours, it is reasonably justifiable to make an activity criminal just because a segment, maybe a majority, of the citizenry consider it to be unacceptable.’

However there is still a chance the Namibian government could appeal the court’s decision – it has 21 days to decide.

Supporters gathered outside the courtroom in capital city Windhoek, carrying banners that read ‘get the law out of my love life’, and ‘Peace, Love, Unity’.

Friedel said he was ‘just happy’ after the court’s decision, adding: ‘It’s a great day for Namibia. It won’t be a crime to love anymore.

‘Because of this decision, I no longer feel like a criminal on the run in my own country simply because of who I am.’

Téa Braun, chief executive of the Human Dignity Trust, said: ‘This victory also brings much-needed and renewed energy to other decriminalisation efforts across Africa.’

Omar van Reenen, co-founder of the Namibia Equal Rights Movement, welcomed the court’s judgment and said the LGBTQ+ community in Namibia could finally feel like equal citizens.

‘The message that the court sent today is that we have every right to belong and exist in this country and that the constitution protects us,’ he said.

Consensual same-sex activity is illegal in more than half of Africa’s 54 countries. Namibia inherited the laws, dating back to 1927, from the colonial era, but kept them after gaining independence from South Africa in 1990.

Since then, South Africa has decriminalised same-sex sexual activity and is the only country in Africa which allows LGBTQ+ couples to adopt children, marry, or enter civil unions.

Last year Uganda brought one of the harshest anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the world into force, which includes the death penalty for ‘aggravated homosexuality’ – but queer Ugandans have vowed to keep fighting.

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