Key Points
A three-judge bench of a High Court in Namibia has overturned and declared unconstitutional a colonial-era law criminalising gay sex between men in a victory for LGBTQ campaigners in the southern African nation...
Three judges in the High Court in the capital, Windhoek, said in a joint ruling that the law that banned sodomy and unnatural sexual offences between men and dated back to the time when Namibia was ruled by apartheid-era South Africa was unfair discrimination and should be removed...
The law had perpetuated an environment of discrimination and fear, often hindering access to essential healthcare services for members of the LGBTQ community, UNAIDS regional director for southern and East Africa, Anne Githuku-Shongwe said.. Amnesty International also welcomed the decision and said that Namibia had experienced a fierce anti-LQBTQ backlash in the past year after a 2023 Supreme Court decision that recognised same-sex unions between Namibian citizens performed in other countries...
Zimbabwes Gay and Lesbian Association said it was heartened that the Namibian ruling had upheld the principles of equality and called on its own government to overturn laws that criminalise same-sex relationships...
