New victory for the LGTBI community: another African country decriminalized homosexuality

Botswana justice has decriminalized homobaduality on Tuesday. This decision is a major step forward in the fight for LGTBI (Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Bibadual and Interbad) community rights in Africa, where these relationships are still characterized as follows: crime in thirty countries.

The text, in force since 1965, provided for sanctions up to seven years in prison. In this regard, the judge of the court where the decision was made, Michael Leburu, said: "Minorities should not be excluded or marginalized". The time has come for same-bad baduality. discriminalisé"" Justice orders that the laws are modified"he added.

The High Court ruled on this issue at the request of a person who was only identified by the acronym LM for security reasons and who had attacked the Penal Code.

"Heterobaduals are allowed to express their baduality without a problem but the same thing does not apply to the plaintiff," said the judge. "Deny him the right to have bad as he sees fit is discriminatoryhe stressed.

On the other hand, Neela Ghoshal of Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Twitter that the decision was "a stimulating signal for researchHumanity, privacy and equality ".

In front of the Gaborone court on Tuesday, several activists carried banners with messages such as "There is nothing wrong with being different, but it is unfair to be discriminated"where the gay men they are five times more victims of badual violence than the entire male population of Botswana. "

Recently, Kenya's High Court refused to repeal laws against homobadual relations and frustrated the hopes of LGTB collectives.