Namibia’s High Court Strikes Down Laws Criminalizing Being Gay

Namibia’s High Court has struck down the southern African country’s colonial-era laws that criminalized sexual acts between men. The ruling is a major win for LGBTQ rights that contrasts with other recent attempts to curtail queer rights. Related: Lawmakers In Ghana Propose 10 Year Prison Sentences For LGBTQ People

Namibian court declares laws banning gay sex unconstitutional webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters) WINDHOEK — A high court in Namibia on Friday declared unconstitutional two colonial-era laws that criminalized same-sex acts between men, in a landmark win for t… https://t.co/aNmam9Bt4a

— Felix Okpatah Lawrence III (@okpatah_iii) June 21, 2024

From Reuters:

Rights campaigners say that, while convictions under the laws on “sodomy” and “unnatural sexual offences” were relatively rare in Namibia, they have perpetuated discrimination against the LGBTQ community and made gay men live in fear of arrest.

Namibia inherited the laws when it gained independence from South Africa in 1990, though same-sex acts between men were initially criminalised under colonial rule.

South Africa has since decriminalised same-sex sexual activity and is the only country on the African continent to allow LGBTQ couples to adopt children, marry and enter civil unions.

Wonderful news from #Namibia: the High Court ruled unconstitutional the law that criminalised consensual same-sex sexual acts! We rejoice with our communities in the country and in the region, and look forward to more positive developments worldwide! https://t.co/B5KXE3IazL pic.twitter.com/YcK5JKzGvF

— ILGA World (@ILGAWORLD) June 21, 2024

More than half (31) of the 54 African countries prohibit consensual same-sex activity according to ILGA, the international organization that advocates for LGBTQ rights.