Churches and cultural groups in Botswana have opposed a landmark court bid by a same-sex couple seeking to overturn laws that prevent them from marrying in the country.
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The couple, Bonolo Selelo, 41, and Tsholofelo Kumile, 39, dragged the Botswana government before the High Court, arguing that the country’s Marriage Act is unconstitutional because it recognises marriage only between a “bride” and a “bridegroom.”
The case is regarded as one of the most significant same-sex marriage challenges in Africa and could make Botswana the second African country, after South Africa, to recognise same-sex marriage if the applicants succeed.
Court papers cited by AFP said the couple was denied permission to register their marriage last year, with officials reportedly advising them to wed in South Africa instead.
South Africa remains the only country on the continent where same-sex marriage is legally recognised. Botswana, however, decriminalised same-sex relations in 2019, joining other southern African countries such as Angola, Lesotho and Mozambique where homosexuality is not criminalised.
The Botswana government’s Daily News had earlier reported that Selelo and Kumile approached the High Court to challenge the constitutionality of the Marriage Act, with the matter scheduled for July 14 and 15 before a full bench of the court.
At Tuesday’s proceedings, the influential Dingwetsi Association, a non-profit organisation that promotes marriage and opposes divorce, said the case was likely to have cultural implications because Botswana’s customary law recognises marriage only between a man and a woman.
The group argued that allowing same-sex marriage would affect the country’s cultural understanding of marriage.
A lawyer representing the Evangelical Fellowship of Botswana, which comprises 75 churches, also opposed the suit, saying same-sex marriage conflicts with the Christian beliefs of its members.
The lawyer further argued that church ministers have a direct interest in the case because they are involved in administering marriages.
The applicants, however, maintain that the existing law violates their constitutional rights by excluding them from an institution available to heterosexual couples.
Their challenge comes years after Botswana’s High Court decriminalised homosexuality in 2019, a decision widely seen at the time as a major rights milestone in the region.
Despite that ruling, the legal recognition of same-sex marriage remains unresolved in Botswana.
Across Africa, LGBTQ-related laws remain highly contested. While some countries have decriminalised same-sex relations, many others still criminalise them, and some have recently tightened anti-LGBTQ legislation.
The outcome of the Botswana case is expected to be closely watched across the continent because of its potential impact on marriage equality, constitutional rights, religious objections and customary law.
The court has yet to deliver judgment in the matter.
Source: AFP / Botswana Daily News / The Guardian / El País
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