Botswana's High Court has widened a landmark same-sex marriage case, admitting new allies and opponents ahead of an October hearing that could make the country only the second in Africa to recognize marriage equality.

New Parties, Sharper Lines

Friday's ruling settled applications filed in July. LEGABIBO, Botswana's leading LGBTQ+ advocacy group, won standing alongside Bonolo Selelo and Tsholofelo Kumile, the couple at the center of the case. Opposing them, the court admitted the Botswana House of Prayer and Transformation, the Dingwetsi Association and the Evangelical Fellowship of Botswana as respondents, joining the government. University of Botswana scholar Dr. Onthatile Olerile Moeti joined as amicus curiae.

We are delighted to be part of this historic case and look forward to the journey ahead as we continue advancing human rights, equality and justice for all.
LEGABIBO

Selelo and Kumile say officials denied their bid to register their marriage in 2025 and told them to marry in South Africa instead, the only African country with full marriage equality. Botswana decriminalized same-sex relationships in 2019 and struck its colonial-era anti-sodomy law entirely this past April, making it one of just three African nations, with South Africa and Mauritius, that legally bar discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Worth Considering

Legal progress hasn't settled public opinion: protesters have gathered outside the High Court with signs branding same-sex marriage "un-Christian." That framing skips over history, Botswana's sodomy statute was a British colonial import, not a homegrown tradition. Campaigners say a win in October wouldn't end the fight, they're also pushing for housing protections, adoption rights and a ban on conversion therapy.

Source: Mamba Online

Cover photo: Edu Raw / Pexels

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Botswana Same-Sex Marriage Case Widens as Rights Group, Churches Join Fight