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More than six years after Botswana\u2019s courts struck down the ban on same-sex intimacy, the government has now formally removed the discriminatory provisions from the law.By Luis de BarrosIt has emerged that, on 26 March, the government published a notice amending the Penal Code by deleting paragraphs (a) and (c) of Section 164, which refers to \u201cUnnatural Offences\u201d.Colonial-Era Provisions ScrappedThe provisions criminalised any person who \u201chas carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature\u201d or \u201cpermits any other person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature\u201d, with penalties of up to seven years\u2019 imprisonment.The Attorney General of Botswana, Dick Bayford, has now removed these paragraphs, leaving only the actions of anyone who \u201chas carnal knowledge of an animal\u201d as an unnatural offence.The change is in line with the\u00a0landmark 2019 ruling\u00a0by the Botswana High Court, which the Court of Appeal\u00a0upheld in 2021. The courts found that criminalising consensual same-sex sexual activity violates the constitutional rights of LGBTQ people to dignity, liberty, privacy, and equality.\u201cPersonal autonomy on matters of sexual preference and choice must, therefore, be respected,\u201d said the High Court at the time. \u201cAny criminalisation of love or finding fulfilment in love dilutes compassion and tolerance.\u201dActivists Welcome Long-Overdue ReformLegabibo logoLocal LGBTIQ+ organisation LEGABIBO welcomed the government\u2019s move, describing it as \u201ca necessary and long-overdue step toward restoring dignity and aligning our legal framework with constitutional values of equality and human rights.\u201dThe group said the change sends \u201ca clear message that LGBTIQ+ persons are not criminals, and that their lives and relationships deserve protection, not punishment.\u201dLEGABIBO noted that the colonial-era provisions had long cast a shadow over the lives of LGBTIQ+ people in the country.See Also
\n\u201cFor many, these provisions were not just words on paper \u2013 they were lived realities. They affected access to healthcare, safety, employment, and the freedom to love and exist openly.\u201d\u201cEven after being declared unconstitutional, their continued presence in the law has sustained stigma, justified discrimination, and contributed to fear, silence, and exclusion within our communities,\u201d the group added.Ongoing Fight for EqualityLEGABIBO said that while the amendment does not erase the harm of the past, \u201cit creates space for healing, inclusion, and continued progress toward full equality.\u201dThe LGBTQ community continues to push for broader legal recognition in Botswana.A same-sex couple, Bonolo Selelo and Tsholofelo Kumile, are currently\u00a0challenging the constitutionality\u00a0of the country\u2019s Marriage Act, arguing that it discriminates against them by denying them the right to marry. The case is set to resume in the High Court in July.<\/p>\n
\tRelated More than six years after Botswana\u2019s courts struck down the ban on same-sex intimacy, the government has now formally removed the discriminatory provisions from the law.By Luis de BarrosIt has emerged that, on 26 March, the government published a notice amending the Penal Code by deleting paragraphs (a) and (c) of Section 164, which refers …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":742,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_3659155457675267_172535249438148":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-news"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Botswana-officially-erases-ban-on-same-sex-intimacy-The-Hoima.jpeg",900,479,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Botswana-officially-erases-ban-on-same-sex-intimacy-The-Hoima-150x150.jpeg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Botswana-officially-erases-ban-on-same-sex-intimacy-The-Hoima-300x160.jpeg",300,160,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Botswana-officially-erases-ban-on-same-sex-intimacy-The-Hoima-768x409.jpeg",618,329,true],"large":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Botswana-officially-erases-ban-on-same-sex-intimacy-The-Hoima.jpeg",618,329,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Botswana-officially-erases-ban-on-same-sex-intimacy-The-Hoima.jpeg",900,479,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Botswana-officially-erases-ban-on-same-sex-intimacy-The-Hoima.jpeg",900,479,false],"tie-small":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Botswana-officially-erases-ban-on-same-sex-intimacy-The-Hoima-110x75.jpeg",110,75,true],"tie-medium":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Botswana-officially-erases-ban-on-same-sex-intimacy-The-Hoima-310x165.jpeg",310,165,true],"tie-large":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Botswana-officially-erases-ban-on-same-sex-intimacy-The-Hoima-310x205.jpeg",310,205,true],"slider":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Botswana-officially-erases-ban-on-same-sex-intimacy-The-Hoima-660x330.jpeg",660,330,true],"big-slider":["https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Botswana-officially-erases-ban-on-same-sex-intimacy-The-Hoima.jpeg",900,479,false]},"author_info":{"info":["Editor"]},"category_info":"News<\/a>","tag_info":"News","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xavieradioug.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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