Judges in Botswana postponed a decision in a case in which the government is attempting to overturn a 2019 ruling that decriminalised gay sex, citing a need for additional investigation and debate.
Letsweletse Motshidiemang, a university student, initially brought the lawsuit, and his attorneys arguing that the ban should be repealed because society had changed and homosexuality was more widely accepted.
Gay sex had been punishable by up to seven years of imprisonment.
Sydney Pilane, who represented the state in the Court of Appeal, said that there was no indication that people’s attitude had changed.
He said that people do not hate or despise gays, rather, they disapprove of what they do. It is not up to the court to determine whether people’s attitudes on gay sex have evolved. The duty for changing laws should be entrusted to the parliament, he added.
Activists argue that the court is the appropriate venue to handle the situation because it has the most resources to protect people’s rights.
Politicians don’t want to lose elections. We cannot entrust the protection of the minority to the majority outside the courthouse, Cindy Kelemi, executive director of the human rights advocacy group BONELA, remarked.
The president of the Court of Appeal, Ian Kirby, said that the justices would take longer than the usual one week to issue a decision since the case was sensitive and required much investigation and debate. He did not give a deadline for a decision.
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