High court judges in Botswana have ruled that laws criminalising same-sex relations are unconstitutional and should be struck down. The ruling is a major victory for gay rights campaigners in Africa and comes after a setback in Kenya last month when a court rejected a bid to repeal similar colonial-era laws criminalising gay sex. At the Botswana high court hearing in Gaborone in March, lawyers for the applicant said public opinion on same-sex relationships had evolved and employment laws now outlaw discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation. In Tanzania, authorities in Dar es Salaam, the biggest city, have launched a series of crackdowns on gay people in recent years. In the most recent the city’s governor called on citizens to identify gay people so they could be arrested, forcing hundreds of people into hiding.

Source: The Irish Times June 11, 2019 11:37 UTC