The criminalisation laws create the impression that it is illegal “to be gay”

The Penal Code provisions in Botswana create the erroneous public perception that being homosexual is criminal. The Penal Code criminalises sexual activity, not sexual orientation.

“Our police officers who are supposed to be enforcing the law, don’t understand the law as is… They immediately cite the law and explain that being lesbian or gay is not allowed in Botswana. People use this law to discriminate against homosexuals without understanding the law entirely.”

Maun

“In one case a young woman was beaten by several young men on the basis of her gender expression. When she reported the case to the police, they laughed at her and informed her that it is not possible to open a case because “homosexuality is illegal,” The vague and broad reach of the law has also impacted upon the work of LGBT organisations, as was seen in the government’s refusal to register LEGABIBO. The Botswana Court of Appeal set aside the refusal to register and clarified the misconception that homosexuality is a crime, emphasising that the Penal Code criminalising same sex consensual sexual acts do not extend to criminalising LGBT persons themselves.

***Penal code sections 164 (a) and (c), 165 and 167 were scrapped from the Penal Code on the 11th June 2019. The Attorney General has since appealed the High Court judgement and a date for the Court of Appeal Hearing is yet to be set and announced.

Source: The law needs to change, we want to be free (May 2018)