Government to appeal ruling on same-sex relations case

THE Botswanan government said on Friday it would appeal the ruling of a landmark case that decriminalised same-sex relations through the country’s attorney general.

Barely a month after the ruling that drew international attention and had Botswana lauded by many human rights organisations, Botswana’s Attorney General Abraham Keetshabe said he would appeal the case at the country’s Court of Appeal.

Keetshabe said he read the 132 page long judgment and thought the high court of Botswana erred in arriving at its conclusion.

The landmark case between Letsweletse Motshidiemang and the attorney general was concluded at the high court on June 11 with a panel of three judges who unanimously ruled in favour of decriminalising homosexuality.

Motshidiemang, a local who is gay, was challenging some sections of the country’s penal code that criminalised same-sex sexual conduct between consenting adults, saying they were in contradiction with a section of the country’s constitution that talks about liberty, privacy and dignity.

The attorney general did not say when the appeal would be made and it is yet to be seen how the international community and local rights organisations would react to the latest move by the government. |