The right to organise
A court in Gaborone rules in favour of a queer organisation, even though homosexuality was still a crime at the time.
On 14 November 2014, the High Court in Gaborone delivered a ruling that attracted attention far beyond Botswana. Judge Terence Rannowane decided that the state could no longer prevent the organisation Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana, LEGABIBO for short, from being officially registered.
The background was a long struggle. LEGABIBO had applied to be registered as a society and been turned down. The group's aims were incompatible with the constitution, it was said, and such an organisation could disturb public order. Twenty activists therefore took the Ministry of Home Affairs to court.
The judge saw things differently. Freedom of association, assembly and expression were core values of any democracy. They could only be restricted if there was a reasonable justification for doing so. Here there was none. Political lobbying for equal rights was also a legitimate aim. Anyone who wants to change a law is not breaking it.
The timing was remarkable. Sex between people of the same sex was still a crime in Botswana at the time, a legacy of British colonial rule. Nevertheless, the court made clear that queer people may organise and campaign publicly for their concerns. Amnesty International spoke of a victory over state homophobia.
The government appealed. In March 2016, the Court of Appeal upheld the ruling, also emphasising the role of such organisations in HIV prevention. LEGABIBO was finally registered.
That was not the end of the road. In 2019, the High Court struck down the ban on same-sex relations, and two years later this ruling also held up in the Court of Appeal. Botswana thus became an example of how courts in Africa can strengthen queer rights step by step. Much of it had started with a rejected registration form.