Botswana high court weighs rights of a same-sex couple to marry

A same-sex couple in Botswana has launched a constitutional challenge against the country’s Marriage Act, in a test case that could significantly advance marriage equality in the region.

Partners Bonolo Selelo and Tsholofelo Kumile argue that the current law unlawfully excludes same-sex couples from civil marriage, denying them equal protection and access to key legal rights, including inheritance, economic security, and the ability to make medical decisions for one another.

Selelo and Kumile, who have been together since 2023, attempted to register their marriage at the Department of Civil and National Registration in Gaborone in April 2025. According to Mamba Online, their application was refused on the grounds that the Marriage Act does not permit marriage between two people of the same sex. Their case before the Gaborone High Court contends that this exclusion is incompatible with Botswana’s constitutional guarantees of equality and dignity.

The litigation has prompted backlash from some conservative sectors. On Friday, several religious and traditional organisations applied to join the proceedings as opponents, insisting that same-sex marriage conflicts with Botswana’s cultural and religious norms. Supporters of these groups demonstrated outside the court holding placards with slogans such as “say no to homosexuality,” “save Botswana,” and “Botswana is a Christian nation.”

Speaking to YTV Botswana, Selelo framed their case as part of a broader national tradition of defending love and human rights. She invoked the example of founding President Seretse Khama and his wife Ruth, whose interracial marriage in 1948 faced intense resistance. “We are two people just saying, ‘let us live our lives, let us get married,’” Selelo said. The High Court is expected to resume hearing the matter in July.

LGBTQ+ rights organisation LEGABIBO has strongly endorsed the couple’s legal challenge. In a statement, the group described the case as “about dignity, equality, and the ability of two Batswana who love one another to enjoy the same legal protections afforded to other couples.” LEGABIBO urged the public to reject misinformation and inflammatory rhetoric, stressing that discussions should not be driven by fear, prejudice, or hate.

“We also caution against the weaponisation of culture and faith in ways that seek to exclude or diminish the humanity of others,” the organisation said. It added that love, commitment, and partnership—regardless of the gender of those involved—are among the many legitimate ways Batswana form families, care for each other, and strengthen society.

Botswana has been viewed as a regional leader on LGBTQ+ rights since its courts decriminalised same-sex intimacy in 2019, a decision upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2021. However, South Africa remains the only African nation where same-sex couples can legally marry, while roughly 30 countries on the continent continue to criminalise same-sex relationships.