The ruling Botswana Democratic Party(BDP) on Wednesday welcomed High Court a judgment that repealed sections of the Penal Code which criminalized consensual same sex relationships.
“We continue to engage Batswana to ensure that no one feels marginalized or discriminated against irrespective of their race, ethnicity, creed, gender or sexual preference,” the party said in a statement.
It said this would be achieved through the “promotion of diversity, inclusion, open-mindedness, tolerance, protecting human rights and upholding good governance in order to achieve prosperity and a progressive future for all our citizen.”
The party noted that the judgement resonated with sentiments expressed by President Mokgweetsi Masisi in November 2018 at the launch of the commemoration of 16 Days Against Violence on Women and Children.
The party said Masisi had recognised that “there are many people of same-sex relationships in this country who have been violated and also suffered in silence for fear of being discriminated.”
Masisi is said to have said such people deserved “to have their rights protected.”
KO/jn/APA