Five Countries in Africa That Legalized Same-Sex Relationships 

By Abbas Badmus 

 

 

In 2006, South Africa became the first and remains the only African country to legalize same-sex marriage, with a constitution that also protects against discrimination based on sexual orientation. A bill was also introduced in 2018, to criminalize hate crimes and hate speech, and in 2020 South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa passed into law the Civil Union Amendment Act, which prohibits marriage officers from refusing to conduct same-sex marriages. 

Nevertheless, with a growing number of countries in Africa legalizing same-sex relationships, there has been a glimmer of hope on the continent in recent years. Here are some of the countries in Africa that have legalized same-sex relationships in the last decade.

 

1. Angola 

 

Angola is the latest African country to decriminalize same-sex relationships, after passing a new law that came into effect in February 2021. The new law overturned a ban on same-sex relationships that dates back to when the country was a Portuguese colony; and states that discrimination based on sexual orientation can be punishable by imprisonment of up to two years.

 

2. Botswana 

 

In a landmark moment for the country, Botswana's High Court decriminalized both male and female same-sex relationships in 2019. It replaced a law that has been in place since 1965, when the country was under British rule, which outlaws “carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature” and was punishable by up to seven years in jail. 

 

3. Mozambique 

 

In 2015, Mozambique dropped from its penal code a colonial-era clause outlawing same-sex relationships as "vices against nature". According to the Globe and Mail, the UN's independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, visited Mozambique in late 2018, and said it had a "high level of tolerance" — but warned that LGBTQ+ people still face discrimination and violence at home, work, school, and when accessing health services or police support. 

 

4. Lesotho 

 

Before the current Penal Code act, homosexuality was illegal for men, but in 2010 homosexuality was decriminilized in its entirety. Once the law came into effect, activism work with regards to HIV/AIDS was able to reach more people within the community in order to offer prevention strategies, as Lesotho is one of the countries hardest hit by HIV.  

 

5. Republic of Seychelles

 

Seychelles decriminalized “same-sex acts” in May 2016, after lawmakers voted to amend section 151 of the country’s Penal Code Act that referred to sodomy as a felony and made it punishable with up to 14 years in prison. The amendment came just three months after a national address by the nation's President James Michel, saying that his government would introduce a bill to abolish Section 151.