Gaborone, Botswana—

A coalition of churches in Botswana has expressed opposition to parliament’s recent efforts to amend the constitution to include gay rights.

Botswana’s Minister of State for the Presidency, Kabo Morvane, on Wednesday tabled the Constitutional Amendment Bill for first reading. The proposed amendments include a provision that “protects and prohibits discrimination against intersex and persons with disabilities.”

However, the church opposes moves to promote gay rights.

Abraham Kedisang is the pastor of the Apostolic Faith Mission, which issued a statement condemning the effort to amend the constitution.

“As Botswana AFM, we are seriously concerned that these proposed amendments are being brought forward and final debated in Parliament without the participation and contribution of the people,” Kedisang said. “These provisions portend a serious threat to our Christian way of life, our Democracy, in fact, the republic we have known for decades.”

Botswana’s High Court decriminalized same-sex relationships in 2019 following legal challenges. In July 2023, the government proposed a bill to incorporate gay rights into the constitution, but hundreds of opponents protested against the development.

Kedisang said the church was right to challenge the proposed changes despite the court’s 2019 ruling.

“Troubling provisions in the Constitution [Amendment] Bill 4 of 2024, by introducing “intersex” legal provisions aimed at changing the binary structure of male and female, threatens to undermine the fundamental fabric of family life at the heart of Botswana’s cherished Christian way of life. Our society was founded and ordained by God Almighty,” Kodisan said.

The Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Organization of Botswana (LEGABIBO) supported the 2019 court challenge. Thato Moruti, the organization’s chief executive, said the constitutional amendment was to protect human rights, not religious issues.

“The state must separate religious beliefs from human rights issues,” Moruti said. “The issue of decriminalization is a human rights issue, not a religious issue. It is an issue about reducing systemic disadvantages for other people, especially the LGBTQI community.”

The government challenged the 2019 verdict, but the Court of Appeal upheld the initial ruling in 2021.

Moruti said members of the National Assembly have a duty to protect the vulnerable.

“As a beacon of democracy internationally, it is important that as Botswana we recognize that this democracy also includes minority groups such as the LGBTQI community. Lawmakers must remember that their democratic oath is to protect those who cannot speak for themselves , including members of the LGBTQI community,” Moruti said.

Before Botswana’s courts decriminalized homosexuality, the offense was punishable by up to seven years in prison.

Homosexuality remains illegal in most African countries, and some, such as Uganda, impose harsh penalties, including the death penalty.