Namibian court overturns and declares unconstitutional a law criminalizing gay sex between men

By SONJA SMITH
Associated Press

WINDHOEK, Namibia (AP) — A law in Namibia criminalizing gay sex between men has been overturned and declared unconstitutional and illegal by a court, in a victory for LGBTQ campaigners in the southern African nation. Three judges in the High Court in the capital, Windhoek, said in a joint ruling Friday that the law that banned “sodomy” and “unnatural sexual offenses” and dated back to the time when Namibia was ruled by apartheid-era South Africa was unfair discrimination and should be removed. The case against the government was brought by a gay Namibian man, Friedel Dausab, in 2022. There are no laws criminalizing sexual activity between women.