Amnesty International has called on authorities in Namibia to ensure the safety of the LGBTQ+ community as a court prepares to rule in a case challenging the laws that criminalize homosexual conduct.
In November 2020, the Law Reform Commission of Namibia recommended discarding laws related to sodomy as they relate to intimate same-sex practices between homosexual men.
However, the parliament of Namibia has been slow to repeal these laws, which prompted gay activist Friedel Dausab to sue the government on the ground that the sodomy law is not consistent with the Namibia constitution.
The High Court of Namibia will rule on this matter Friday.
“There were many pieces of laws that have been in the law books for many years, basically since before independence, many of which really did not make sense any longer and they are just not compatible with the modern times,” said Etuna Joshua, the chairperson of the Law Reform and Development Commission of the Ministry of Justice.
Linda Baumann, an LGBTQ+ activist, said the community has taken extra security measures to ensure its safety during and after the proceedings on Friday.
Baumann said Namibia has seen an increase in violence against LGBTQ+ persons, which she says is directly linked to a Supreme Court ruling that said marriages between same-sex couples performed out of the country were valid.
She said that since that ruling, religious and faith-based groups have incited violence against the LGBTQ+ community.
“Amnesty [International] is not exaggerating,” said Baumann. “What we are doing as a movement is to alert ourselves around the issue around safety and security because we have anti-groups. … We’ve also seen murders of LGBT people in six months. Six people, six months.”
A local daily newspaper recently published a report on a string of killings where LGBTQ+ people were the victims. However, some critics say Namibia has a high number of killings in general and the killings cannot be regarded as hate crimes.
Mercedez Von Cloete, a transgender activist who successfully sued the state for a transphobic assault at the hands of a police officer seven years ago, said the community is at risk of targeted violence if the sodomy law is repealed by the High Court.
“It was targeted violence as a result of not only political but also religious hate speech as well as mob organizing that has made LGBTQ people — especially in the last couple of months — feel unsafe. … And I applaud Amnesty International for the fact that they were able to at least raise an alarm.”
Amnesty International human rights lawyer Mandipa Machacha told VOA that “while Namibia traditionally had tolerance towards LGBT persons compared to other countries [in Africa], there has always been a certain level of hostility, and the situation deteriorated significantly following the 2023 ruling which recognized same-sex unions.”
She said Amnesty International fears Friday’s ruling may drive homophobia against members of the LGBTQ+ community.
