Category: Southern Africa
Malawi: Court releases 2 arrested activists
A Malawi court released LGBTI rights activists Gift Trapence and MacDonald Sembeleka on bail Friday, three days after their arrest on fraud charges co [...]
Malawi police arrest 2 prominent LGBT rights activists
Police in Malawi have arrested Gift Trapence, the leader of the country's main LGBTI rights organization, the Centre for Development of People (CEDEP) [...]
Trans woman’s naked protest roils Zambia
A Zambian trans woman stripped herself naked and walked along a busy public road yesterday in protest against her family's and Zambian society's mistr [...]
Botswana wants to make gay sex illegal again
The government of Botswana isn't happy with its status as the latest African country to legalize same-sex intimacy. On Friday, it announced it will ap [...]
Zambian hypocrisy: Fighting ‘gayism’; accepting rape and corruption
Commentary by the Rev. Kapya Kaoma exposes the hypocrisy of Zambian politicians' anti-gay posturing: "It is time we accepted that politicians have use [...]
Zambia bars performance by gay S. African celebrity
The Zambian government has barred Somizi Buyani Mhlongo, a gay South African TV presenter, actor and singer, from performing in Zambia.
Fro [...]
Botswana: Another country strikes down its anti-gay laws
Botswana today overturned its colonial-era laws that made homosexuality a crime punishable by seven years in prison.
From the African Human R [...]
S. Africa rejects Zambia refugee for saying he’s both gay and Christian
A young Zambian gay man has been denied refugee status in South Africa by authorities who claim that he cannot be both Christian and gay.
From [...]
Botswana court hears reasons to overturn anti-gay law
Botswana's High Court heard arguments Thursday for and against overturning the nation's anti-gay law. It scheduled its ruling in the case for June 11. [...]
New online help for LGBT asylum-seekers in South Africa
Gateway Health Institute, a South African human rights organization, has launched an online platform to help LGBTQ+ asylum seekers and refugees access [...]
Trump official’s push for gay rights focuses on Iran, not Africa
The 33 African nations with anti-gay laws seem to be a side issue for U.S. ambassador Richard Grenell, who has announced a worldwide campaign against [...]
Angola’s neighbors may copy its repeal of anti-gay law
Angola's repeal of its anti-gay law last month could lead to the repeal of all remaining anti-homosexuality laws in southern Africa, an international [...]
Male singer in a dress? Zambia freaks out, cracks down
Flamboyant attire and provocative behavior on a Zambian reality TV show caught the eye of the country's religious affairs minister, who declared that [...]
Angola: Another African nation drops colonial masters’ anti-gay law
Another African country has turned away from the homophobic laws originally imposed by European colonial powers. On Jan. 23, the former Portuguese col [...]
Botswana activists deplore anti-trans attack
In Botswana, LGBTI activist group Legabibo condemned the brutal anti-trans attack on a trans woman who was publicly beaten while onlookers laughed an [...]
Being intersex is normal, says Zimbabwean activist
Society needs to shed its ignorance of intersex people, says Tatenda Ngwaru, a Zimbabwean intersex and trans activist currently working in the United [...]
Why is Zambian couple in jail? Because of King Henry VIII
"Is it not time we accepted that some people are gay and that no law will stop them from falling in love with people of the same gender?" asks Zambian [...]
Zambian court convicts two men for gay sex
On Aug. 3, a court in Zambia convicted two men of engaging in homosexual activity. Under Zambian law, they could be sentenced to prison for 15 years t [...]
‘Join us at the first-ever Pride celebration in Swaziland’
LGBT activists in Swaziland are planning the country's first-ever Pride celebration this month, seeking an end to the country's homophobia and its law [...]
Challenge to Botswana anti-gay law is ready; court isn’t
LGBT rights advocates in Botswana are preparing to challenge the country's law against same-sex intimacy, but the court system in Botswana isn't quite [...]