Botswana loses court bid to revoke gay rights

Yahoo – AFP, November 29, 2021 

Rainbow campaign: Activists gathered outside the Botswana High Court
on October 12 to press their case (AFP/Monirul Bhuiyan)

Botswana's government on Monday lost a legal attempt to overturn a landmark ruling that decriminalised homosexuality. 

The country's High Court in 2019 ruled in favour of campaigners seeking to strike down jail sentences for same-sex relationships, declaring the punishment to be unconstitutional. 

But the government sought to revoke the ruling, arguing that the courts had no jurisdiction in this matter. 

"Since the appellant's grounds of appeal have been unsuccessful... the appeal must fall," Botswana's Court of Appeal ruled on Monday. 

It had started hearing the case in October. 

Homosexuality had been banned since 1965 in conservative Botswana, where offenders could face up to seven years in prison. 

The 2019 judgement was hailed internationally as a major victory for gay rights. 

Judge Ian Kirby, who read out the ruling on Monday, said gay citizens had long lived in "constant fear of discovery or arrest" when expressing "love for their partners." 

"This sometimes led to depression, suicidal behaviour, alcoholism or substance abuse," he said. 

Botswana is one of only a handful of African countries to have decriminalised homosexuality. 

Others are Lesotho, Mozambique, Angola and the Seychelles. 

South Africa is the sole nation on the continent to allow same-sex marriage, which it legalised in 2006.

Botswana High Court decriminalises homosexuality

Yahoo – AFP, June 11, 2019

Botswana's 1965 penal code makes homosexuality punishable by up to
seven years in jail (AFP Photo/GREGOR FISCHER)

Gaborone (Botswana) (AFP) - Botswana's High Court, in a highly-anticipated verdict, on Tuesday ruled in favour of decriminalising homosexuality, which is outlawed under the country's 1965 penal code.

Judge Michael Elburu "set aside" the "provisions of a Victorian era" and ordered the laws be amended.

In a courtroom packed with activists, the judge emphasised that the current laws oppressed a minority of the population.

"There’s nothing reasonable in discriminating," he said.

"We say the time has come that private, same sexuality must be decriminalized."

"It is a variety of human sexuality," he said.

The High Court had been petitioned by an anonymous person, identified only by initials LM for security reasons.

The individual challenged two sections of the penal code under which offenders face a jail sentence of up to seven years.

In March, the court postponed a ruling on the issue, sparking fears that the much-awaited decision could be delayed indefinitely.

But on Tuesday, Judge Elburu stressed that the country's highest judicial body took the matter deeply seriously.

"Sexual orientation is human, it's not a question of fashion," he said. "The question of private morality should not be the concerns of the law."

Last month, Kenya's High Court upheld laws against same-sex relations, dealing a blow to activists campaigning to roll back anti-gay laws and stigma in Africa.

Before Tuesday's ruling, 28 out of 49 countries in sub-Saharan Africa had laws penalising same-sex relationships, according to Neela Ghoshal, a Human Rights Watch (HRW) specialist in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights.

The death penalty is on the books, under sharia, in Mauritania, Sudan and northern Nigeria, although there have been no known executions in recent times.

In southern Somalia, gay men are believed to have been put to death in territory ruled by the Al Shabaab jihadist group.

However, Angola, Mozambique and Seychelles have scrapped anti-gay laws in recent years.

Rights groups say many laws punishing homosexuality date from the colonial area.

They represent a peril even in countries where they are not implemented, according to campaigners, as their existence on the statute books entrenches discrimination and encourages harassment.

Botswana mulls proposal to lift hunting ban

Yahoo – AFP, February 21, 2019

The proposed legislation would overturn a 2014 ban on hunting which was introduced
 to protect Botswana's wildlife and reverse a decline in the elephant population (AFP
Photo/CHRIS JEK)

Gaborone (Botswana) (AFP) - Botswana's government on Thursday proposed ending a strict ban on hunting, which was introduced to protect wildlife in this game-rich southern African country, prompting conservationists to warn it could harm tourism.

The controversial proposals, which must be debated by cabinet before becoming law, would overturn a hunting ban that was introduced in 2014 to reverse a decline in the population of elephants and other wildlife.

"If needs be, we will give the opportunity to parliament to also interrogate it," said President Mokgweetsi Masisi after receiving the report.

The ban was one of the flagship policies of his predecessor, former president Ian Khama, who was an ardent conservationist.

The ruling Botswana Democratic party has been lobbying to overturn the ban, especially on elephant hunting, saying populations have become unmanageably large in parts -- placing the animals on a collision course with humans.

The proposals also include the introduction of elephant culling to manage numbers.

But conservationists laid into the proposed legislation, describing it as "a disaster".

Botswana is home to the largest elephant population in Africa, with more than 

135,000 of them living in what has long been known as one of the safest places

for them (AFP Photo/MONIRUL BHUIYAN)

"Botswana has got two million residents and the economy thrives on diamonds and tourism," said Dex Kotze, an independent conservation expert.

"This can do major brand damage to Botswana's tourism industry. It's crazy."

Masisi took over as president in April last year and the review began five months later, just days after a wildlife charity said some 90 elephants had been slaughtered for their tusks, suggesting a sudden spike in poaching.

But the government quickly sought to debunk the claims by Elephants Without Borders (EWB).

According to a report put together by Rural Development Minister Frans Van Der Westhuizen, overturning the hunting ban would "promote conservationism".

And rural communities, he wrote, would no longer be "concentrating on the negative aspects of property destruction and loss of human lives caused by wildlife".

Landlocked Botswana has the largest elephant population in Africa, with more than 135,000 of them roaming freely in its unfenced parks and wide open spaces.

Over the past decade, the number of elephants on the continent has fallen by around 111,000 to 415,000, according to figures from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Congo destroys illegal ivory as wildlife summit begins

Yahoo – AFP, 29 April 2015

Congo's President Denis Sassou-Nguesso (C) and Chad's President Idriss
Deby (2nd L) light afire a five-ton stockpile of ivory tusks coming from illegal
poaching, on April 29, 2015 in Brazzaville (AFP Photo/Laudes Martial Mbon)

Brazzaville (AFP) - Two African leaders torched five tonnes of seized ivory on Wednesday as an international conference on tackling illegal exploitation of wildlife opened in the Republic of Congo.

Congo's President Denis Sassou Nguesso and his Chadian counterpart Idriss Deby set the stock of elephant tusks on fire in the capital Brazzaville.

"We are drawing a line and this is a break with a sad past. From now on, we will be harder(on poachers)," said Congo's Forest Industry and Sustainable Development Minister Henri Djombo.

Authorities in Congo have in the past claimed that poaching is still a "minor phenomenon" because the elephant population has increased from 10,000 in the 1980s to over 40,000 today.

In Africa as a whole however, the elephant population is under threat -- there are 450,000 left today compared to 1.2 million in the 1980s.

"Burning five tonnes of ivory is relatively large, but it is a small amount when you consider the amount that is trafficked globally," Stephanie Vergniault, president of SOS Elephants, told AFP.

"This destruction is a message to consumers and ivory traffickers."

Kenya in March burned 15 tonnes of elephant ivory -- worth about $30 million (27 million euros) on the black market -- and vowed to destroy its entire stockpile of illegal tusks by the end of the year.

Ministers from Africa and global experts are meeting in Brazzaville to discuss strategies to stem unregulated logging, poaching and smuggling of animals.

Elephant hunting is often organised by international criminal networks to supply the illegal ivory market, mainly in Asia, with some profits thought to fund regional conflicts and militants.

The value of illegal activities ranges from anywhere between $70 billion to $213 billion annually, according to a 2014 joint UN and Interpol report.

"Global environmental crime... is helping finance criminal, militia and terrorist groups and threatening the security and sustainable development of many nations," the report said.

Last month, conservation experts met in Botswana, issuing dire warnings over the booming illegal wildlife trade that threatens the survival of not just elephants, but rhinos, tigers and other endangered species.

Botswana president re-elected despite strong opposition challenge

Yahoo – AFP, Sibongile Khumalo, 26 oct 2014

Activists for the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) distribute posters with

 the picture of incumbent President Ian Khama, at a pre-election rally in Gaborone,

on October 22, 2014 (AFP Photo/Marco Longari)

Gaborone (Botswana) (AFP) - Botswana President Ian Khama saw off the biggest challenge posed by the opposition since independence, winning a second term in power on Sunday as his ruling party secured a majority at the polls.

Khama "has been re-elected as the President of the Republic" said High Court Chief Justice Maruping Dibotelo, after his party the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) garnered at least 34 of the 57 parliamentary seats.

With tallying still ongoing for seven seats, it is unclear if the ruling party will match its previous election result of 41 seats.

Phenyo Butale, opposition Umbrella for

 Democratic Change (UDC) candidate for the

 Gaborone Central constituency, celebrates

 with supporters in Gaborone on October 25, 

2014 after the coalition did well in the

general election (AFP Photo/Monirul 

Bhuiyan)

An opposition coalition called the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) has meanwhile won 14 seats, while another opposition group, Botswana Congress Party, has secured two.

Khama, 61, who is the son of the country's first president, Seretse Khama, will be inaugurated on Monday.

Friday's general elections had been billed as the most challenging for the ruling party, which has governed the diamond-rich, sparsely populated country bordering South Africa since it gained independence from Britain in 1966.

Opposition parties had in particular made inroads in urban areas, following the formation in 2010 of a breakaway party, the Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD).

The BMD is now part of the UDC coalition, led by Duma Boko, which has won seats in districts which were once strongholds of the ruling party, including in capital Gaborone.

"The UDC did well for a new party, but naturally we were hoping for more votes to topple the BDP. It was never to be," said Seakamela Motsoaledi, a UDC party representative.

Falling diamond revenues

Although seen as one of Africa's success stories, Botswana has recorded rising unemployment since 2009 as the global economic crisis sent diamond prices falling.

The dropping diamond revenues had in turn forced Khama's government to halt planned investments in recent years.

During the election campaign, Khama admitted the failure of his government to stop unemployment rates from rising.

Among key challenges that he faces is the task of diversifying the country's economy.

Polling officers count ballots at a counting centre in Gaborone on October 24,

2014 (AFP Photo/Marco Longari)

International observers were satisfied that the polls had been free, although questions were raised over election funding and the poor representation of female candidates in the party lists.

Regional blocs, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union, said the eleciton had been "credible and reflecting the will of the people."

"Botswana remains unique in Africa in that it has enjoyed 48 years of sustained and uninterrupted democracy," said the SADC mission.

However, the mission noted the inadequate voter education ahead of the polls, due to a lack of funding.

The SADC also urged the authorities to encourage the participation of women in a vote dominated by male candidates.

The AU called on Botswana to provide public funding of political parties to "ensure fairness during the electoral process and improve fairness."

"We are aware that not many countries in Africa can afford to provide funding for political parties, but this is part of the AU statutes," said Joyce Banda, the AU head of observer mission and former president of Malawi.

Mozambique Airlines passenger plane goes missing in Namibia

Deutsche Welle, 30 November 2013

A Mozambique Airlines flight with 34 people on board has been reported missing over northeast Namibia. Authorities have been searching a game park for signs of the aircraft.

The Mozambique Airlines (LAM) flight TM 479 was bound for the Angolan capital, Luanda, after setting off from Maputo in Mozambique.

The airline said in a statement that 28 passengers and six crew members were on board the plane when it lost contact with air traffic controllers on Friday afternoon.

Namibian Police Force Deputy Commissioner Willy Bampton told the Namibia Press Agency on Saturday that a search was oingoing in the Bwabwata National Park in the Kavango East region.

The thick jungle terrain and heavy rains were complicating search efforts, he said.

Namibian police were informed by Botswanan officials that smoke was seen and explosions heard near the countries's common border on Friday afternoon.

Like all airlines in Mozambique, LAM is banned from flying in European Union airspace as it does not comply with EU safety standards.

tj/jr (Reuters, dpa)

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Commonwealth puts on united front after summit rifts

Google – AFP, 17 November 2013

Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa listens during a press conference during

 the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo on November 16, 2013

(AFP, Ishara Kodikara)

Colombo — Commonwealth leaders signed agreements Sunday on issues such as poverty and development as they staged a show of unity after a summit in Sri Lanka dominated by a bitter dispute over war crimes.

After a three-day meeting in Colombo, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse announced a declaration had been signed by the Commonwealth's 53 member nations after a summit which he said had been characterised by "fruitful discussions".

But he was again forced on the defensive and warned his critics against pushing him "into a corner" by setting an ultimatum to address war crimes allegations by next March.

British Prime Minister David Cameron

 speaks during a news conference on the

 second day of the Commonwealth Heads

Of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in

Colombo on November 16, 2013 (AFP,

Ishara S. Kodikara)

"I am happy with the outcome we have reached at this CHOGM," said Rajapakse, who has spent much of the summit having to fend off allegations that his government's troops killed as many as 40,000 civilians at the end of the country's 37-year conflict.

Outlining the agreements inked by Commonwealth leaders, he said there had been widespread agreement on a series of issues -- particularly on ensuring that economic growth does not come at the expense of equality.

"Achieving growth with equity and inclusive development must be one of the priorities of the Commonwealth," said the Sri Lankan president.

"Issues covered in the communique include development, political values, global threats, challenges and Commonwealth cooperation."

While only 27 heads of government attended this year's meeting, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said the summit had helped strengthen the organisation of mainly English-speaking former British colonies.

"I sense there is a reaffirmation of the spirit and ideals of the Commonwealth ... the core values of the Commonwealth, namely democracy, the rule of law and human rights," Najib told reporters.

The Malaysian prime minister said there was a general recognition among leaders of "the fact that we are different but should not be divided".

"There was a reaffirmation of the spirit and willingness of wanting to stay together as a unique collection of nations."

The summit was dealt several body blows before it began, with the leaders of Canada, India and Mauritius deciding to stay away to protest at Colombo's rights record.

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron then stole the limelight on the opening day with a visit to the war-torn Jaffna region, where he met survivors of a conflict that killed more than 100,000 people.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who was handing over the chairmanship of the Commonwealth to Sri Lanka, acknowledged "more needed to be done" to address concerns about its rights record but said he wanted to be "good mates" with Colombo.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse (L) and Secretary General of the

 Commonwealth of Nations, Kamalesh Sharma (3L) chat at the final working

 session of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in

Colombo on November 17, 2013 (AFP, Manjunath Kiran)

According to the United Nations and rights groups, as many as 40,000 civilians may have died as troops loyal to the mainly Sinhalese government routed the Tamil Tiger rebel movement in its last stronghold in Jaffna in 2009.

Sri Lanka has refused to allow foreign investigators onto its soil, but Cameron warned Rajapakse he would lead a push for an international probe through UN bodies unless an internal inquiry produces credible results by March.

"Let me be very clear, if an investigation is not completed by March, then I will use our position on the UN Human Rights Council to work with the UN Human Rights Commission and call for a full, credible and independent international inquiry," said Cameron on Saturday.

But Rajapakse reiterated on Sunday that Sri Lanka would not bow to pressure and would complete its own inquiries in its own time.

"This is not something you can do overnight. You must also respect our own views without trying to push us into a corner, so please be fair," he said.

"We have suffered for 30 years, that's why they (the people of Sri Lanka) want a new life. That's why people elected me."

The largely pro-government press in Sri Lanka acknowledged that debate about Colombo's rights record had soured the summit.

Ceylon Today said Cameron's push for UN action had ensured "the festive mood at the Commonwealth parley turned sour", bemoaning how "media obsession over the host country's human rights record had overshadowed the official business".

Mauritius had been due to host the next summit in 2015 but it withdrew in protest against Sri Lanka's rights record.

Malta will now step in as hosts, the organisation's top official announced.

"The prime minister of Malta has invited the Commonwealth to hold CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) 2015, with Malta as the venue," Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma said.

"It (the offer) was received by all members with acclamation."

Graphic map of the Commonwealth member nations (AFP)

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UN: Floods displace 70,000 and kill 36 in Mozambique

BBC News, 25 January 2013

Many thousands are in temporary shelters in Mozambique's Gaza province
but many others appear to be without any shelter and aid at all

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At least 36 people have died and nearly 70,000 displaced because of flooding in Mozambique, the United Nations says.

The number of people affected by the flooding could reach 100,000 as flood waters continue to rise in the coastal city of Xai-Xai, the UN added.

The UN said it would appeal to its donors for additional funds to deal with the emergency.

Days of torrential rains across the south-east of Africa have caused sea levels to rise to dangerous levels.

Neighbouring South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana have also been hit by severe flooding.

Eating grasshoppers

The United Nations in Mozambique said in a statement that 36 people had died so far across the country - 26 of them in the worst hit province, Gaza, in the south.

Some 65,000 people in Gaza alone had been affected by the floods, with nearly 50,000 seeking refuge in six temporary shelters in the worst-hit districts of Chokwe and Guija.

Overall, nearly 85,000 people have been affected by the floods and 67,995 have been temporarily displaced, the UN said.

"Together with government, we are rushing in clean water, food, shelter, and humanitarian supplies to Gaza Province, and are ready to send more as needs become clearer," Jennifer Topping, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Mozambique, said.

The UN has staff on the ground in the worst-affected areas where food distribution has begun, and is setting up water supply structures, but Ms Topping said that: "We will be appealing to our donors to make additional funds available immediately to help deal with this emergency."

But it appears that aid has not yet reached many of the displaced. An AFP reporter in Gaza saw tens of thousands of people camping out at roadsides, some forced to eat grasshoppers to survive.

And officials are warning of a looming disaster in the city of Xai-Xai, with waters as high as eight metres (26 ft) expected to hit.

Severe flooding in Xai-Xai would sever the main road connection between the north and south of the country, the AFP reports.

Floodwaters in South Africa have claimed several lives and left hundreds stranded after the Limpopo river burst its banks on Monday.

A crocodile farm in the far north of South Africa was forced to open its gates because of the flooding, letting loose some 15,000 crocodiles - only a few thousand of whom have so far been found.

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Second African nation gets Google street view

Google – AFP, 3 December 2012 

A Google Street View vehicle in Brazil (AFP/File, Pedro Ladeira)

GABORONE, Botswana — Botswana on Monday became the second African country to be featured on Google Maps' Street View, allowing users to explore landmarks such as the Okavango Delta.

"Whether you are planning a safari, doing a homework assignment on Botswana, or promoting your local business, Street View will allow you to experience a slice of the country," said Ory Okolloh, policy manager for Google Sub-Saharan Africa.

Users will now be able to virtually explore the Okavango Delta as well as the Kalahari desert and Chobe National Park -- home to the largest concentration of African elephants in the world.

Street View is already available in more than 30 countries around the world. "We hope to add more cultures, landscapes and sites as Street View continues to expand to new places," Okolloh said.

Street View was first launched on the African continent in Botswana's neighbour South Africa, just ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

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Botswana to ban wildlife hunting

Yahoo – AFP, 29 November 2012

An elephant is pictured at Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape

 region of South Africa, near Port Elizabeth, on July 9. Botswana, one of Africa's

 premier safari destinations, said Thursday it will ban commercial hunting of wildlife 

because of a decline in animal populations.

Botswana, one of Africa's premier safari destinations, said Thursday it will ban commercial hunting of wildlife because of a decline in animal populations.

The government has decided to "indefinitely suspend commercial hunting of wildlife in public or controlled hunting areas" from January 1, 2014, the environment ministry said in a statement.

The government of the diamond-rich country stated that the killing of wild game for sport was no longer seen to be "compatible with either our national commitment to conserve and preserve local fauna or the long term growth of the local tourism industry".

Tourism contributes about 12 percent to Botswana's gross domestic product.

Hunting concessions in the vast southern African country currently exist in the Okavango Delta and in parks in the Kalahari region, famous for its high-end tourism facilities.

The country boasts large numbers of big game like elephant, lion and buffalo, but the government has voiced concern over a sharp decline in some species.

"If left unchecked this decline poses a genuine threat to both the conservation of our natural heritage and the long term health of the local tourist industry which currently ranks second to diamonds in terms of its revenue earnings," the ministry said.

It added that individual licences for specific game, in specific circumstances, would be assessed.

The ban was foreshadowed by President Ian Khama in his state of the nation address last month.

Earlier this year Spanish King Juan Carlos, 74, went on what was to become an infamous elephant hunting trip in Botswana's northern Okavango region.

The trip attracted widespread criticism back home, as the country was battling an economic decline.

His expedition was cut short after he suffered a hip injury. 

Related Article:

Botswana to ban hunting over wildlife species decline

Spain's King Juan Carlos poses in front of a dead elephant
on a hunting trip in Botswana, Africa. Photograph: Target
Press/Barcroft Media

Spain's king ousted as WWF honorary president

Spain's King Juan Carlos under fire over elephant hunting trip

Spain's king ousted as WWF honorary president

Associated Press, Jul 21, 2012 

MADRID (AP) — The World Wildlife Fund's branch in Spain says it has ousted King Juan Carlos as its honorary president — a title he'd held since 1968 — because the monarch's recent elephant hunting safari was incompatible with the group's goal of conserving endangered species.

The fund said in a statement that "although such hunting is legal and regulated" it had "received many expressions of distress from its members and society in general." It says members voted in a meeting in Madrid on Saturday to "to get rid of the honorary President."

News of the king's April elephant hunting trip in Botswana upset many Spaniards who considered it an opulent extravagance at a time of economic distress in the country.

The Royal Palace declined immediate comment on the WWF announcement.

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King Juan Carlos on his €10,000-a-day hunting safari in Botswana, which
had  been hushed up before he fell and broke his hip. Photograph: Target
Press/Barcroft Media

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Africa's share of foreign direct investment largest ever

BBC News, 3 May 2012

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Africa received its largest ever share of global foreign direct investment (FDI) last year, an Ernst and Young survey has said.

FDI projects grew by 27% in 2011, pushing Africa's share of the world's investment to almost a quarter.

FDI inflows, now about $80bn (£50bn), should reach $150bn by 2015, according to the global consultants.

But potential investors still see Africa as "the least attractive" destination, the report finds.

'Story of progress'

Investment is close to levels last seen before the financial crisis, the firm said in its 2012 Africa Attractiveness Survey.

There have been significant inflows into the manufacturing, infrastructure-related and services sectors.

Ernst and Young found there was a "stark contrast" between those who had already invested in Africa and those who had not, with the latter concerned about corruption and political instability.

"In fact, for those respondents with no business presence in Africa, the continent is viewed as by far the least attractive investment destination in the world," the report said.

"There are challenges, but we need to start having a different conversation about Africa where we focus on the positive stories," Michael Lolar, head of Africa Business Centre at Ernst and Young's Johannesburg office told the BBC.

"For us, the story of Africa is a story of progress, growth, a story of political and economic vibrancy," Mr Lolar said.

He said Zambia saw a 93% rise in investments over the past year - a result of a well-managed economy and a peaceful handover of power.

Ghana, Botswana, Tanzania, Cape Verde and Mauritius also attracted high FDI inflows.

Africa itself is also helping to push up investments.

"Intra-African investment has grown substantially, more so than any other category in the last four years, being led by South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria," Mr Lolar said.

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"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Based in Greece, Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to built Africa to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - New !