EDITORIAL: Dausab application seeks to suppress gays

Justice minister Yvonne Dausab has finally taken a public stance on the unrelenting fight for equal justice by Namibia’s LGBTQ community. In a historic judgment that has garnered worldwide attention and praise, the Namibian High Court recently declared that the common law offences of ‘sodomy’ and ‘unnatural sex’ are unconstitutional. Dausab is named as the first appellant in the government’s unsurprising and taxpayer-funded appeal to the Supreme Court to overturn the judgment. She has made her position clear, explicitly cementing her legacy on the wrong side of history by rejecting equal rights and protections for all Namibians. In a recent column, John Nakuta noted that the struck-down laws “were relics of Namibia’s colonial legal heritage”.

“They were introduced as a means of colonial control and they reflect colonial-era values,” he said. He wrote that while the ruling was a “great win for human rights in Namibia”, government would more than likely appeal. “This is an election year in Namibia. LGBTQ rights, unfortunately, remain a contentious and polarised political issue. In my view, it provides the ruling elite with a handy way to divert attention from the substantive social issues that plague the country, like poverty, unemployment and inequality.” Until now, Dausab had remained steadfastly silent, failing to use her position to support equal rights for all Namibians. But, with her name listed first on the appeal against the landmark ruling, she has shown that she not only lacks interest in fighting for the constitutional rights of all Namibians - as is her mandate - but is also prepared to openly deny those protections.