{"id":1696,"date":"2026-05-25T04:44:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T04:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnnglobalnews.com\/2026\/05\/25\/she-does-not-back-down-the-couple-seeking-to-legalise-same-sex-marriage-in-botswana\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T04:44:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T04:44:04","slug":"she-does-not-back-down-the-couple-seeking-to-legalise-same-sex-marriage-in-botswana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/?p=1696","title":{"rendered":"\u2018She does not back down\u2019: the couple seeking to legalise same-sex marriage in Botswana"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-2zxs1v\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"579ede0c-1cfa-489e-9175-a0dd71d27eee\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Bonolo Selelo and Tsholofelo Kumile smiling\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/bedc5386e1a3bf126cc1563c07558997ba9a9494\/434_160_4599_3679\/master\/4599.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"371.97977821265494\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Bonolo Selelo, left, and Tsholofelo Kumile met in October 2023 and got engaged the following Easter.<\/span> Photograph: Kefilwe Monosi\/The Guardian<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"579ede0c-1cfa-489e-9175-a0dd71d27eee\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Bonolo Selelo, left, and Tsholofelo Kumile met in October 2023 and got engaged the following Easter.<\/span> Photograph: Kefilwe Monosi\/The Guardian<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">\u2018She does not back down\u2019: the couple seeking to legalise same-sex marriage in Botswana<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-b3fmmo\">\n<p>Bonolo Selelo and Tsholofelo Kumile are going to court for right to wed but face fierce opposition from church groups<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><span style=\"color:var(--drop-cap);font-weight:500\" class=\"dcr-15rw6c2\">B<\/span>onolo Selelo was at Botswana\u2019s national museum for a Gaborone Pride event when she spotted Tsholofelo Kumile and was struck by her good looks. The two initiated a conversation and when Kumile expressed anxiety about what a tarot reading at the event might hold, Selelo thought nothing of offering her a hug. The reading turned out positive but Kumile claimed her hug anyway and they talked for hours.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">That was 1 October 2023. Two months later, they moved in together. Then, on a hike during the Easter holidays in 2024, Selelo proposed to Kumile. A year later, they visited a local government office to register their intent to marry and were told it wasn\u2019t legal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cIt was kind of expected. But I don\u2019t think they expected the response,\u201d Kumile said. She looked affectionately at Selelo. \u201cShe does not back down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The couple launched a court case, claiming the right to marry. Hearings are scheduled for 14 and 15 July. If they succeed, Botswana would become the second African country to legalise same-sex marriage, after South <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/africa\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Africa<\/a> in 2006. However, the case is facing fierce opposition from the government and traditional and church groups.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cWe did have a frank discussion about it,\u201d said Selelo, sitting next to her fiancee in the office of her law firm, which Kumile also works for. \u201cI said \u2026 I want us to get married, because I love you, but there\u2019s also the practical part.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">As a lawyer, Selelo worried what would happen to Kumile if she died. \u201cI feel that I would be able to withstand a lot of legal pressure, but I wouldn\u2019t want her to be harassed if I am no longer there to offer that protection. And, for me, marriage would give her that added protection that no other institution would be able to give her.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"8adaa3a2-1880-497d-960c-7f4d568ea837\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-173mewl\">\n<div id=\"img-2\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Closeup of the couple holding hands\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/7d61c5f215d0e4d5ec1174e55bda242400c827ff\/520_0_5200_4160\/master\/5200.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"356\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><a href=\"#img-2\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"8adaa3a2-1880-497d-960c-7f4d568ea837\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-fd61eq\"><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">\u2018I said \u2026 I want us to get married, because I love you, but there\u2019s also the practical part.\u2019<\/span> Photograph: Kefilwe Monosi\/The Guardian<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Botswana <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2019\/jun\/11\/botswana-high-court-decriminalises-gay-sex\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">decriminalised same-sex relations<\/a> in 2019 when the high court ruled that a British colonial-era ban was unconstitutional. The decision was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global-development\/2021\/nov\/29\/botswana-upholds-ruling-decriminalising-same-sex-relationships\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">upheld on appeal<\/a> in 2021. The government is now defending its ban on same-sex marriage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A spokesperson for Botswana\u2019s Attorney General said: \u201cThe Attorney General\u2019s position&#8230; is that the Marriage Act stipulates that a valid marriage is one between a bride and a bridegroom and or a husband and wife, connoting a bond between a man and woman in the conventional sense. The Marriage Act does not provide for same sex marriages.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Selelo and Kumile argued that another law, the <a href=\"https:\/\/botswanalaws.com\/StatutesActpdf\/1984Actpdf\/INTERPRETATION%20ACT,%20NO.%2020%20OF%201984.pdf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Interpretation Act<\/a>, supports their case, due to the law stating: \u201cIn an enactment words importing the male sex include the female sex and words importing the female sex include males.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Much of southern Africa and the continent\u2019s island states are relatively liberal compared with the rest of Africa, where 32 of 54 countries <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humandignitytrust.org\/lgbt-the-law\/map-of-criminalisation\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">criminalise<\/a> consensual same-sex intimacy. Since 2012, Lesotho, Mozambique, Seychelles, Angola, Mauritius and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/article\/2024\/jun\/21\/namibia-high-court-overturns-law-banning-consensual-gay-sex\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Namibia<\/a> have legalised same-sex relations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">However, some countries on the continent have passed harsher laws amid a global backlash against LGBTQ+ rights. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global-development\/2023\/may\/29\/ugandan-president-yoweri-museveni-anti-lgbtq-bill-death-penalty\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Uganda<\/a> in 2023 and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global-development\/2026\/apr\/07\/senegal-harsh-anti-gay-law-hiv-progress\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Senegal<\/a> this year increased the prison times for consensual gay sex and both criminalised the \u201cpromotion\u201d of homosexuality.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Opinions in Botswana about LGBTQ+ people have become more negative since the 2019 decriminalisation ruling. In a 2021 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.afrobarometer.org\/articles\/public-opinion-and-tolerance-of-homosexuality\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">survey<\/a> conducted by the pan-African survey organisation Afrobarometer, half of Botswanans said they either would like or would not care about having gay people as neighbours, the joint fifth highest out of 34 countries surveyed. Three years later, the figure had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.afrobarometer.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AD1045-In-mostly-Christian-Namibia-same-sex-rights-face-barriers-but-not-necessarily-from-religion-Afrobarometer-14sept25.pdf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">fallen to 41%<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"cba86ab9-88da-4259-82ca-7128ac35a9db\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-173mewl\">\n<div id=\"img-3\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"People holding a rainbow flag\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/7371abe83dcd1b22c9439989add1791d885f805e\/92_0_1843_1474\/master\/1843.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"355.9034183396636\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><a href=\"#img-3\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"cba86ab9-88da-4259-82ca-7128ac35a9db\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-fd61eq\"><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Activists celebrate after the high court ruled against a British colonial-era ban on same-sex relations in 2019.<\/span> Photograph: AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Legabibo, an LGBTQ+ rights campaign group, is running a campaign called \u201c<em>Lorato Ke Lorato<\/em>\u201d (Love Is Love) to try to change hearts and minds. \u201cWe want to show ourselves as ordinary citizens \u2026 We\u2019re not asking for any special rights,\u201d said Matlhongonolo Samsam, who is leading the campaign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">On the other side is the Dingwetsi Association, a traditional women\u2019s group that promotes heterosexual marriage and is seeking to join the case. Grace Silver founded it in 2015, concerned at rates of divorce and family breakups. She said it now had about 2,000 members paying 20 pula (\u00a31.10) a month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Members often wear traditional headwraps and blue, white and black tartan blankets that signify they are married women. Several showed up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reel\/894700000033573\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">wearing the attire<\/a> to a hearing in March for Selelo and Kumile\u2019s case. \u201cThis is our culture. We need to protect it,\u201d Silver said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Accompanying Silver was Moshe Morebodi, of the Botswana House of Prayer and Transformation. \u201cSame-sex human rights are a subset of a satanic sect,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">About 80% of Botswana\u2019s population is Christian, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldreligiondatabase.org\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">World Religion Database<\/a>. Tshepo Ricki Kgositau runs the Ricki Kgositau Foundation to support transgender Botswanans and is also a member of an LGBTQ+ task team within the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. She said: \u201cIt has been really disappointing to see the very conservative and narrow interpretation by some conservative faith community members \u2026 If you do not know love, you cannot claim to know God.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The lack of same-sex marriage in Botswana caused Kgositau her own difficulties. In 2017, she married her husband in South Africa. He was meant to come to Botswana for their traditional wedding but because she had not yet legally changed her gender (which requires a court ruling), he was barred from entering the country. They also lost the money they had spent planning the celebrations. \u201cIt was absolutely devastating,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">For Brendon Tereki and his partner, Tashatha, the legal case brings hope. After connecting on Facebook two years ago, their first meeting at a popular bar in Gaborone was also Tereki\u2019s first date with a man in public. By the end of the night, Tashatha had made him feel comfortable enough that they were able to kiss. \u201cHe has made me open up more than I ever thought,\u201d Tereki said. \u201cI really want to get married.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/botswana\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Botswana<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/lgbt-rights\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">LGBTQ+ rights<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/africa\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Africa<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=%E2%80%98She%20does%20not%20back%20down%E2%80%99:%20the%20couple%20seeking%20to%20legalise%20same-sex%20marriage%20in%20Botswana&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/may\/25\/same-sex-marriage-botswana-couple-court?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2026%2Fmay%2F25%2Fsame-sex-marriage-botswana-couple-court&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=world\/2026\/may\/25\/same-sex-marriage-botswana-couple-court\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tn16h9\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bonolo Selelo, left, and Tsholofelo Kumile met in October 2023 and got engaged the following Easter. Photograph: Kefilwe Monosi\/The Guardian View image in fullscreen Bonolo Selelo, left, and Tsholofelo Kumile &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/?p=1696\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1696\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnnglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}