18 Jun 2023

The Ministry of Justice is reviewing a number of laws in response to both public outcry and a recent ruling by the Court of Appeal.

The Minister of Justice, Mr Machana Shamukuni told a kgotla meeting in Bokspits recently that one of the bills that he would soon table in Parliament sought  to regulate access to bail.

Mr Shamukuni said government had taken into consideration concern expressed by the public, and had sought to strengthen the statute that governed bail in order to keep communities safe.

He said the law would provide for consistency on bail applications, and establish conditions which must be considered such as the gravity of a crime before releasing an accused person on bail.

Mr Shamukuni expressed concern at the increase in the number of people who were granted bail, only to commit the same crimes they were on trial for.  

He also disclosed that the Penal Code would be amended to decriminalise same-sex relationships.

He explained that this was meant to comply with the decision of the Court of Appeal, which held that the law as it currently stood was unconstitutional as it violated other citizens’ rights to dignity, liberty, privacy and equality.  

Though some residents spoke against decriminalisation of same-sex relationships, Mr Shamukuni explained that since Botswana was founded on the principle of the rule of law, the government was compelled to comply with the ruling of the Court of Appeal as the country’s final arbiter.

The proposed amendment was welcomed by Kgosi Isaac Titus of Struizendam, who urged the community to accept that people were created differently, and they were all entitled to the same rights guaranteed by the constitution. Ends