The Namibian High Court ruled Friday that the criminalization of “sodomy” and “unnatural sexual offences” is incompatible with the right of non-discrimination guaranteed under the Namibian constitution.

In the case of Dausab v The Minister of Justice, applicant Friedel Dausab, a Namibian gay man working as an LGBTQ rights activist, stated that he endured hardship by openly living as a gay man. Thus, he decided to bring the claim in order to challenge the validity of the legislation banning sexual acts between males. These offences, which were implemented during the colonization before 1990, cover sexual acts in private and in public between male persons.

The high court agreed with Dausab and declared that the parts of laws such as the Criminal Procedure Act and the Defence Act punishing the offences of consensual sex acts between males constituted unfair discrimination, mentioning that sexual conduct between males and females as well as between females is not criminalized. Furthermore, although the respondents argued that sexual activity between males is seen as unacceptable by a majority of citizens, the court said it was not sufficient to justify the discrimination. Therefore, the court ruled, provisions criminalizing sexual activity between males infringe Article 10 of the Namibian constitution guaranteeing equality under law. The court emphasized the need for judicial review of legislation as a means to guarantee constitutional value and to protect the rights of minorities and others whose rights cannot be adequately protected.

The court’s decision was preceded Wednesday by a call from Amnesty International to protect the human rights of LGBTQ people in Namibia and to allow them to assemble and associate without fear of discrimination and attacks. Considering possible anti-LGBTQ rhetoric from faith and religious leaders in Namibia, as well as the Supreme Court’s previous judgment recognizing foreign same-sex marriages, the organization urged the authorities to avoid any more anti-LGBTQ backlash.