Same sex couple sues gov't for right to marry
Sharon Mathala | Wednesday December 10, 2025 09:50
They are specifically challenging Section 10(2) of the Act, arguing that it violates Sections 3, 7, 12, 13, and 15 of the Constitution.
In papers seen by The Monitor, Selelo details their love story. The couple says their union began in October 2023, and they moved in together two months later.
They were engaged a year later, when Selelo proposed to Kumile during the Easter holidays.
“I asked her not only to be my wife but also my life partner, for us to share our lives,” Selelo says.
After the engagement, the couple informed their friends and family and began planning an engagement celebration, which they hosted in Tlokweng around June 2024.
Following this, they began planning their wedding.
“My fiancée and I desire to be married to each other in a civil marriage in accordance with the Marriage Act CAP 29:01 and to enjoy the rights and protections that flow from a civil union,” Selelo states.
In pursuit of formalising their union, the couple says that in April, accompanied by two witnesses, they went to the Department of Civil and National Registration—Marriages Office at BBS Mall to register for the publication of banns.
They were rejected. They say officers informed them that two women cannot marry under Botswana law. The pair was then referred to the head office, where they say they were again met with resistance.
The couple argues they tried to explain that nothing in law forbids marriage based on sexual orientation, citing the marriage of Sir Seretse Khama and Lady Ruth Khama as an example of a union once considered unconventional but not illegal.
“We were advised that perhaps it would be best for us to go and get married in South Africa. We were further told that other couples had come before us and were given the same advice,” Selelo says.
However, the couple argues that getting married in South Africa would mean they cannot enjoy the rights and protections of marriage in their home country. They further argue that their marriage “in no way, manner, or form prejudices the enjoyment of any rights or freedoms of any other individual”.
“My fiancée and I seek to formally create a family between the two of us through marriage. We too seek to enjoy the same rights, dignity, and recognition as heterosexual couples in Botswana in relation to solemnising our marriage,” the couple states.
According to the couple, being denied this right “not only deprives us of material rights such as inheritance and medical decision-making, but also perpetuates social stigma against same-sex couples.'
“We are treated as second-class citizens in our own country when we are full contributing members of society,” they argue.
The case returns to court on February 6, 2026.