After the same sex ruling...

Sixteen years after the Court of Appeal ruled that Botswana was not yet ready for the decriminalisation of same sex acts, the High Court, in a compelling 132-page judgement on Tuesday, ruled that Batswana were, in fact, ready. The nation is only just beginning to absorb the impact of this judgement and Batswana across the country, of different ages, locations, occupations, beliefs and leanings are slowly beginning to come to terms with what happened on Tuesday.

And therein lies the nub. This week’s developments, whether one welcomes them or rejects them, are not the ideal way change should be brought about in society.Ideally, when society, even a minority within society, begins agitating for change, these demands are carried up the political structures from councillors to legislators, weighed and debated at every point until votes are done in the National Assembly.