Namibian Authorities Reiterate the Illegal Status of Same-Sex Marriage
Namibia’s Minister of Justice Fillemon Wise Immanuel has stated that same-sex couples cannot legally marry within the country, despite rumors circulating on social media. He made the clarification in the National Assembly on Tuesday, September 15, while answering questions from fellow ministers.
The explanation was prompted by messages spreading on WhatsApp claiming that the High Court had recently ruled in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage. Immanuel stressed that this information is completely untrue. According to The Namibian , the minister recalled that the landmark May 2023 Supreme Court ruling dealt exclusively with the recognition for immigration purposes of unions legally concluded outside Namibia.
“In so far as our legal and constitutional order is concerned, same-sex marriage is still impermissible on the Namibian soil,” he added, noting that the government will recognize foreign marriages only in a strictly defined immigration context.
In 2024, the country’s parliament passed a new Marriage Act, which explicitly defines marriage as a union of persons of the opposite sex; however, this legislation has not yet come into force due to ongoing finalization of regulations.
Namibia remains one of the southern African countries with relatively mild laws regarding LGBT people: consensual homosexual relations were decriminalized by a court ruling in June 2024. Nevertheless, South Africa remains the only country on the continent where same-sex marriage has been officially allowed since 2006.
