In Namibia, the Supreme Court ruled that the government must recognize the unions of same-sex couples who married in countries where it is legal for them to do so. This is even if same-sex marriage remains illegal in Namibia itself.
It is worth noting that sexual contact between men is still a crime in Namibia with offenders threatened with jail sentence.
The case that led to the SC decision was filed by a German woman married to a Namibian woman in Germany, and of a South African man who married a Namibian man in South Africa. The Namibian government initially refused to give the non-Namibian spouses residency rights since – supposedly – their marriages could not be recognized in Namibia. The couples took legal action, with the Supreme Court eventually deciding in their favor.
“The approach of the (interior) ministry to exclude spouses… in a validly concluded same-sex marriage… infringes both their interrelated rights to dignity and equality,” the Supreme Court stated.
