Same-sex marriages: Ombudsman to fight for couples
Ombudsman Basilius Dyakugha has vowed to help uphold the Supreme Court ruling that government must recognise foreign same-sex spouses married to Namibians in terms of the country's immigration laws, amid a storm of resistance from many quarters.
Dyakugha is the first senior state official to publicly declare he would support same-sex couples affected by the ruling, after the Swapo Party condemned what it called the ‘importation’ of foreign cultures into the country.
“We are just there to follow the laws and we are going to give protection to those individuals who have been granted the rights by the Supreme Court,” he told Namibian Sun over the weekend.
“If the ministry of home affairs is going to have issues and does not recognise the ruling, then these individuals are welcome to approach us and we will go and defend them at home affairs based on the Supreme Court ruling,” he said.
Tolerance
President Hage Geingob’s views on the matter are not explicitly known, with his office only stating last week that the head of state “promotes a culture of tolerance and respectful disagreement”.
Meanwhile, Attorney-General Festus Mbandeka, who is fighting against scrapping the sodomy law in the High Court, said government is conducting a legal assessment of the Supreme Court ruling.
Dyakugha is the first senior state official to publicly declare he would support same-sex couples affected by the ruling, after the Swapo Party condemned what it called the ‘importation’ of foreign cultures into the country.
“We are just there to follow the laws and we are going to give protection to those individuals who have been granted the rights by the Supreme Court,” he told Namibian Sun over the weekend.
“If the ministry of home affairs is going to have issues and does not recognise the ruling, then these individuals are welcome to approach us and we will go and defend them at home affairs based on the Supreme Court ruling,” he said.
Tolerance
President Hage Geingob’s views on the matter are not explicitly known, with his office only stating last week that the head of state “promotes a culture of tolerance and respectful disagreement”.
Meanwhile, Attorney-General Festus Mbandeka, who is fighting against scrapping the sodomy law in the High Court, said government is conducting a legal assessment of the Supreme Court ruling.
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