Anxiety, hope surround landmark same-sex marriage judgment

JANA-MARI SMITHWINDHOEKThe long legal battle against the government by two Namibians and their same-sex, foreign-born spouses is heading towards a watershed judgment in the Windhoek High Court on Thursday.While the case will likely head to the Supreme Court on appeal whatever the decision by High Court judges Hannelie Prinsloo, Orben Sibeya and Esi Schimming-Chase, its outcome is a significant litmus test for Namibia’s legal stance towards equal rights for Namibia’s LGBTQ community.The judgment follows oral arguments in May last year in the cases brought by Namibian Anette Seiler and her German-born wife Anita Seiler-Lilles, and Namibian Johann Potgieter and husband Daniel Digashu.The couples sued the government to have their marriages, concluded outside of Namibia in countries that allow same-sex marriages, recognised and for their spouses to be afforded the same immigration rights as heterosexual Namibians married to foreigners.“After so many years of fighting and waiting, it is a relief that we get to finally hear the judgment. With that, there's also anxiety, of course, because this could go either way and that is just terrifying,” Digashu and Potgieter said in an interview recently.“But the overall feeling is that of hope. Hope to continue with life, hope for a better future and hope for the LGBTQIA+ community because if it's a win, it's a win for the entire community.”The second couple, Anita and her Namibian wife Anette Seiler-Lilles, say the judgment will not only impact them personally.“We hope that the judgment will be one step further to end discrimination against gays and lesbians in Namibia.”The couple have been together for 23 years, and were married in 2004, but their decision to move to Anette’s country of birth after retirement has been thwarted by the ministry of home affairs’ refusal to accept their status as a married couple.“From personal experience we know that many Namibians do not have a problem with persons loving persons of the same sex. Many Namibians accept us as we are. But a few don't and some are in positions of power, for example at the ministry of home affairs,” they said in an interview.Not the end of the roadThe couples’ lawyer, Carli Schickerling, explained that whatever the judges’ final decision, “even if we do succeed, the government will appeal to the Supreme Court - as will we if we are not successful.”Nevertheless, Schickerling said she remains “hopeful and cautiously optimistic that justice will prevail and that humanity and kindness, and the principle that the law is there to protect all of us, specifically minorities, against the will and (often) judgemental and conservative opinions of the larger part of our population, will be the factors that grant a judgment or ruling in our favour.”Digashu and Potgieter agree that the judgment will impact the LGBTQ community as a whole.“The judgment has the potential of getting us closer to freedom and recognition or setting us ten steps back. We hope for the former. After waiting for so long, we fear the uncertainties an unfavourable judgment might bring and what that would mean to us as a family unit, our friends and families and the LGBTQIA+ community as a well.”Anette and Anita underlined that they are only asking to be treated equally to all Namibians.“Gays and lesbians are human beings with dignity. But some trample on our dignity just because we love somebody. They deny us rights that everybody else has - to be married to somebody we love.”Tax-funded discrimination“My hope is that we will not have to keep fighting the Namibian government, which uses taxpayer money to fund their continued and unnecessary discrimination. My fear is that we might be forced to,” said Pascale du Toit-Henke, a Namibian who is also suing for recognition of her marriage to South African Jennifer du Toit-Henke.“It's very little to ask; it's basic human dignity,” her wife Jennifer added.Nevertheless, she and others fear that the battle is not close to an end yet, with multiple implications on their day-to-day lives.“My fears are that there may still be lengthy court proceedings beyond this judgment, which has financial and travel implications for us. Although Judge Masuku has ruled that we may travel freely to and from Namibia, border officials do not respect his court order. This makes travel extremely stressful, and I have therefore been unable to fully commit to international job opportunities."jana@namibiansun.com

Anxiety, hope surround landmark same-sex marriage judgment

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-02

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Anxiety, hope surround landmark same-sex marriage judgment

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-02

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