(CNN)

Botswana’s High Court has overturned a colonial-era law criminalizing consensual same-sex relations in a landmark victory for Africa’s LGBTQ movements.

The court in the southern African country unanimously ruled on Tuesday that the legislation was discriminatory, unconstitutional and against the public interest.

“A democratic society is one that embraces tolerance, diversity and open-mindedness,” Justice Michael Leburu said, noting that discriminatory law not only serves as a detriment to LGBTQ people, but holds back all of society.

“Societal inclusion is central to ending poverty and fostering shared prosperity,” he said.

The ruling comes just a month after Kenya’s high court upheld its laws criminalizing homosexuality.
Under section 164 of Botswana’s Penal Code, “carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature,” was an offense that carried a maximum sentence of seven years imprisonment. Section 167 made “acts of gross indecency” — whether in public or private — a punishable offense, with up to two years in prison.

The case was brought to court in March by Letsweletse Motshidiemang, a 21-year-old student at the University of Botswana, who argued that society had changed and that homosexuality was more widely accepted, local media reported.
The packed court erupted in cheers of joy upon hearing the verdict.

Neela Ghoshal, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch, told CNN that the ruling sets a “powerful precedent on the continent by recognizing that the criminalization of same sex conduct violates privacy rights and is blatantly discriminatory.”

“The High Court is right in declaring that sodomy laws belong in a museum or the archives, not in modern life,” she said.

Anna Mmolai-Chalmers, coordinator of Legabibo, a prominent LGBTQ rights group in the country, said that the verdict would have a tangible impact on LGBTQ individuals’ daily life, saying that it would help with access to health and legal services.

“Before we were struggling. People have been hiding,” Mmolai-Chalmers told CNN.

“This judgement can make a massive change for our lives. This is what excites me the most. The judgement means so much… The court has upheld our dignity, our privacy, and our liberty… It means freedom,” she added.

Human rights lawyer Keikantse Phele called the judgement “a welcome development,” adding that there is still “lots of work that needs to be done in terms of access to all services, spaces and development.”

While homophobic attitudes continue to prevail in parts of the country, Botswana’s LGBTQ activists and supporters have marked some victories for the movement in recent years.

The 2010 Employment Act made it illegal for employers to terminate contracts on the basis of sexual orientation, in 2014 the High Court ruled that the government had to allow Legabibo to register as an organization, and two landmark rulings in October and December 2017 laid the foundation for trans people to more easily change their official gender on identity documents.

Following a brutal attack on a transgender woman last November, Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi signaled his support for LGBTI people, saying “there are many people in same sex relationships in this country who have been violated and have also suffered in silence for fear of being discriminated. (…) Just like other citizens, they deserve to have their rights protected.”

Out of 54 African countries, at least 31 of them have enacted laws making it illegal to have gay sex, according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA).

In parts of Nigeria and Somalia, and in Sudan, it is punishable by death; in Mauritania the death penalty is a possible punishment. In Tanzania, being convicted of having same-sex relations can result in life sentences.

In January, Angola’s parliament adopted a new penal code, for the first time since it gained independence from Portugal in 1975, which paved the way for lawmakers to remove the provision characterizing same-sex relationships as “vices against nature.”

Mozambique removed anti-gay laws in 2015, while São Tomé and Cape Verde have also abolished laws criminalizing gay relationships.

In 2018, an appeals court in Mombasa ruled that forced anal exams on people who are suspected of same-sex activity are unconstitutional, following the arrest and forced anal exams of two men in 2015. The decision reversed a 2016 court ruling. Later that year, a Kenyan court temporarily lifted a ban on the controversial film “Rafiki,” which told the story of a romantic lesbian relationship.

However, attempts to further criminalize homosexuality have been taken in countries including Uganda, South Sudan, Burundi, Liberia, and Nigeria over the last five years, according to an Amnesty International report. In some African countries, conservative leaders continue to spread harmful and false rhetoric, in which they “openly and falsely accuse LGBTI individuals of spreading HIV/AIDS and of ‘converting’ children to homosexuality,” according to the report.

Angola has decriminalized same-sex relationships, rights group says

Across the globe, a staggering 70 UN member states — almost half of which are in Africa — still criminalize same-sex relations between two consenting adults, according to ILGA’s 2019 state sponsored homophobia report.

In 26 of those countries, the penalty varies from 10 years in prison to life.

CNN’s Stephanie Busari and David McKenzie contributed to this report.

BY BBC

Facebook has said it will not remove a manipulated video of its chief Mark Zuckerberg from Instagram, in which he appears to credit a secretive organisation for his success.

The clip is a “deepfake”, made by AI software that uses photos of a person to create a video of them in action.

Facebook had previously been criticised for not removing a doctored clip of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The latest decision coincided with the announcement of 500 new jobs in London.

The social network has said many of the posts will be involved in building machine-learning based software of its own to automatically detect and remove malicious content posted to its platforms.

In addition, they will build tools to help human workers review potentially harmful material.

The company said it would bring its tally to more than 3,000 jobs in the capital by the end of 2019.

The deepfake video of Mark Zuckerberg was created for an art installation on display in Sheffield called Spectre. It is designed to draw attention to how people can be monitored and manipulated via social media in light of the Cambridge Analytica affair – among other scandals.

It features a computer-generated image of the chief executive’s face merged with footage of his body sourced from a video presentation given in 2017 at an office in Facebook’s Silicon Valley headquarters. An actor provided the audio recording it is synched to.

The 16-second clip – which plays on a loop – was uploaded to Instagram on Saturday.

However, it only gained prominence after Motherboard reported on its existence on Tuesday.

“The result is fairly realistic – if you leave the video muted,” commented the news site.

“The voice superimposed on the video is clearly not Zuckerberg, but someone attempting an impression.”

The Instagram post has now been viewed more than 25,000 times. Copies have also been shared via Facebook itself.

“We will treat this content the same way we treat all misinformation on Instagram,” said a spokesman for the app’s parent company Facebook.

“If third-party fact-checkers mark it as false, we will filter it from Instagram’s recommendation surfaces like Explore and hashtag pages.”

The artists involved said they “welcomed” Facebook’s decision but still questioned the company’s ethics.

“We feel that by using art to engage and critically explore this kind of technology, we are attempting to interrogate the power of these new forms of computational propaganda and as a result would not like to see our artwork censored by Facebook,” they told the BBC.

“We would however welcome meaningful regulation and oversight of the digital influence industry.”

Political row

Had Facebook opted to block the post, it could have faced accusations of hypocrisy after refusing to remove a manipulated clip of Ms Pelosi three weeks ago.

That video was not a deepfake, but had been slowed down in parts to make the Democratic leader’s speech appear garbled.

The tech firm said at the time that information posted to its site did not need to be “true”. But it said it would limit how often the video appeared in members’ news feeds, and provide a link to fact-checking sites.

Ms Pelosi subsequently criticised the firm saying: “Right now they are putting up something they know is false.”

“I can take it … But [Facebook is] lying to the public.”

The Washington Post has since reported that Mr Zuckerberg tried to personally contact Ms Pelosi to discuss the matter, but she had not responded.

BY BBC

Police have fired rubber bullets and tear gas at protesters in Hong Kong where anger at a new extradition bill has spilled over into violence.

Protesters blocked key roads around government buildings and threw bricks and projectiles at police.

The government is still backing the bill, which would allow extradition to mainland China and it is expected to pass its final vote on 20 June.

But the Legislative Council (LegCo) has now delayed its second reading.

LegCo said in a statement that Wednesday’s scheduled meeting was cancelled and it was unclear when the second reading would take place.

Twenty-two people have been injured so far in clashes but none are said to be critical.

How have the protests unfolded?

Protests had been largely peaceful as thousands of people took to the streets and attempted to block access to government buildings ahead of the scheduled debate of the bill.

But on Wednesday the demonstrations escalated, with tear gas, rubber bullets and beanbag rounds being fired by police as activists tried to storm government buildings.

Police formed a barricade with plastic shields and waved a banner saying “Warning, tear gas” in an attempt to keep protesters away.

But protesters seemed undeterred, throwing traffic cones and other random objects they can get their hands on.

China has expressed “firm support” for the extradition bill. But a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman has described reports that security forces from the mainland could be sent to Hong Kong as “fake news”.

Geng Shuang told reporters in Beijing that such reports were “rumours to fool people so as to create panic”.

The BBC’s Gabriel Gatehouse is inside the LegCo building. He reports one officer was injured and was carried away. The doors have been padlocked.

Ambulances are now making their way towards the protest site, according to the Reuters news agency.

Police Commissioner Stephen Lo Wai-chung described the clashes as “rioting”, punishable by 10 years in prison, according to the South China Morning Post. He said police had “no choice” but to use weapons to stop protesters from barging defence lines.

“We condemn such irresponsible behaviour. There’s no need to hurt innocent people to express your opinions,” he said.

But one young protester, decked in a black mask and gloves, told news agency AFP that they would not leave until “they scrap the law”.

Critics of the bill of amendments to the extradition laws cite the alleged use of torture, arbitrary detentions and forced confessions in the Chinese judicial system.

The government has promised legally binding human rights safeguards and other measures it says should alleviate concerns.

Nevertheless, this has led to the largest rallies the territory has seen since it was handed back to China by the British in 1997.

Police said they are also investigating death threats made against Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, over the bill.

In a tearful interview with the TVB station, Ms Lam dismissed accusations levelled against her by the protesters that she had “sold out” Hong Kong.

“I have grown up here with all the Hong Kong people,” she said. “My love for this place has led me to make many personal sacrifices.”

‘Test of wills’

By Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, BBC News, Hong Kong

On Harcourt Road in central Hong Kong, thousands of protesters cheered as volunteers ran forward with goggles and umbrellas – protection against police pepper spray.

Almost all are young and wearing face masks. This is not a sanctioned protest and they fear retaliation or even prosecution.

For now at least the protesters appear to have succeeded. But this is a test of wills. So far the police have stood back allowing the shutdown of much of central Hong Kong.

But if the protests continue and the government remains determined to pass the extradition bill, many here have told me they fear things could turn ugly.

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Who is involved?

A wide range of groups have spoken out against extradition to China in recent days including schools, lawyers and businesses, with hundreds of petitions also in circulation.

More than 100 businesses have said they will shut to allow their staff to protest for freedom, and nearly 4,000 teachers said they would strike.

Powerful business lobbies say they fear the plans will damage Hong Kong’s competitiveness as a base of operations.

On Sunday, organisers say, more than a million people took to the streets demanding the government abandon the amendments, though police estimated turnout was 240,000 at its peak.

What are the proposed changes?

They allow for extradition requests from authorities in mainland China, Taiwan and Macau for suspects accused of criminal wrongdoing such as murder and rape. The requests would then be decided on a case-by-case basis.

The move came after a 19-year-old Hong Kong man allegedly murdered his 20-year-old pregnant girlfriend while they were holidaying in Taiwan together in February last year.

The man fled to Hong Kong and could not be extradited to Taiwan because the two do not have an extradition treaty.

Hong Kong officials have said courts in the territory will have the final say over whether to grant extradition requests, and suspects accused of political and religious crimes will not be extradited.

The government has sought to reassure the public with some concessions, including promising to only hand over fugitives for offences carrying a maximum sentence of at least seven years.

Hong Kong has entered into extradition agreements with 20 countries, including the UK and the US.

Have there been other protests recently?

In 2014, the Beijing government ruled that voters in Hong Kong would only be able to choose their chief executive in 2017 from a list of pre-approved candidates.

Tens of thousands of activists took to the streets demanding change for 79 days. The protests became known as the Umbrella movement after people used umbrellas to shield themselves from pepper spray fired by police to disperse the crowds.

Despite being mostly peaceful, the protests failed to achieve any concessions.

A number of the protest organisers have since been given jail terms on public nuisance charges.

What is Hong Kong’s relationship with China?

Hong Kong was a British colony from 1841 until sovereignty was returned to China in 1997.

Central to the handover was the agreement of the Basic Law, a mini-constitution that gives Hong Kong broad autonomy and sets out certain rights.

Under the “one country, two systems” principle, Hong Kong has kept its judicial independence, its own legislature, its economic system and the Hong Kong dollar.

Its residents were also granted protection of certain human rights and freedoms, including freedom of speech and assembly.

Beijing retains control of foreign and defence affairs, and visas or permits are required for travel between Hong Kong and the mainland.

However, the Basic Law expires in 2047 and what happens to Hong Kong’s autonomy after that is unclear.

By XOLISANI NCUBE

Cabinet has doubled the producer price of maize from ZWL$726 to ZWL$1 400 per tonne to cushion farmers in line with the current interbank rate of ZWL$5,5 to the US$. This came as the local currency continues to lose value against the United States dollar both on the interbank and parallel market.

Addressing a post-Cabinet media briefing in Harare yesterday, Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the new producer price is equivalent to US$242 per tonne.

“In this case, therefore, the maize producer floor price is thus reviewed upward from the current RTGS$726 to RTGS$1 400 per metric tonne based on the interbank market rate of US$1:ZWL$5,5. The review of the maize producer price does not translate into an upward adjustment in the retail price of mealie-meal since GMB (Grain Marketing Board) sells the maize to millers at a government subsidised price,” she said.

Acting Agriculture minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri said GMB had settled dues to all farmers who delivered their maize last season and funds were now available to pay for fresh deliveries.

Cabinet also approved a proposal from Mines minister Winston Chitando to establish gold centres to be operational by October 1, 2019.

According to Chitando, the gold centres would be for buying gold at various sites with Fidelity Printers and Refineries providing initial capital to these centres.

Mutsvangwa also announced that Cabinet also approved a proposal by Foreign Affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo to establish a foreign service training institute.
The institute will train professional foreign service corps capable of articulating and executing Zimbabwe’s foreign policy.

Cabinet also approved the Zimbabwe National Industrial Development Policy, which seeks to promote beneficiation and value addition.

“The policy aims to attain the following, a manufacturing sector annual growth rate of at least 2% per annum, a 30% contribution to the annual gross domestic savings and a manufacturing value addition of 16% per year,” Mutsvangwa said.

The current contribution of the manufacturing sector to gross domestic product stands as 10%, according to Industry minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu.

BY XOLISANI NCUBE

THE Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) has marginally increased the price of petrol and diesel by ZWL$0,29 and ZWL$0,18, respectively, with immediate effect as the local currency continues to plunge against the United States dollar.

Zera acting chief executive officer Edington Mazambani last night confirmed the increases, saying fuel dealers had been advised accordingly.

“It’s true, the prices you have are true. Fuel has gone up,” Mazambani said.

The retail price of blend petrol is now ZWL$5,26 per litre up from ZWL$4,97 and diesel will sell at ZWL$5,07 from ZWL$4,89 per litre. The price for ethanol is now ZWL$4,60 per litre. This is the third fuel increase within six months.

“Please be advised that the maximum pump prices for fuel will be as follows: Blend RTGS$5,26, diesel RTGS$5,07 per litre. The margins are as follows: Wholesale RTGS$0,20 cents per litre (and) retailer RTGS$0,25 cents per litre,” Mazambani said in a communiqué to oil firms yesterday.

Recently, some fuel dealers unilaterally increased the price of fuel to around ZWL$7 per litre, but were later forced to reverse the pump price hike by Energy minister Fortune Chasi.

MDC leader Nelson Chamisa consoles mourners attending the funeral of Vimbai Tsvangirai-Java, the daughter of the opposition party’s founding leader, the late Morgan Tsvangirai in Strathaven, Harare yesterday.

BY OBEY MANAYITI/Everson Mushava

THE late MDC national executive member and Glen View South MP Vimbai Tsvangirai-Java will be buried at Glen Forest Cemetery in Harare tomorrow, family spokesperson Manase Tsvangirai has said.

Addressing mourners at the late MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s Strathaven home where funeral proceedings are taking place, Manase said Vimbai’s body will today be taken to her Glen View South constituency and party headquarters before being taken home to lie in state ahead of burial.

Manase described the death of his late brother’s daughter as a huge blow to the family.

“We are very saddened by this. We didn’t plan for this thing and we are still in shock. There was good progress in hospital for Mrs Java. Words fail us to explain the shock that we are in right now.”

Vimbai, who was recently voted MDC women’s assembly secretary, died at a private hospital in Harare on Monday where she had been admitted since last month after she was involved in a horrific road accident in Kwekwe.

Batsirai Java, Vimbai’s husband, urged mourners to honour his wife in a special way and to dress immaculately during the funeral as part of respecting the departed.

Addressing mourners, MDC leader Nelson Chamisa reiterated his call for unity of purpose for the good of the country.

“There is no one who can succeed while working alone, but we succeed through unity,” said Chamisa, who has, however, refused to enter into a national dialogue initiated by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, demanding that the Zanu PF leader recuse himself from leading the process.

Chamisa described Vimbai’s death as a heavy blow to both the party and the Tsvangirai family.

“We are here to celebrate a life of a legend, of an apostle, of an honourable member, a life of a politician whose life has been cut short. She was a budding politician,” he said.

Zanu PF political commissar Victor Matemadanda and MDC-T deputy president Obert Gutu also visited the Tsvangirai home to pay their condolences. Tsvangirai’s widow, Elizabeth was also among the mourners.

MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume said the party had suspended its national council meeting slated for today to focus on the funeral.

“In honour of Vimbai, the national council that was there tomorrow (today) has been cancelled. We need time to mourn; we need time to send her off. The party leadership felt that it was important to respect her and make sure that we mourn her,” Mafume said.

“The national council was meant to conclude congress business. As you know, the national council sits as congress to finish any loose ends that would have been left out during the congress.”

BY BLESSED MHLANGA/SILAS NKALA/FARAI MATIASHE

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s plans to abolish the multi-currency system in favour of a new local currency could spectacularly fail, resulting in more catastrophe for troubled Zimbabwe if fundamentals such as political legitimacy and productivity are not addressed, opposition MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has warned.

Responding to Mnangagwa’s recent announcement that government will ditch the multi-currency regime and introduce a new local currency before year-end, Chamisa yesterday said this would not work.

This came as MDC youths yesterday gave Mnangagwa until end of this month to resolve the country’s worsening socio-economic crisis or risk crippling mass protests.

“The problem that Zimbabwe faces is not currency, it’s politics. Until we fix our politics, deal with the legitimacy issues and address the fundamentals of the economy, introducing a new currency will not work, it’s about the fundamentals,” Chamisa said.

He said the spectacular fall of the RTGS dollar soon after its introduction by Finance minister Mthuli Ncube should have awakened government to the reality of introducing a new currency without the requisite market confidence.

“Even if they were to allow trade directly in gold as currency, with the current government which is illegitimate and does not inspire national and international confidence, the gold will still lose value,” he said.

Chamisa said because of poor policies, alleged corruption and looting by top government officials, investment and capital had fled the country. This resulted in production suffering and creating serious problems for the economy.

“They should not lie about sanctions. When we were in the inclusive government, the same measures were in place, but we delivered. Business needs to have confidence in the government and policy direction. Capital will not come when you have corrupt elements holding influential positions,” he said.

His sentiments were echoed by labour consultant Davies Ndumiso Sibanda and Innocent Ndibali, leader of the opposition Zimbabwe Economic Freedom Fighters, who both said the economy was not ripe for a new currency.

Chamisa’s party has snubbed Mnangagwa’s all-parties political dialogue to end the economic crisis demanding that the Zanu PF leader recuse himself from leading the process, and has threatened to roll out mass protests to force government to urgently restore sanity in the economy.

Addressing journalists at the party headquarters, MDC youth leader Obey Sithole said: “This assembly has agreed on a confrontational approach in dealing with this corrupt and illegitimate military regime. The answers to the national question lie in this generation which has a future to safeguard. As the MDC youth assembly, we are going to set the pace in making sure that we save this nation from extinction.

“Our message to Mr Mnangagwa is very clear. We are not going to respect bayonets and bullets, but the voices of the down-trodden and long-suffering masses. We are definitely going to organise mass action and occupy the streets since the streets have become more comfortable than our empty homes. We hear the State has beefed up its armoury to muzzle our voices, but we are not intimidated for we know they cannot shoot the entire nation. As such, we are declaring June our month of radicalisation.”

But Mnangagwa said a new local currency would restore economic sanity and stabilise prices of goods and services.

Secretary for Information, Ndavaningi Mangwana last night said government respected the constitutional right of citizens or political entities to demonstrate or protest peacefully.

“That’s not an issue at all,” he said. “It only becomes an issue if people decide to infringe the constitutional right of others not to participate by forcing them to do so or if people choose to employ violence in their processions. Then the State has no option, but to intervene to restore order and protect life, limb and property.”

Regarding the economy, Mangwana said dealing with the economic structural issues will not bear fruit in a month.

“Our Transitional Stabilisation Programme, which has been vaunted by all honest people, will only be complete at the end of 2020. No amount of protests or demonstrations will change the timelines for such a clear and progressive roadmap towards the attainment of vision 2030. Let’s all put our shoulders to the wheel and work for our country,” Mangwana said.

Soundtrack: Tapiwa Zivira

Harare’s Eaglesvale Junior School last week, hosted an impressive arts and culture fete themed Proudly Zimbabwean, where pupils came dressed in cultural attires worn by local tribes such as the Manyika, VaKaranga, VaHera, AmaNdebele, MaNdau, MaZezuru, and BaTonga.

The children also presented various cultural customs, but to cap it all was the music performances that spoke to culture and heritage.

Zvido Zvevanhu Dance Group’s Sithabile Mahubaba and the pupils showcased various music and dance acts with mbira and hosho, as in the nature of our cultures.

The event did not escape notice from the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ).

NACZ’s Harare provincial arts manager, William Ndinde praised the school for using arts to promote local culture.

The presence of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe, the umbrella body governing the local arts industry proved just how arts are a critical component of the education of the child, as they help infuse our culture and its dynamism into children who are growing up in this digital age, where they are exposed to many cultures of the world through the now easily accessible digital media.

Traditional music and dances, like many other cultural practices are under siege from new and urbanised beliefs, and the fete held by Eaglesvale is one example of how our culture can be effectively presented in its completeness, with music and dance taking centre stage.

This is because music is a powerful tool of expression and as part of our culture, when people gather for celebrations, mourning or rituals, music and dance are more like a soundtrack to evoke the desired atmosphere.

More importantly, schools — which are a major socialisation platform that shape the nature and calibre of any child — can with no doubt, play a significant role in grooming children into adults that are conscious of our arts and culture; adults that will pass on this heritage to future generations.

Mbira music, the dances and cultural attires associated with it are generally seen in the light of traditional spiritual rituals, and the majority of the Christian Zimbabweans speak of it as something linked to what they call the dark world, a trend which leads many to shun the music.

It will take our education system to correct such myths and distortions, and to make the future generations understand that mbira music and traditional dances play an important role in preserving the many good aspects of our culture.

Which is why, while the new educational curriculum has its problems, one of the major improvements is the mainstreaming of culture and music, with emphasis on local tradition.

There is a generation that did not get this grooming.

My generation was groomed to believe in some of the myths associated with mbira music, and we ended up loving rap music from America and dancehall from Jamaica, and seeing the few mbira artistes as “vanhu vemashave” and it had to take innovators such as Thomas Mapfumo at the time, to infuse mbira, hosho and the traditional drum into otherwise contemporary instrumentation to get the wide acceptance.

Of late, we have had many young artistes adding mbira to their contemporary beats, with key examples being Jah Prayzah, Mbeu, Maestro we Mhanda, Hope Masike, the late Chiwoniso Maraire and Diana Samkange.

This, complemented by the new curriculum’s emphasis on arts and culture, is a step in the right direction and while it may appear too unrealistic right now, it has a great influence on the socialisation of our children in the future.