Current Version
| Region | Lesotho |
| Issue | Homosexual activity |
| Status | Male illegal, female legal |
| Start Date | 1884 |
| End Date | Mar 9, 2012 |
| Description | The Roman-Dutch law of the Cape Colony, including the sodomy offence, was applied to Basutoland (as Lesotho was then known) by a proclamation of the British High Commissioner in 1884 (exact date unknown). |
| Sources | http://ilga.org/ilga/en/countries/LESOTHO/Law http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session8/LS/MSG_UPR_LSO_S08_2010_MatrixSupportGroup.pdf http://www.jstor.org/stable/23245418 (page 164-165) |
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Revision History (3)
edited by robertshippey
| Old Value (Original) | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Start Date | Oct 4, 1966 | 1884 |
| Description | Sodomy is prohibited as a common-law offence. It is defined as "unlawful and intentional sexual relationship per anum between two human males." No dates as of now, Oct 4 1966 being when the country gained independence. | The Roman-Dutch law of the Cape Colony, including the sodomy offence, was applied to Basutoland (as Lesotho was then known) by a proclamation of the British High Commissioner in 1884 (exact date unknown). |
Show Difference | ||
| Sources | http://ilga.org/ilga/en/countries/LESOTHO/Law http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session8/LS/MSG_UPR_LSO_S08_2010_MatrixSupportGroup.pdf | http://ilga.org/ilga/en/countries/LESOTHO/Law http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session8/LS/MSG_UPR_LSO_S08_2010_MatrixSupportGroup.pdf http://www.jstor.org/stable/23245418 (page 164-165) |
Show Difference | ||
Reports (3)
- Newer law has been passed "Homosexuality legalised in 2012 http://old.ilga.org/Statehomophobia/ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2013.pdf"
- Newer law has been passed "The status changed to simply "legal" on 9 March 2012.
The Penal Code Act, 2010 (which came into force on 9 March 2012) repealed all common-law ("unwritten") crimes, including the crime of sodomy. It did not create any new statutory crime to replace it. Consequently, gay sex is no longer illegal.
Sources:
1) ILGA State-Sponsored Homophobia report 2015 (http://old.ilga.org/Statehomophobia/ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2015.pdf). See footnote 25 on page 25: "In the Penal Code Act 2010, which had entered into force on 9 March 2012, sodomy does not seem to be criminalised as it used to
be in section 185(5) of the 1939 Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act."
2) Penal Code Act, 2010 (http://www.lesotholii.org/ls/legislation/act/2012/6). See section 2(2): "No person shall be tried, convicted or punished for an offence other than an offence specified in this Code or in any other written law or statute in force in Lesotho.""
- Status is not correct "In Lesotho, homosexual acts are legal since 2012."
| Original entry | |
|---|---|
| Status | Male illegal, female legal |
| Start Date | Oct 4, 1966 |
| End Date | (none) |
| Description | Sodomy is prohibited as a common-law offence. It is defined as "unlawful and intentional sexual relationship per anum between two human males." No dates as of now, Oct 4 1966 being when the country gained independence. |
| Sources | http://ilga.org/ilga/en/countries/LESOTHO/Law http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/Session8/LS/MSG_UPR_LSO_S08_2010_MatrixSupportGroup.pdf |
Reports (1)
- Date is incorrect "The Roman-Dutch law of the Cape Colony, including the sodomy offence, was applied to Basutoland (as Lesotho was then known) by a proclamation of the British High Commissioner in 1884 (exact date unknown). See http://www.jstor.org/stable/23245418 on page 164-165."