President Geingob pushes for legislation to define marriage as union between man and woman

Staff Reporter

PRESIDENT Hage Geingob reiterated that the Supreme Court judgement on the recognition of same-sex marriage concluded outside Namibia must be respected, but emphasized that parliamentarians will persist in their efforts to pass legislation that defines marriage as a union “between a man and a woman”.

“The Court said it must be recognised, and there’s nothing we can do. Courts are independent, but we can come by a law. So, we say therefore assign Comrade Kawana to prepare the law to make that amendment,” he said.

The president made these remarks during a courtesy meeting with 25 SWAPO members of the National Council. Gerhard Shiimi, the SWAPO Party Chief Whip of the National Council, revealed that the meeting’s purpose was to express gratitude for the president’s recovery following his minor heart surgery and to discuss matters of critical importance, including the recognition of same-sex marriages concluded outside Namibia.
The president’s comments on marriage come after the National Council overwhelmingly agreed to amendments to the Marriage and Immigration Control acts, redefining the term “spouse” to strictly recognize marriages between “genetically-born men” and “genetically-born women” only this week.

This decision followed several discussions in parliament regarding the Supreme Court’s ruling on the recognition of same-sex marriages concluded outside Namibia a few months ago. According to the president, the SWAPO members of the National Council have conducted themselves professionally during these debates, and he expressed pride in that.

“I watch all of you. You always have been very, very decent. The debates were orderly. You cannot even see who is opposition when you are debating there. That impressed me until the last two days of the meeting, where it got a little bit chaotic. But your house is very orderly. There is respect being shown,” he said.