Gabon arrests two women for ‘gross indecency’ despite making gay sex legal

Police in Gabon have arrested two women for ‘faking a gay marriage’ and ‘kissing in public’.

The arrests came after the country, on the west coast of Africa, decriminalized homosexuality on 23 June in an overwhelming vote in its parliament.

However officials said they arrested the two Gabonese women for ‘insulting good morals’.

The incident happened on 9 November in Makokou in the east of Gabon.

The story came to light after news agency AFP learned about it from the mayor of the city and another source familiar with it.

Women may face up to two years jail

AFP reports the two women are aged 47 and 26.

Guy-Roger Ekazama, the mayor of Makokou said: ‘The law is clear, a marriage is between two people of different sexes. They explain their act by their desire to adopt children.’

It is not uncommon for anti-LGBT+ authorities across western Africa to claim parties and other gatherings involving LGBT+ people are ‘gay weddings’.

In this case, images of the two women apparently celebrating their love circulated widely on social media.

Moreover, many Gabonese are still vehemently against LGBT+ rights, led by the Catholic church which fought to retain the country’s anti-homosexuality law.

Meanwhile, multiple countries continue to use laws defending public morals or preventing pornography to attack LGBT+ people even where homosexuality is legal.

So while the case appears to be a first example in Gabon, it may not be the last, particularly if the courts accept the trumped-up charges.

The Gabonese penal code punishes insults against good morals with up to two years in prison and a fine of CFA2million ($3,600).