Mbabane – The battle over the registration of Eswatini Sexual and Gender Minorities (ESGM) has returned to the courts after the Minister of Commerce once again refused to comply with a Supreme Court order.
In June 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that the Registrar of Companies acted unlawfully when it denied ESGM registration as a non-profit organisation. The court declared the decision unconstitutional and instructed the government to reconsider the application.
Despite that ruling, the Minister of Commerce rejected ESGM’s renewed application on 25 September 2024, citing customary laws. ESGM has since approached the High Court to challenge the government’s continued defiance.
The Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC), which is assisting ESGM, described the government’s reliance on customary law as an attempt to exclude and oppress vulnerable groups. SALC further warned that the refusal to accept judicial authority undermines the rule of law in Eswatini.
ESGM’s executive director, Mphile Sihlongonyane, said the matter goes beyond LGBTQ+ rights, arguing that it is about protecting civic space and ensuring marginalised communities can organise without fear.
SALC executive director Anneke Meerkotter added that the judiciary must urgently enforce its own rulings, warning that government defiance poses a serious threat to constitutional democracy in the region.
Although prosecutions are rare, sodomy remains criminalised under the Criminal Procedures Act of 1938, allowing police to arrest men on suspicion alone.
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