The ruling on the common-law offence of sodomy does not provide for the legalisation of same-sex marriages but provides for the legalisation of relationships between a man and a man.
 
The founder of FASZ Legal Consultancy, Fedden Mainga Mukwata, said this during a discussion on The Wheels of Justice programme to unpack the sodomy judgement made on Friday. 

Mukwata says that sodomy laws did not criminalise anal sex between a man and a woman and instead only criminalised anal sex between two men.
 
The court concluded that it is unconstitutional and unfairly discriminates against homosexuals. 
 
"Is there a differentiation between people? If there is that differentiation, what is it based on, and is it linked to any governmental purpose or objective? Now, when you unravelled that as the court did and applied it to the effects of the case, the applicant in this matter then found that there is a differentiation between people. Now you would recall that when we define the act of sodomy, it's like any other criminal offence; it's an act. It means only people can do that act; the differentiation comes in when it's only criminal when men perform this act. It is not criminal when a man and a woman perform the act."

Article 25 of the Namibian Constitution provides for any aggrieved person when their rights are violated, as demonstrated by this case.
 
As to this background, the Court was approached and asked to determine whether or not the said offences were unfairly discriminating against the gay community and depriving them of the right to equality and dignity. 
 
Ingrid Husselmann from the Office of the Ombudsman says the ruling will allow the gay community freedom of expression as well as freedom of association without being stigmatised.
 
"The court considered what his offences are and if they discriminated against him, and the court found that these criminal offences are indeed discriminatory, therefore they would be declared unconstitutional and invalid, and so are the other statutory provisions that speak about the charge or conviction of sodomy."

Therefore, aSame-sex relationships between two men are no longer a criminal offence; however, same-sex marriage is not legalised in the country, with a court judgement still pending.