Speakers at the launch of the gender and law report expressed the view that parliamentarians are either unaware of or forget key details in the constitution related to their responsibilities and decision-making, especially in regard to human rights, including those of the LGBTQ+ community.

Citing various related cases, the report highlights ongoing public and political debates surrounding LGBTQ+ issues, which have influenced broader discussions on family law and contributed to incidents of gender-based violence.

It points out Parliament's refusal to accept the recent Supreme Court ruling on the recognition of foreign same-sex marriages.

Report author Dianne Hubbard warns that this could lead to a harmful slowdown in the relationship between the legislature and the judiciary.

"Since these cases have been decided, parliament has been very unhappy. Let's say when the Digashu case was decided, Jerry Ekandjo introduced two private members' bills. This is an interesting thing because never before had Namibia had private members' bills passed in parliament. These bills were passed unanimously, and what they attempted to do is to overrule the Supreme Court. This is not just an interpretation; one of them actually had a provision that contradicts the Digashu judgment in the Supreme Court, and they were very upfront about it. So these bills were passed, and only one Member of Parliament spoke about it and did not agree with it, but they passed without any protest at the end of the day. None of those bills have been signed by the president and are hanging, which is quite an unusual thing because if the president believes in what's constitutional, the procedures in the constitution are what the president is supposed to pass to the AG; the AG is then to refer it to the courts, and this has not been done; none of this was proper procedure."

The report also highlights how Namibia's Marriage Bill has sparked significant debate, primarily over its exclusion of same-sex marriages.

The bill formalizes the longstanding legal principle that civil marriages in the country are limited to unions between one man and one woman as per the common law.

While this rule is now explicitly stated in the bill, the report indicates its impact remains limited, as any legal challenge based on constitutional rights could still override the statute.

"We don't know what's going to happen with open same-sex marriages, but that's what parliament was concerned about, so they have defined marriage."

The report stresses the need for the Namibian Constitution to be the primary guide in addressing these complex matters.