Rectification or Reform? The SI 41 of 2026 Precedent

Sunday Standard Rectification or Reform? The SI 41 of 2026 Precedent On 27 March 2026, the Law Revision Commissioner published Statutory Instrument No. 41 of 2026 — the Rectification of the Laws (Penal Code) Order — deleting paragraphs (a) and (c) of section 164 of the Penal Code. Those paragraphs criminalised carnal knowledge against the order of nature and permitting such an act. With a single statutory instrument, provisions that Parliament had consciously deferred were removed from the law books of Botswana. The debate that followed has been, understandably, dominated by the substantive question of decriminalisation. But the more important constitutional question — the one that will outlast any particular provision — is the one about method. How did we get here? Who authorised this? And what does it tell us about what might come next? .ihc-locker-wrap{}There's more to this story But to keep reading, we need you to subscribe. Investigative journalism is an indispensable part of a healthy society, but it's also expensive to produce. We are reliant on subscriptions to fund our work, and while you can enjoy most of our stories for free, a small number of premium features are reserved for subscribers. You can subscribe for one week, a month or a full year - the choice is yours. Save 77% on an annual subscription. Click here to find out how. Existing subscribers can log in to keep reading here. jQuery(document).ready( function(){ jQuery('#iump_login_username').on('blur', function(){ ihcCheckLoginField('log', 'Please complete all required fields!'); }); jQuery('#iump_login_password').on('blur', function(){ ihcCheckLoginField('pwd', 'Please complete all required fields!'); }); jQuery('#ihc_login_form').on('submit', function(e){ e.preventDefault(); var u = jQuery('#ihc_login_form [name=log]').val(); var p = jQuery('#ihc_login_form [name=pwd]').val(); if (u!='' && p!=''){ jQuery('#ihc_login_form').unbind('submit').submit(); } else { ihcCheckLoginField('log', 'Please complete all required fields!'); ihcCheckLoginField('pwd', 'Please complete all required fields!'); return FALSE; } }); } ); The post Rectification or Reform? The SI 41 of 2026 Precedent first appeared on Sunday Standard and is written by Isabella Mathiba