Selelo v Acting Director of Civil Registration

Selelo v Acting Director of Civil Registration is a pending case before the High Court of Botswana concerning the legal recognition of same-sex marriage in Botswana. It was brought in 2025 by Bonolo Omphile Selelo and Tsholofelo Seele Kumile, a female couple whose request to publish banns of marriage and subsequently marry had been refused. The couple seeks permission to marry under the Marriage Act, 2001 or, alternatively, seeks a declaration that section 10(2), which prescribes gendered language for the marriage ceremony, is unconstitutional. The government opposes the application, arguing that the Act permits marriage only between a man and a woman.