2 August 2017,
Gaborone, Botswana
On Friday 4 August 2017, the Botswana High Court will hear an application challenging the refusal of the Registrar of National Registration to change the gender marker on the identity document of a transgender woman.
The applicant submits that the refusal to change her gender marker violated her rights to dignity, privacy, freedom of expression, equal protection of the law, freedom from discrimination and freedom from inhumane and degrading treatment.
The High Court has to consider whether the respondents’ refusal to issue the applicant with a new identity document that correctly reflects her gender identity as ‘female’ constitutes a violation of her constitutional rights; and whether the respondents’ justification for the limitation of the applicant’s constitutional rights is reasonable and justifiable.
The case will be heard before Judge Dambe. The applicant, Tshepo Ricki Kgositau, is represented by Lesego Nchunga of Nchunga & Associates, with the support of the Southern Africa Litigation Centre. Ricki Kgositau comes from an International Relations background with years of experience as an advocate for transgender persons human rights. She is the Executive Director of Gender DynamiX, a regional transgender focused organisation based in Cape Town-South Africa advocating for inclusive policies and laws for transgender persons in over 12 Southern African countries.
What: Hearing of Kgositau v Attorney General and Registrar of National Registration
Where: High Court in Gaborone, Botswana
When: 4 August 2017
For more information contact:
Lesego Nchunga Ricki Kgositau
Email: misslesegonchunga@gmail.com Email: trkgositau@gmail.com/
Anneke Meerkotter
Email: annekem@salc.org.za
The hearing can be followed on Twitter: @legabiboadvo @follow_SALC, @genderdynamix and @rickikgositau OR on Facebook @ Tshepo Ricki Kgositau, @ Lesego Nswahu Nchunga and @LeGaBiBo
Feel free to use the following hashtags to follow and/or advance the conversation on various social media platforms: #TransRightsAreHumanRights #TransLivesMatter #TransRightsNow #JusticeForRicki #TransLivesMatterBW
LEGABIBO 