Cape Town Pride attendees gather in South Africa’s second-largest city in March 2026. Image courtesy of Natalie Jeanne Photography for Cape Town Pride via Instagram.
In our March round-up of must-read LGBTQ+ news, Fatteh spotlights Botswana’s same-sex marriage battle, religious homophobia in Senegal, Nigeria’s secret parties for feminine men and stories from Zambia, Ghana and the DR Congo.
by Beza Lealem
It’s rare for three ‘good news stories’ to emerge in the same month from Africa’s LGBTQ landscape. But March was one such month, as two women from Botswana took the government to court in a bid to secure the right to marry, and a Kenyan court finally held extortionists accountable for crimes against gay men. Elsewhere, one of the continent’s oldest and largest Pride events brought together more than 10,000 people in a vibrant show of visibility, joy and community in South Africa.
Cape Town Pride welcomed revellers to its party-meets-protest in March after nearly a month of festivities. The city saw a strong presence of LGBTQ creatives, drag artists and DJs across the wider programme, all celebrating the theme of ubuntu, ‘I am because we are’. Performances from South African singers including Jimmy Nevis and Belinda Davids rocked the Mardi Gras stage after the main parade. Although the event dates to 2001 in its current form, Cape Town’s first Pride march was first held in 1993, three years after the country’s maiden LGBTQ march in Johannesburg.
At this year’s extravaganza, Nkosinathi Sangweni Waka Mtshali reminded attendees that 2026 marks two important anniversaries for South Africa. “This year, we honour 30 years of our constitution and 20 years of marriage equality, reminders of a journey shaped by courage, struggle and triumph. Even as our community continues to face real challenges, our voices rise, our stories grow louder, and our presence becomes ever more undeniable. Pride remains our declaration that we will not dim our light, that we will continue to love fiercely, and that we will shape a future where every one of us can stand fully seen,” said Cape Town Pride’s brand ambassador.
The event may feel remote to Africans beyond South Africa – especially those in countries increasingly hostile to LGBTQ people or where homosexuality is criminalised – but it still offers a tangible sign of hope across the continent. That sense of possibility is important in a month when Senegal’s president signed a harsher anti-gay bill, doubling the maximum penalty for same-sex relations, despite calls from the United Nations human rights chief not to. It was also a month when anti-LGBTQ crackdowns intensified across Uganda, Ghana and other countries.
Introducing Fatteh’s Defender of the Month
As sombre headlines often dominate LGBTQ news in Africa, we decided to launch a new series focusing on the positive within these otherwise distressing stories. Each month, we will celebrate the bold, brave and admirable people who stand up for LGBTQ communities across the continent, from the tireless activists dedicated to the cause to ordinary people who make the difficult decision to put their necks on the line for others. Their efforts rarely receive the attention they deserve, even though personal sacrifice is often required to advance LGBTQ rights in our region.
‘Fatteh’s Defender of the Month’ – our very first in the series – is Faustina Araba Forson, a reverend and mother of Ghanaian transgender musician Angel Maxine. When faced with the prospect of Ghana reviving its extreme anti-LGBTQ bill, Forson took to social media to publicly denounce the lamentable legislation in a grassroots campaign like no other.
“I’m asking mothers who have LGBTQ children like mine to come and join together and fight for our children. Don’t shy away from your children. Don’t let society push you and say that your child is a demon. No, your child is created by God and so your child is special. They are human beings like everybody, and they deserve to live like everybody…I love my LGBTQ child,” said Forson, in a March video message published by advocacy group Rightify Ghana.
If Ghana’s ‘Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill’ becomes law, it would expose anyone serving or defending LGBTQ people to criminal prosecution – be that lawyers, health care professionals or family members. Human Rights Watch says that, because of the way the bill defines an ally, it “extends well beyond the regulation of conduct, criminalizing identity, stifling advocacy, dismantling important civil society structures, and compelling citizens to surveil and denounce one another.”
Visibly worried and exasperated, Forson said, “this bill that is coming…has given me so much pain and I know there are mothers like me who are also going through the same. [The bill says that I have] a duty to report my own child [and tell the authorities to] come and arrest my child! Look at the pain you are putting a mother through. There’s no need for any bill to be passed. It has to be cancelled.”
Forson’s passionate campaign had already reached thousands before it was picked up by mainstream media such as Pulse Ghana.
Here’s our round-up of other March headlines.
Ugandan women jailed for kissing re-arrested after being granted bail
Islamic group Jamra handed over list of LGBTQ people to Senegal investigators US conservative Christian group supported Senegal’s anti-gay law campaigners Rebels in DR Congo target LGBTQ activists with extreme violence, UN warns Nigeria, Niger and Chad’s feminine men attend secret ‘yan daudu’ parties Court sets date to hear activists appeal for Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act
US college revokes Ghana president’s honorary degree over anti-LGBTQ stance Nigeria’s anti-gay law is fuelling violent vigilantes and a ‘blackmail economy’ Kenyan court jails anti-gay perpetrators in landmark robbery and extortion case LGBTQ activists concerned over US decision to withhold HIV aid to Zambia Violence against Uganda’s LGBTQ community has surged since the new year
South Africa’s Metropolitan Community Churches condemns killing of gay imam
Moroccan LGBTQ activist jailed for ‘insulting Islam’ faces arm amputation risk Senegal’s president signs law doubling prison term for same-sex relations
Botswana same-sex couple takes government to court to fight for right to marry