Namibia president dies. What does that mean for LGBTQ people?

Hage Geingob had been blocking an anti-same-sex marriage bill.

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Namibia's President Hage Geingob died at age 82, Sun Feb 4. Photo courtesy CNN. — **Namibia’s President Hage Geingob died Feb 4. (Photo courtesy of CNN)**

The following brief article comes from the daily LGBT Global Newsletter, which is published by Rob Salerno, an editor at Erasing 76 Crimes. You can read and subscribe to the newsletter for free here.

Namibian President Hage Geingob passed away at age 82 on Sun, Feb 4. He had served as Namibia’s third president since 2015, and is succeeded by his Vice President Nangolo Mbumba.

Geingob leaves a mixed legacy on LGBT issues. Most recently, he has been responsible for not signing into law the anti-same-sex marriage bill that was passed by an overwhelming majority of parliament. The bill is still active, and we shall see if his successor Mbumba maintains this pocket veto or allows it to come into effect. The bill seeks to overrule a Supreme Court judgement that requires the government to recognize foreign same-sex marriages, but also criminalizes anyone who participates in or promotes a same-sex marriage.

The Supreme Court is also due to rule on a challenge to the country’s sodomy criminalization on May 17.