Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "LGBT rights in Eswatini" in English language version.
Same-sex sexual activity is prohibited under the common law, which criminalises acts of 'sodomy'. The penalty provided under the law is not known. Only men are criminalised under this law.
Same-sex sexual activity is criminalised despite no law explicitly outlining this, as Section 252(1) of the Constitution (2005) states that Roman-Dutch Common Law, as interpreted in 1907, applies to any regulations or laws in place prior to independence in 1968 and not subsequently overturned. As such, "sodomy" remains a crime.
While there are colonial-era common law prohibitions against sodomy, no penalties are specified, and there has never been an arrest or prosecution for consensual same-sex conduct.
Simelane said ... '... the anti-sodomy law is not used to prosecute consenting adults,' he said. The police used the law to prosecute those accused of raping underage males.
Same-sex sexual activity is criminalised despite no law explicitly outlining this, as Section 252(1) of the Constitution (2005) states that Roman-Dutch Common Law, as interpreted in 1907, applies to any regulations or laws in place prior to independence in 1968 and not subsequently overturned. As such, "sodomy" remains a crime.
