Gaborone — The recent ruling by the Botswana's Court of Appeal forcing the government to recognise lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights has sparked outrage.
The court dismissed government's appeal against a Gaborone High Court decision which allowed the registration of the Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals Organisation of Botswana.
The Court of Appeal's ruling will enforce respect of gay marriages in Botswana.
Rights groups have hailed the case as a victory for LGBTs, but Batswana, mostly Christians are livid.
The Bishop of Gaborone's Roman Catholics Church Diocese, Rev. Valentine Seane, said while the church did not discriminate, gay marriage was "'unholy."
"There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God's plan for marriage and family. Marriage is holy, while homosexual acts go against the natural law," said Seane.
An Assemblies of God's Mogogi Ramatlhakwana, said his church would not embrace homosexuality.
"We know very well that the devil has manipulated the world order in an attempt to defy Jehovah God's creation of man marrying a woman. God has never sanctioned a marriage for a man marrying another man as opposed to the new court ruling," said Ramatlhakwana.
Boitumelo Moloi the Evangelical Lutheran Church, said, "To hell with such satanic court ruling! This is the ruling from the devil himself."
Tshireletso Kgaswane of the New Apostolic Church said while he respected gays and lesbians, he would never celebrate their marriages.
"Gays and lesbians are human beings that must be respected but their acts of marrying another man or a woman marrying another woman must not be tolerated at all, Kgaswane said.
Tebogo Modisaotsile of the Church of The Nazarene Mission in Gaborone, said while he appreciated laws enforcing people to respect one another irrespective of their sexual orientation, he opposed same-sex marriages.
"This is why I always agree with (Zimbabwean President Robert) Mugabe on his classifying of gays and lesbians as worse than pigs and dogs," Modisaotsile said.
An estimated 70 percent of the country's 2 million population are Christians.
