The former President of Botswana has called for his country to decriminalize homosexuality and prostitution in an effort to slow down the spread of the HIV virus.
Festus Mogae, who leads the government-supported AIDS Council, told BBC that it is difficult to encourage safe sex in a country where homosexuality and prostitution are illegal.
"I don't understand it [homosexuality]. I am a heterosexual," he told BBC. "I look at women. I don't look at other men. But there are men who look at other men. These are citizens.""After serving two terms in office, Mogae stepped down in 2008 and is widely admired across Africa. Under his administration, Botswana became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to make anti=retroviral drugs widely available.Nonetheless, Mogae’s views are likely to be shunned. A government spokesman told BBC that homosexuality and prostitution would remain illegal practices until the state officials conducted a thorough study on whether changes to the law were necessary.
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