Angola has been hailed for removing a piece of legislation that impliedly made homosexuality in Angola illegal. The oil-rich country has done away with the divisive "vices against nature" provision in its law, which was widely interpreted as a blanket ban on homosexual conduct.
Discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation has also been prohibited, in a move that has been praised. Two years in prison is the maximum sentence that awaits anyone who does not give employment to someone or provide services to individuals based on their sexual orientation.
Homosexuality is a phenomenon that is frowned upon in the African society and context, with many African countries having laws in place that make it illegal for homosexuals to live their lives peacefully.
Human Rights Watch made it clear that they were impressed with this latest development from Angola.
"While there have been no known prosecutions under the law, provisions like this one curtail the rights and freedoms of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, subjecting their intimate lives to unwarranted scrutiny.
"Colonial-era laws outlawing same-sex conduct give tacit state support to discrimination against gender and sexual minorities, contributing to a climate of impunity."
The laws that have been shed were inherited from the colonial era when Portugal was still in control of Angola.
Two other former Portuguese colonies, Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe decriminalized homosexuality.
Header image credit: Face2face Africa