• Law sets prison sentences of 2–5 years and fines for same-sex relations

• Foreign offenders face harsher penalties, including expulsion on repeat offense

• Reform also updates nationality rules, marriage age, and civil majority to 18

Burkina Faso’s Transitional Legislative Assembly has passed a law criminalizing homosexuality, making it punishable by two to five years in prison along with a fine. Foreigners found guilty face tougher measures, including expulsion if they reoffend.

The measure was included in the new Family and Persons Code, adopted unanimously by all 71 deputies on September 1, 2025.

According to state television, the law reflects the government’s intent to align legislation with “social and cultural values” rather than foreign influence. “What was urgent was to revise this code and adapt it to our realities. The new law bears the mark of our customs,” said Edasso Rodrigue Bayala, Minister of Justice and Human Rights.

The reform also updates a legal framework more than 30 years old and introduces other major changes. Among them: nationality by marriage is no longer automatic, Burkinabe nationality can be revoked for actions against national interests, and the legal age of marriage and civil majority is set at 18 for both men and women (previously 20 for marriage). The law still awaits promulgation.

Several African countries have recently passed similar measures. Ghana, Tanzania, and Uganda have adopted strict anti-homosexuality laws. Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act includes penalties ranging from 20 years in prison to the death penalty for certain offenses, leading the World Bank to freeze all financing to the country. In July 2025, Senegal also banned all LGBTQI propaganda and promotion.