The New York Times is reporting (and the Sunday Times of South Africa confirmed) that South Africa has joined (or rather will join) the short list of countries which give full marriage rights to gay couples. According to the Sunday Times, the ruling states
The common law and Section 30 (1) of the Marriage Act are accordingly inconsistent with sections 9(1) [equality] and 9(3) [dignity] of the Constitution to the extent that they make no provision for same-sex couple to enjoy the status, entitlements and responsibilities they accord to heterosexual couples
The New York Times notes that, although Africa as a continent is fairly conservative, gay marriage is not a major issue in South Africa. They quote Steven E. Friedman, a South African political analyst, as saying "The major issue in this society is race. That's why people join political parties." He goes on to note that the only political party interested in amending the constitution to block this ruling is generally considered out of the mainstream.The court did, however, give the legislature one year to respond, stating that the changes to the law must be done in the next twelve months, or the court's interpretation will automatically come into effect. Based on people's reactions, however, it seems unlikely the change in the law will not happen.