A ruling by Kenya's High Court disappointed gay rights activists who had hoped judges would make history by scrapping the British colonial-era laws and inspiring other countries in Africa to do the same.
The judges’ unanimous ruling in the closely watched case was followed by activists’ vows to appeal. Many in Kenya’s vibrant gay community had hoped the court would make history by scrapping the British colonial-era laws and inspiring other countries in Africa to do the same.
Activists argue that the laws criminalizing consensual same-sex relations between adults are in breach of the constitution because they deny basic rights. The state should not regulate intimacy between gay couples, they say.Reading the ruling, one of the judges concluded that Kenya had no social pressure to legalize homosexuality.“These old colonial laws lead to the LGBT community suffering violence, blackmail, harassment and torture.
At least half of Kenya’s LGBT persons in Kenya have suffered physical and verbal assault, the commission says. Most assaults are not reported because gays don’t have confidence they would get protection from the police, activists say. In a separate statement, the organization Stonewall UK called the decision “crushing news” and said 70 countries around the world still criminalize same-sex relationships.Kenya’s courts, which many assume to be conservative on issues of sexuality, had recently ruled in favor of LGBT rights.
Last year, an appeals court ruled unlawful the use of forced anal exams to test whether two men had gay sex. In 2015, High Court judges ordered a government agency to register a human rights group representing the country’s gay people, saying Kenya’s constitution recognizes and protects the rights of minorities.Gay rights are “not of any major importance” in the country, President Uhuru Kenyatta told CNN in an interview last year.
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