Kenya to le on gay rights as Ain neighbours look on | Global velopment | The Guardian

Contents:

• KENYAN URT UPHOLDS LAW MAKG GAY SEX ILLEGAL
• GAY RIGHTS KENYA: 'WHY OUR FIGHT ISN'T OVER'
• LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?
• KENYA GAY SEX BAN UPHELD BY HIGH COURT NAIROBI DISAPPOTMENT FOR AI'S LGBTQ RIGHTS ACTIVISTS
• KENYA TO LE ON GAY RIGHTS AS AIN NEIGHBOURS LOOK ON

KENYAN URT UPHOLDS LAW MAKG GAY SEX ILLEGAL

It is the culmatn of a -long legal battle, and a victory for the LGBTQ+ a majory cisn, the urt led that the non-ernmental ordatn board was discrimatory and ged on the muny’s nstutnal right to associatn by refg to register any of six nam proposed by the muny’s reprentativ, among them the Natnal Gay and Lbian Human Rights Commissn and the Gay and Lbian Human Rights ernment body had said that permtg registratn would ntravene sectns of the untry’s penal that crimalise gay and lbian unns, cludg a Brish lonial law layg down a 14-year sentence for anyone nvicted of homosexual acts. “There may be many people who are stgglg wh different kds of sexual sir but they have not gone to urt for the whole natn to regnise them, ” stat the church, which has a large followg Kenya’s urban Kenyan church lked the urt’s lg to the recent cisn by the Church of England to wele same-sex upl “unrervedly and joyfully” Kaluma, an MP allied to the opposn, vowed to table a bill parliament to prohib homosexualy and impose stiffer penalti, cludg life prison, for those engaged same sex lg will be a btersweet victory for the LGBTQ+ muny Kenya, whose members have been subject to harassment, excln and vlence.

Image source, Getty ImagKenyan thori were wrong to ban the gay muny om registerg a rights anisatn, the untry's Supreme Court has at the same time strsed that gay sex remas judg led three-to-two that the untry's NGO board was wrong to stop the Natnal Gay and Lbian Human Rights Commissn (NGLHRC) om registerg Kenya's hight urt, the Supreme Court's lg nnot be their judgment, the judg led that " would be unnstutnal to lim the right to associate, through nial of registratn of an associatn, purely on the basis of the sexual orientatn of the applints". Laws which were troduced unr Brish lonial le mean that is crimal to have sex that "is agast the orr of nature", which n rult up to 14 years May 2019, Kenya's high urt rejected an attempt to overturn the 's judgement ends a 10-year legal battle which began 2013 when Eric Gari, the former executive director of the NGLHRC, challenged the head of Kenya NGO Coordatn Board's refal to perm him to apply to register an NGO unr a name ntag the words gay or lbian. Members of the LGBTQI+ muny have been harassed by police, subjected to body examatns to "prove" gay sex, and openly sulted on social media and public spac.

On the day of the judgement, Member of Parliament Gee Peter Kaluma filed an official notice that he tend to troduce a bill which would jail for life people nvicted of homosexualy or the promotn of Friday's Supreme Court lg arguably torpedo any attempts to legally harass openly gay people wh new laws, Mr Kaluma n still rally MPs to crease jail terms for gay is also illegal to have gay sex neighbourg Uganda, where Mlim lears ed Friday prayers to preach agast head of the untry's Mlims, Mufti Sheikh Ramathan Mubajje, lled on the thori to enact even tougher laws agast same-sex was speakg at the Old Kampala mosque the pal, Kampala, where hundreds had gathered for Friday prayers. Earlier the week, the Uganda Mlim Supreme Council circulated a letter to all clerics unr s associatn gazettg Friday as the day to rry out peaceful protts agast homosexualy clerics were asked to prepare sermons nmng same-sex relatns and extend the same msage to the media and the event, the protts were only held the eastern cy of rights activist Frank Mugisha scribed the protts as dangero, sayg they uld crease s of vlence agast those who intify as has been a recent surge homophobic sentiment the week, Print Yoweri Meveni said Uganda would not embrace homosexualy and that the Wt should stop tryg to impose s views and "normalise" what he lled "viatns". The Kenyan supreme urt recently stck down a ernment cisn to ban the registratn of an LGBTIQ+ muny rights anisatn, sparkg new homophobic rhetoric the untry.

GAY RIGHTS KENYA: 'WHY OUR FIGHT ISN'T OVER'

The Kenyan supreme urt led on 24 Febary 2023 that the ernment was wrong to ban the LGBTIQ+ muny om registerg the Natnal Gay & Lbian Human Rights Commissn. (Nairobi) – Kenya’s High Court on May 24, 2019 upheld laws crimalizg homosexual acts between nsentg adults, a step backward the progrs Kenya has ma toward equaly recent years, Human Rights Watch said today. The urt was addrsg a petn filed 2016 by three Kenyan anizatns that work to protect the rights of lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr people.

In 2016, Eric Gari, an activist who was print of the Natnal Gay and Lbian Human Rights Commissn (NGLHRC), filed a petn challengg the laws. Two other anizatns, the Gay and Lbian Coaln of Kenya (GALCK) and the Nyanza, Rift Valley and Wtern Kenya Network (NYARWEK), along wh dividual petners who had been personally affected by the laws, filed a send petn raisg siar arguments.

LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?

After police arrted two people and subjected them to forced anal examatns 2015, the Court of Appeal led 2018 that rryg out the examatns on people charged wh nsensual homosexual nduct vlated the prohibn on torture and cel, human, and gradg treatment. ” Other Ain untri that have revoked anti-homosexualy laws through penal reform recent years clu Seychell, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Prcipe, and Lotho. Meanwhile, urts around the world are strikg down laws agast homosexual nduct, many of them, like Kenya’s, lonial legaci.

Print Uhu Kenyatta referred to homosexualy as “not acceptable” a 2018 media terview, but has prevly said he would not tolerate anti-LGBT “wch hunts” and other forms of vlence. “Kenya has missed an opportuny to take a clear stance agast discrimatn, ” said Njeri Gate, director of the Natnal Gay and Lbian Human Rights Commissn. Before the lg, Wagu Gaho, a human rights lawyer at the Natnal Gay and Lbian Human Rights Commissn (NGLHRC), had said: “We are prepared for to be a protracted stggle.

KENYA GAY SEX BAN UPHELD BY HIGH COURT NAIROBI DISAPPOTMENT FOR AI'S LGBTQ RIGHTS ACTIVISTS

Neighborg Mozambique removed anti-gay laws 2015, while São Tomé and Cape Ver have also abolished laws crimalizg gay relatnships. The ban was imposed by the Kenya Film Classifitn Board, which said the film was “rtricted due to s homosexual theme and clear tent to promote lbianism Kenya, ntrary to the law.

In allowg the film to be screened to willg adults, the judge said that Kenya is not a weak society whose morals would be weakened by watchg a gay-themed movie. Phelix Kasanda, or Mama G as he is popularly known, says he liv a life of torment as gay man Kenya.

Kenya’s Penal Co, which crimalis same-sex activy, will rema tact followg a High Court lg which rejected a petn llg for the crimalisatn of homosexualy the untry.

KENYA TO LE ON GAY RIGHTS AS AIN NEIGHBOURS LOOK ON

The Nairobi lg followed two petns filed 2016 by three Kenyan LGBT anisatns: the Natnal Gay and Lbian Human Rights Commissn, the Gay and Lbian Coaln of Kenya and Nyanza, Rift Valley and Wtern Kenya Network. Image source, Gee Wafula/BBCKenya's High Court has led agast mpaigners seekg to overturn a law banng gay sex. I am source, Gee Wafula/BBCImage ptn, The law banng gay sex is specific to men but activists say that lbian, bi, trans and non-bary voic are val this nversatnBut there many dividuals om the muny who have experienced physil and verbal vlence and var forms of discrimatn.