On Friday, February 24, the Supreme Court of Kenya ruled that the authorities had shown discrimination by preventing an association defending the rights of LGBT+ people from registering as an NGO. With a majority of three out of five judges, she said their decision was ” unconstitutional “. The verdict recalls that “ LGBT+ people have, like any other person, the right to their freedom to form an association and ends a decade of legal battle.
With our correspondent in Nairobi, Albane Thirouard
The dispute dates back to 2013, when the National Commission for the Human Rights of Gays and Lesbians submitted a request to the NGO Supervision Office to be listed. The public authority rejects it. In question ? The name of the association, which contains the terms “gays” and “lesbians”. Which, according to the argument, would be contrary to Kenyan law which, even if there are few convictions, criminalizes sexual relations between people of the same sex, with penalties of up to 14 years in prison. .
Two courts ruled in favor of the association in 2015 and 2019. Then, on Friday February 24, 2023, the Supreme Court endorsed the NGO’s right to be registered, explaining that the freedom to form an association could not be limited ” based on applicants’ sexual orientation “.
The National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission called the decision “ of history ” and of ” triumph for justice and human rights “. The verdict, however, is not unanimous. MP George Kaluma in particular called him ” contradictory “. And he announced his intention to propose a bill aimed at toughening the sentences, to go as far as life imprisonment.
► Also to listen to Kenya: “AfroQueer”, the first podcast dedicated to the LGBT community