Kenya Court of Appeal declares Anal Examinations as unconstitutional

Last week the Kenya Court of Appeal made a land mark decision on subjection of suspected gay men to forced anal examinations in a bid to obtain evidence of engagement in consensual same sex conduct against them, in a case that was filed by the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC), an LGBTQ rights legal advocacy organisation in Kenya. The ruling which declared anal examinations as a violation of the right to privacy and dignity came after a three year long advocacy campaign on ending the practice in Kenya. It overturned a decision of the High Court of Kenya, where the NGLHRC first challenged the practice and the court ruled against them.

Anal examinations have been discredited by the World Medical Association as lacking scientific merit and amounting to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and being in violation of medical ethics, a resolution that was adopted by the Kenya Medical Association in 2017. This, coupled with the recent Court of Appeal ruling in Kenya, have provided a spring board for successful legal advocacy campaigns against the practice of forced anal examinations in other jurisdictions within East Africa, including Uganda, where LGBTQ persons are often subjected to the inhumane treatment.

We congratulate the NGLHRC for this great achievement in the fight for the respect of the rights of all persons regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

#TakingHumanRightsToAll

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