Supreme Court rules in favor of freedom of association, while the government and churches criticize the court’s historic judgment.
What Supreme Court said?
The Kenyan Supreme Court has criticized the government for refusing to register an organization for LGBTQ+ individuals, claiming that this action violates the community’s civil rights.
The court decided that everyone has the right to association. Despite the fact that same- sex unions are still prohibited in Kenya. The LGBTQ+ Community has won a win at the end of a ten- year court battle.
By refusing to register any of the six names suggested by community representatives, including the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and the Gay and Lesbian Human Right council, the non- governmental coordination board engaged in discrimination and violated the community’s constitutional right to association, the court ruled in a majority decision.
The court concluded that the [government’s] decision was discriminatory. And that it would be unlawful to restrict the right to associate by refusing to register an association solely on the basis of the applicants’ sexual orientation, according to the judgment.
Human rights are intrinsic and upheld only for being a human, it said. All people, including LGBTIQ individuals, are entitled to fully exercise all of the rights set forth in Chapter Four of the Constitution. It not because of their sexual preferences as LGBTIQ individuals but rather because they are people. Similar to how heterosexuals’ rights are not dependent on their sexual orientation but rather on shared humanity.
Strong resistance to the decision has been expressed, primarily from conservative lawmakers and evangelical groups. And for the past week, the hash tag #SayNoToLGBTQinKENYA has been in spotlight.
What Government claimed?
The government agency claimed that allowing registration would violate laws that criminalize gay and lesbian relationships in the nation. Notably a British colonial law that stipulates a 14- year term for anyone found guilty of homosexual activities.
The government of Kenya will contest the Supreme Court’s decision. According to the country’s attorney general, who argues that the subject should be resolved by public debate rather than legal proceedings.
What church claimed?
The church, which has a sizable following in Kenya’s urban centers. It claims that many people who struggle with various types of sexual cravings. That have not sought legal recognition from the entire nation.
The Kenya church compared the court’s verdict to same- sex relationships accepted “unreservedly and enthusiastically” by the Church of England.
The verdict could give “other criminal practitioners like pedophiles and others involved in incest” the confidence to also enjoy the right of association. And according to Calisto Odede, presiding bishop at the Christ in the Answer Ministries.
The decision will be a bittersweet win for Kenya’s LGBTQ+ community, whose members have experienced violence, isolation, and discrimination. The body of fashion designer and LGBTQ+ rights advocate Edwin Chiloba, 25. It was discovered in a metal box on the side of a road close to the Rift Valley town of Eldoret on January 4.
