East Africa

[Rick]

East Africa Court of Justice to Rule on Limiting East Africa's Anti-Gay Laws

 

Lawyers seeking recognition of the human rights of LGBTI people are scheduled to learn on 27 September whether the Tanzania-based East African Court of Justice will take a stand for LGBTI rights by ruling that anti-gay laws such as the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Act are unacceptable throughout East Africa.

 

In its East African legal challenge to the Anti-Homosexuality Act, the Uganda-based Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF) argues that Uganda's passage of that anti-gay law contravened the country's obligations as a member of the East African Community. That regional organization, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania, is founded on principles set forth in the East African Treaty, adopted one country at a time from 1999 through 2007.

 

The court has notified HRAPF that it will deliver its judgment on 27 September at its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. HRAPF has invited supporters to attend. HRAPF provides legal assistance to LGBTI defendants in Uganda under the umbrella of the Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Constitutional Law (CSCHRCL), a coalition of 50 organizations opposed to the Anti-Homosexuality Act.

 

In August 2014, Uganda's Constitutional Court overturned the Anti-Homosexuality Act on procedural grounds - the lack of a quorum in Parliament - but did not address claims that the law violated Ugandan constitutional guarantees of human rights.

 

HRAPF and CSCHRCL have said that reasons for pursuing the case include: "There are real chances of an amended Anti-Homosexuality Bill being brought to Uganda's Parliament as well as to other parliaments in the region (most notably Kenya and Tanzania); if successful, the case would make clear to lawmakers that such a Bill would contravene the East African treaty."

 

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Uganda: LGBT Group Sues Government Blocking Them from Officially Registering

 

A Ugandan LGBT rights group has filed a lawsuit against the country's government after it was blocked from registering its name. Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) has been blocked by the Ugandan Registration Service from registering its own name as an organization. A statement from SMUG said it expects a decision from the Ugandan High Court by the end of the current month.

 

The group has struggled since 2012 to register itself with the official body. Being able to register would mean the organization could carry on its work due to various benefits. A rejection letter was received by SMUG from the service explaining that its name was "undesirable, and because homosexuals and same-sex relations are illegal in Uganda, the bureau cannot legitimize an illegality."

 

"We decided to file a case in court purposely to advocate for the rights of association and assembly because an organization in law is incapable of committing a criminal act," Patricia Kimera, one of the lawyers on the activists' side, said.

 

SMUG's legal coordinator Daglous Mawadri stated: "There are so many challenges of running an organization that is not registered. One is the fact that you have to operate underground. For example, you cannot apply outright to donors, you cannot have funds, you cannot have spaces to operate. That means most of the things that you do have to be underground."

 

Under Uganda's archaic penal code, "carnal knowledge against the order of nature" between two males carries a potential penalty of life imprisonment.

 

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US Court Affirms SMUG's Charges Against Anti-Gay Extremist While Dismissing on Jurisdictional Grounds

 

Yesterday, 5 June 2017, a US federal court minced no words in affirming that US-based anti-gay extremist Scott Lively aided and abetted the crime against humanity of persecution in a ruling dismissing the lawsuit brought by Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) on a narrow jurisdictional ground.

 

"Anyone reading this memorandum should make no mistake," wrote Judge Michael Ponsor of the District Court in Springfield MA. "The question before the court is not whether Defendant's actions in aiding and abetting efforts to demonize, intimidate, and injure LGBTI people in Uganda constitute violations of international law. They do."

 

The judge ruled that even though the evidence supports SMUG's claims that Lively worked to deprive them of fundamental rights, the court did not have jurisdiction as a result of a 2013 Supreme Court ruling issued after SMUG's case was filed. The ruling in "Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Shell" limited the extra-territorial reach of the Alien Tort Statute, under which SMUG brought its claim. "The much narrower and more technical question posed by Defendant's motion is whether the limited actions taken by Defendant on American soil in pursuit of his odious campaign are sufficient to give this court jurisdiction over Plaintiff's claims," Judge Ponsor continued. "Since they are not sufficient, summary judgment is appropriate for this, and only this, reason."

 

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Kenya: LGBT Rights Group Challenges Nation's Anti-Gay Laws in Court

 

Nairobi - On Thursday, 22 February 2018, Kenya's High Court began hearing arguments in a case that challenges parts of the penal code seen as targeting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities.

 

The National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission argues that sections of the code are in breach of the constitution and deny basic rights by criminalizing consensual same-sex relations between adults. These same sections of the code are also used to justify violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the East African nation, the commission's executive director, Eric Gitari, said in a statement.

 

A person can suppress sexual behavior but not sexual orientation, an expert witness for the rights commission, and associate professor of psychiatry, Lukoye Atwoli, told the court. It was not immediately clear when a ruling was to be expected.

 

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Kenya: Court Rules that Forced Anal Exams Are Unlawful

A Kenya court has ruled in a landmark decision that the use of forced anal examinations is illegal. The National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) challenged the practice following the treatment of two men arrested in 2015. The men were subjected to forced anal examinations, which police claimed was done to find out if they had engaged in anal sex and were gay. They were also forced to undergo HIV testing. Lawyers for NGLHRC claimed the forced examinations were tantamount to torture and a violation of the right to privacy and dignity.

The decision comes after the Kenya Medical Association (KMA) spoke out against the practice, saying: “We condemn and discourage any form of forced examination of clients, even in the guise of discovering crimes.” The present ruling regarding forced exams comes from an appeals court in Mombasa which stated that another earlier court decision that had upheld the practice was unconstitutional and a violation of human rights.

Another landmark case is due to be ruled upon after a two-year battle, as the Kenya High Court is currently deliberating on whether or not to legalize same-sex sexual relations.

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Kenya: Atheist Group Proposes Marriage Equality

Atheists In Kenya (AIK) want legalization of same-sex marriages to be among the proposed changes in the constitution being pushed by President Uhuru Kenyatta and Nasa leader Raila Odinga. In backing the calls for a constitutional referendum, AIK wants Article 45 (2) of the constitution changed for “marriage to be between any two consenting adults irrespective of sexual orientation.”

“We also ask parliament to review the Penal Code and expunge sections that criminalized homosexual behavior, in particular Sections 162, 163, and 165 of the Penal Code. If need be, we will challenge the penal code in court,” AIK vice president Daisy Siongok said in a statement.

Rick

 

Edited May 2, 2018 by Rick

[Rick]

Some New Firsts in Pride: Guyana, Swaziland, Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya

LGBTI rights activists around the world will hold Pride celebrations this year against the backdrop of recent legal and political advances and lingering challenges.

In Guyana, the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) Guyana, a local LGBTI advocacy group, organized the South American country’s first-ever Pride parade that took place on 2 June 2018.

Activists in Swaziland, a small African country that borders South Africa and Mozambique, are organizing their nation’s first-ever Pride event, scheduled to take place on 30 June 2018. All Out, a global LGBTI advocacy group, has launched a campaign to help activists raise money.

LGBTI refugees who live in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya are organizing a Pride event that is scheduled to take place on 16 June 2018. Moses Mbazira, who is from Uganda, told the Washington Blade that the organizers hope the event will “awaken” the UN Refugee Agency, and organizations that work with it, about the plight of LGBTI refugees who live in the camp. “It promotes unity amongst the LGBTIQ refugee community members,” said Mbazira.

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Kenya: LGBTs Hope for Court Win After India Scraps "Gay Sex" Ban

A battle in Kenya’s courts to throw out a British colonial-era law criminalizing gay sex has been reinvigorated after India scrapped similar legislation in a landmark ruling last week, LGBT rights campaigners said on Wednesday, 12 September 2018. Homosexuality is taboo in the East African nation and the persecution of sexual minorities is rife. Under sections of Kenya’s penal code, gay sex - or “carnal knowledge against the order of nature” - is punishable by up to 14 years in jail.

Campaigners are petitioning Kenya’s high court to repeal the sections, saying they violate constitutional rights to equality, dignity, and privacy. A three-judge bench is expected to give a date for the verdict on 20 September.“We are very encouraged by what we are seeing from India. It is the very same fight that we are fighting here in Kenya,” said Kari Mugo, operations manager  at the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, one of the lead petitioners.

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Kenya: High Court to Hear Submissions Re: India Decriminalization Ruling

The constitutional division of the High Court of Kenya will hear submissions from both parties on 25 October 2018 in the LGBT decriminalization case, in particular as to how India's decriminalization ruling on this same subject may be relevant, given that both countries have shared the same law, dating back to the days of British colonial rule, that criminalizes “sexual acts against the order of nature.”

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Kenya High Court to Issue Ruling on Sodomy Issue in February 2019

Kenya High Court announced it would issue its ruling on 22 February 2019 on whether to decriminalize homosexuality. Under Sections 162 and 165 of its penal code, individuals convicted of “sexual acts against the order of nature” face up to 14 years in prison.

Advocates with Kenya’s National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) argue the colonial-era law violates constitutionally-mandated rights to privacy and dignity. Under the 2010 Kenyan Constitution, they argue “all citizens in Kenya [are protected] regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity.” A three-judge bench heard arguments in February and March 2018. At that time, the High Court did not set a timeline for its ruling, which was rumored to be issued by the end of the current year.

The date was finally set on Thursday, 25 October. Earlier the same day, the court had allowed both sides to submit additional statements on how a historic 6 September 2018 ruling from the Indian Supreme Court decriminalizing sodomy might apply to Kenya’s law. In a unanimous decision, judges with India’s highest court ruled a “consensual sexual relationship between two consenting adults… cannot be said to be unconstitutional.”

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Tanzania: Government Distances Itself from Anti-Gay Purge

The government of Tanzania has attempted to distance itself from an anti-gay crackdown in the city of Dar es Salaam. The Tanzanian foreign ministry put out the statement responding to international concerns after the governor of Dar es Salaam, Paul Makonda, vowed to create a regional anti-gay task force.

The statement, issued on 4 November 2018, on behalf of the national Tanzanian government, says: “[We wish] to clarify that Mr Makonda was only airing his personal opinion which does not represent the official position of the United Republic of Tanzania.” According to "The Citizen," it adds: “The United Republic of Tanzania will also continue to respect and uphold all human rights as provided for in the country’s constitution.”

On 29 October, Makonda vowed to turn Dar es Salaam into “a non-gay city,” calling on members of the public to submit intelligence about suspected homosexuals for the government crackdown. Makonda, who has held his position since 2016, spoke out against “the presence of many homosexuals in our province,” telling the public: “Give me their names. My ad hoc team will begin to get their hands on them.” The governor said he was anticipating backlash from people who lived outside Tanzania, but said that he would “prefer to anger those countries than to anger God.”

Homosexuality is illegal in Tanzania under a penal code that dates back to the British colonial era. LGBT+ people can face up to life imprisonment in Tanzania if convicted of having gay sex.

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Kenya: Constitutional Court to Issue Ruling on Sodomy Law on 22 February 2019

On 22 February 2019, a three-judge bench of the Constitutional Court in Nairobi will give Kenyans their decision on whether laws that criminalize the private, consensual relations of people of the same sex are to be scrapped.

The case, heard in February 2018, was brought by Eric Gitari, until recently the executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, a local rights organization that provides free legal aid services to Kenya’s persecuted LGBT community.

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Kenya: Appeals Court Rejects Bid to Ban LGBT NGO

The Kenya Court of Appeal has rejected a bid to block the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission from registering as an NGO (non-governmental organisation). Laws in Kenya require all non-profit groups to register with the NGO Coordination Board, but the board had rejected the group’s application in 2015 because it caters to LGBT+ people.

In a ruling issued on Friday, 22 March 2019, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal by the NGO Coordination Board, which sought to deny LGBT+ Kenyans the right to associate. In a 3-2 decision, the appeals court found that LGBT+ people have a right to form an NGO, agreeing with an earlier High Court ruling that stated blocking them from doing so is a denial of their fundamental rights.

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Kenya: High Court Upholds Law Criminalizing Gay Sex

Today, 24 May 2019, three judges on the High Court in Kenya have ruled not to decriminalize gay sex, in a disappointing decision for LGBT+ activists hoping to repeal sections of the country’s penal code. Justice Aburili opened the reading and Justice Chacha Mwita then read his judgment, followed by that of Justice John Mativo.

It has been three years and one month since queer activist Eric Gitari first filed a discrimination lawsuit challenging the constitutional validity of two sections of Kenya’s colonial-era penal code. The ruling means that Sections 162 (a) and (c), 163, and 165 of Kenya’s penal code remain in place and homosexual relations are still criminalized. These parts of the penal code, introduced by the British Empire in 1930, criminalize sodomy, and make sexual acts “against the order of nature,” interpreted as including same-sex sexual relations, currently punishable by 14 years’ imprisonment.

LGBT+ activists in Kenya had been “cautiously optimistic” ahead of Friday’s ruling, Mercy Njueh of the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) in Kenya told PinkNews. Their hopes are now shattered. It had been anticipated that today’s decision would open the floodgates for the repeal of similar legislation in other countries in Africa, where homosexuality is still illegal in 32 out of the continent’s 54 nations. In particular, it was hoped that a positive ruling would have a strong impact on countries in the eastern African region, including Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and South Sudan. That is no longer the case.

Rick

 

Edited May 25, 2019 by Rick

[Rick]

Uganda: Champion of "Kill the Gays" Bill Is Dead

The former Uganda government minister who championed a bill that would have imposed the death penalty upon anyone found guilty of homosexuality has died. Former Ethics and Integrity Minister Simon Lokodo passed away at a Geneva hospital on 28 January 2022.

The Uganda Human Rights Commission, of which Lokodo (ironically and quite perversely) had been a member, announced his death. Lokodo, 64, was previously a Catholic priest until then-Pope Benedict XVI excommunicated him in 2006.
https://www.washingtonblade.com/2022/01/31/champi...

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Kenya: New Law Recognizes Intersex Persons as Third Gender

In Kenya, a new law that took effect in late July 2022 has granted equal rights and recognition to intersex people. Intersex people are now recognized as Kenya’s third gender with an ‘I’ gender marker in response to the Children Act, 2022. Kenya is the first African country to have granted the intersex community this universal right.

The new law requires intersex children to be treated with dignity and have equal access to basic services like medical treatment and education, in addition to social protection services as a special need. It also requires the accommodation of intersex children in child protection centers and other facilities.

Most importantly, it protects intersex children from so-called sex normalization surgeries, and such procedures will only be done with a doctor’s recommendation. Those who violate the law will face at least three years in jail and a fine of at least $5,000. The Births and Deaths Registration Act under the new law’s Section 7 (3) “shall take measures to ensure correct documentation and registration of intersex children at birth.”

It defines an intersex child as “a child with a congenital condition in which the biological sex characteristics cannot be exclusively categorized in the common binary of female or male due to inherent and mixed anatomical, hormonal, gonadal, or chromosomal patterns which could be apparent before, at birth, in childhood, puberty, or adulthood.” The 2019 census survey showed that 1,524 Kenyans were intersex.
https://www.washingtonblade.com/2022/08/08/landma...

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Kenya: Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Registration of an LGBTIQ NGO

On 24 February 2023, the Supreme Court of Kenya has dismissed an appeal by the NGO Co-Ordination Board against a High Court order that it register an NGO seeking to advocate for the rights of LGBTIQ persons in Kenya. The NGO, known as National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC), had applied for registration in 2012, but was denied by the Board on the grounds that its proposed name was contrary to Sections 162, 163, and 165 of the Penal Code which criminalize gay and lesbian liaisons.

In 2013, the NGO challenged the Board’s decision in the High Court, arguing that it violated its right to freedom of association under Article 36 of the Constitution and its right against discrimination under Article 27. In 2015, the High Court agreed with the NGO and ordered the Board to register it within 30 days. The Board appealed to the Court of Appeal, which, in 2019, also upheld the High Court’s decision. Now, the Supreme Court has ruled that the NGLHRC was not required to exhaust internal remedies under the NGO Co-Ordination Act, as neither the Act nor the regulations provide for any internal dispute resolution mechanism for the administrative action concerned.

The court also held that the Board’s decision violated the NGLHRC’s right to freedom of association under Article 36 of the Constitution, and was discriminatory. The court noted that it would be unconstitutional to limit the right to associate, through denial of registration of an association, purely on the basis of the sexual orientation of the applicants.
https://ntvkenya.co.ke/court/supreme-court-uphold...

Rick

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Uganda Parliament Passes Deadly Anti-LGBTQ Bill

On 2 May 2023, the Parliament of Uganda passed an extreme anti-LGBTQ bill that includes a lifetime prison sentence for engaging in same-sex sexual relations and the death penalty for "repeat offender" cases. The bill, officially the “Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023,” now awaits the signature of Uganda President Yoweri Museveni to become law.

Museveni, who is not a supporter of LGBTQ rights, returned a similar bill to Parliament in April, asking for revisions to soften the legislation’s harsh penalties and treatment of LGBTQ people. Despite Museveni’s earlier request to include provisions for the so-called "rehabilitation" of LGBTQ people, the new legislation remains rather unchanged from the earlier bill that caused an outcry from governments and LGBT groups around the world.

People found to be “engaging in acts of homosexuality” would be sentenced to life in prison, but mere suspicion of being LGBTQ is not criminalized in the current bill. However, the bill still calls for the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” which refers to people living with HIV engaging in same-sex sexual relations and/or to repeat offenders.

According to Uganda law, Museveni, a vocal LGBTQ opponent, now has 30 days in which to sign the bill into law, to veto it outright, or to return it to Parliament for further revision.
https://www.advocate.com/world/uganda-deadly-lgbt...

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Uganda: President Signs "Anti-Homosexuality Act" into Law

On 29 May 2023, Uganda President Yoweri Museveni signed the latest Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act , 2023, into law, including the portion that calls for the death penalty for anyone found guilty of “aggravated homosexuality.”

In 2014, Museveni, with the support of anti-LGBTQ evangelicals from the US, signed an earlier version of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, one that imposed a life sentence upon anyone found guilty of repeated same-sex sexual acts. The law was known as the “Kill the Gays” bill because it had previously contained a death penalty provision. Later, the Uganda Constitutional Court struck down the entire 2014 Anti-Homosexuality Act on a technicality having to do with improper legislative process during the time of the Act's passage.. The new 2023 version is basically a "rinse and repeat" of that 2014 law which was already struck down once.

Meanwhile, Jacqueline Kasha Nabagesara, an Uganda LGBTQ and intersex activist, and Sexual Minorities Uganda Executive Director Frank Mugisha are among the plaintiffs who have already challenged the constitutionality of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2023, at the Uganda Constitutional Court. They did so on the same 29 May date, immediately after Museveni signed the measure into law.
https://www.washingtonblade.com/2023/05/29/uganda...

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Uganda: Anti-Homosexuality Act Appealed to Supreme Court

On 11 July 2024, a group of LGBTQ activists in Uganda once again appealed a ruling that upheld the country’s Anti-Homosexuality Act.

Originally, in May 2023, President Yoweri Museveni had signed the law, which contains a death penalty provision for “aggravated homosexuality.”

On 3 April 2024, the Uganda Constitutional Court refused to “nullify the Anti-Homosexuality Act in its totality.” On 16 April, Sexual Minorities Uganda Executive Director Frank Mugisha and Jacquelie Kasha Nabagesara were among the activists who appealed the ruling to the country’s Court of Appeal.

Mugisha, along with Nabagesara, are two of the 22 activists who filed the latest appeal with the Supreme Court, which is the country’s highest court. “Today, we have filed an appeal in the Supreme Court of Uganda to overturn the Constitutional Court decision that upheld the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Law,” said Mugisha.

https://www.losangelesblade.com/2024/07/11/ugandan-activists-again-appeal-ruling-that-upheld-anti-homosexuality-act/

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Kenya: Court Rules that Government Must Legally Recognize Transgender Individuals

On 20 August 2025, a Kenyan judge has directed the government to legally recognize transgender individuals and to guarantee that their constitutional rights are protected. In his judgment, Justice Reuben Nyakundi of the Eldoret High Court in western Kenya holds that trans people have the right to determine their “self-identified gender” and that the government’s legal system should recognize it.

Nyakundi made the directive after a years-long case between a trans athlete and various government agencies over an unwarranted arrest, detention, and forced medical examination in order to determine her gender back in 2019. Nyakundi, in his ruling, awarded her $10,000 in damages over the violation of her privacy and dignity. The court also directed the government to undertake policy reforms to protect the rights of detained trans individuals in prisons.

“That a declaration be and is hereby made that there is a compelling sense of urgency for the state in the interim to make provision of the physical and structural facilities at the police stations and the prison facilities for these ‘third gender’ who may be in conflict with the law because of their gender identity with a view to guarantee their constitutional rights as envisioned in this judgment,” Nyakundi stated. 

He further directed parliament to enact the law that protects and recognizes trans people while also directing the proposed Intersex Persons Bill 2024 be another alternative to identify the rights of the trans community in the country. Intersex people in Kenya are legally recognized as a third gender with an “I” marker, and the community has an intersex representative in the country’s human rights body to champion their interests.

https://www.washingtonblade.com/2025/09/02/kenyan-judge-rules-government-must-legally-recognize-transgender-people/

Rick