Kenyans are Disappointed by the Postponement of the Ruling on the Decriminalization of Homosexuality
Today ought to have been a landmark ruling for the Kenyan LGBT community.
Kenyans were all eagerly anticipating the repealing of section 162 of Kenya's Penal Code which criminalizes homosexuality. However, the ruling has been postponed by the courts. Many Kenyans feel that the postponement only serves to highlight how unimportant the rights of the LGBT community are in the country.
Petitions 150 and 234 were brought before the Kenyan High Court last year and called for the repeal of section 162 and 165 which violate the constitutional rights to privacy, freedom of expression, the right to human dignity and freedom from discrimination. The ruling of these joint petitions, is what has been postponed.
Justice Chacha Mwita says the postponement is primarily due to having to go through volumes of documents which were presented to them manually. The court has asked that the ruling be delivered instead on the 24 of May.
Activists, Christian and Muslim organizations alike, the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK), the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) and Nyanza Rift Valley and Western Kenya Network (NYARWEK) are all in support of the petitions.
Kenyan poet and activist Shailja Patel, South African sexual reproductive rights advocate Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng and Kenyan feminist Brenda Wambui are just some of the figures supporting the #repeal162 movement. Kenya is one of numerous African countries where homosexuality is still criminal.
This is what proponents of #repeal162 had to say on social media:
